Comparison · 2026
Yearfold vs Empower: an honest 2026 comparison
Empower's free dashboard is unmatched for account aggregation. For an honest, private projection, here's how Yearfold compares.
Part of our roundup of the best retirement calculators in 2026. Last reviewed May 31, 2026.
Editorial review pending — see editorial process
Yearfold is a financial-education tool. It is not a registered investment adviser and does not provide personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are probabilistic projections based on historical data and stated assumptions; they are not guarantees. Methodology
Transparency: We make money from Yearfold Pro, and this page compares us with Empower, a product we compete with. Every price and feature claim below is sourced and dated — if something is wrong or out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
Yearfold vs Empower: side by side
| Feature | Yearfold | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Paid price | $99/yr or $12/mo (Pro) | Free tools; advisory from 0.89% of assets (optional) source ↗ |
| 10,000-path Monte Carlo | Yes | Yes |
| Models couples | Yes | partial |
| Models dependents explicitly | Yes | — |
| Account / bank linking | No | Yes |
| AI assistant | Yes | — |
| Tax / Roth tools | Deep | Basic |
| Runs without a signup | Yes | — |
| No bank linking required | Yes | — |
Empower facts last verified May 31, 2026 · prices change — verify on the source before deciding.
Choose Empower if…
- You want a free, automatic dashboard that links and tracks all your accounts and net worth in one place — Empower is the best at this and we don't try to compete with it.
- You're comfortable linking your accounts and don't mind that the free tools are a lead-in to a paid advisory service.
- You want at-a-glance portfolio tracking more than deep retirement modeling.
Best for: People who want a free, automatic dashboard that aggregates every account and tracks net worth in one place.
Choose Yearfold if…
- You want a rigorous 10,000-path Monte Carlo projection for free, with no account and no bank linking required to run it.
- You want your spouse and dependents modeled explicitly, not folded into one spending number.
- You want the honest range of outcomes — the 10th-to-90th-percentile band — instead of a single optimistic figure.
- You'd consider the living-plan features (monthly plan updates, a personalized tax calendar, AI Q&A over your own numbers, bracket alerts) at $12/mo Pro — the same monthly price as Boldin, with annual at $99.
The honest verdict
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) has the best free financial dashboard available. Link your accounts and it aggregates your net worth, tracks your portfolio, and runs a free Retirement Planner that simulates thousands of scenarios. If automatic account aggregation is what you want, Empower is genuinely unmatched and we don't try to compete with it.
The trade-offs are worth knowing: the free tools are how Empower introduces you to its wealth-advisory service (fees start at 0.89% of assets), everything is built around linking your accounts, and the retirement projection is simpler than a dedicated planner's. Yearfold is the opposite design — a focused, rigorous 10,000-path projection that models your spouse and dependents explicitly, shows the honest range of outcomes, never links your bank, and needs no signup to run.
Pick Empower if account aggregation and net-worth tracking are the point. Pick Yearfold if you want a private, honest, free retirement projection and would rather not link your financial accounts.
See your own honest projection — free.
10,000 simulated futures, your whole household, no signup. Pro is $99/yr if you want the living-plan features.
Frequently asked
Is Yearfold really free?
Yes. The 10,000-path Monte Carlo projection — modeling your spouse, dependents, Social Security, Medicare, and inflation — is free, and there's no signup required to run it. Yearfold Pro ($99/yr or $12/mo) adds living-plan features, but the core projection is free, forever.
Can I import my Empower plan into Yearfold?
No — there's no import. But Yearfold only needs a handful of inputs to run, so re-entering them takes a couple of minutes, and you can do it without creating an account.
Does Yearfold link my bank?
No. Yearfold never connects to your bank or brokerage — you enter your numbers and nothing is aggregated to run a projection. That privacy choice is one of the main reasons people choose it.
Is Empower really free?
The dashboard and Retirement Planner are free. Empower makes money from its optional wealth-management/advisory service, which charges a percentage of assets (from 0.89%). You can use the free tools without ever paying.
Does Empower require linking my bank?
To get the value of the dashboard, yes — aggregation is the core of the product. Yearfold runs entirely on numbers you enter, with no account linking.