Editor's Overview:
- The Winner: WalletHub
- WalletHub offers more free budgeting tools than Empower and Monarch Money.
- WalletHub and Empower both offer free accounts, while users must pay to access any of Monarch Money's features.
- WalletHub and Monarch Money offer a subscription manager feature, which lets you easily see all the recurring subscriptions you're paying for in one place, even the ones you may have forgotten about. Empower doesn't offer this feature.
- WalletHub and Monarch Money help users access their credit score, unlike Empower.
- WalletHub is the only app here that offers identity theft restoration services and up to $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance.
- WalletHub has many non-budgeting features for users, such as credit report access, identity monitoring, and credit monitoring, most of which are not available on Empower or Monarch Money.
Empower vs. Monarch Money vs. WalletHub: Key Characteristics
| Features | Empower | Monarch | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average App Rating | 4 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Free Plan Available | Yes | No | Yes |
| Premium Plan Cost | N/A | $49.99 for the first year; $99.99 after that (Core Plan) | $7.99 per month, billed annually (SAVE 50.0%) |
| Number of Authorized Users | 5 | No limit | 5 |
| Credit Builder | No | No | Yes |
| Daily Updates to Scores & Reports | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Overall Financial Health Score (e.g. WalletScore) | No | No | Yes |
| Budgeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spending Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Debt Payoff Plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Dark Web Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Identity Theft Restoration/Insurance | No | No | Yes |
| Net Worth | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible Devices | Web, Apple, and Android | Web, Apple, and Android | Web, Apple, and Android |
It’s important to note that the Empower Personal Dashboard budgeting app used to be called the Personal Capital app. Empower acquired Personal Capital in 2020 and officially renamed all Personal Capital products to Empower in 2023.
Below, you can see an even more detailed breakdown of the differences between these three apps. We’ll also highlight the winner in each category.
Empower vs. Monarch Money vs. WalletHub: Budgeting Tools
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Empower | Monarch | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spending Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Budgeting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable Transaction Alerts | No | Yes | Yes |
| Financial Reports | No | Yes | Yes |
| Share Transactions | Yes | No | Yes |
| Number of Budgeting Methods Supported | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Subscription Manager | No | Yes | Yes |
| Savings Goals | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spending Trimmer | No | No | Yes |
| Transaction Validator | No | No | Yes |
| AI-enhanced Transactions | No | No | Yes |
You can make a budget, manually track expenses, and set savings goals with any of these three apps. These apps also let you sync your financial accounts so you can automatically track your expenses.
Unlike Empower, WalletHub and Monarch Money provide a subscription manager that allows you to easily track your recurring bills in one place. But WalletHub takes the lead in this category since it also offers personalized debt payoff plans, which Monarch Money does not have. With WalletHub’s debt payoff plans, you can find the quickest and cheapest way to become debt-free.
Empower has debt payoff plans, too, but it still doesn’t offer as many budgeting features as WalletHub.
Empower vs. Monarch Money vs. WalletHub: Budgeting Methods
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Empower | Monarch | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50/30/20 budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Envelope budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Micro envelope budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Simple budgeting (income/expenses only) | No | No | Yes |
| Pay yourself first budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Zero-based budgeting | No | No | Yes |
| Rollover Capability | No | Yes | No |
Empower gives users only one way to budget, while Monarch Money provides two options. WalletHub, on the other hand, has five different budget templates users can choose from, which is why WalletHub wins this category.
WalletHub users can budget with just their total income and expenses. They can also make a budget using the pay-yourself-first budget strategy, the 50/30/20 rule, envelope budgeting, or micro-envelope budgeting. In addition, users can customize their budget categories to add additional categories or hide the ones they don’t need. The category customization and the multiple budget options allow users to create the perfect budget for their particular situation.
Empower vs. Monarch Money vs. WalletHub: Credit Tools
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Empower | Monarch | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Scores | No | Yes | Yes |
| Full Credit Reports | No | No | Yes |
| Daily Updates to Scores & Reports | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Builder | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Analysis | No | No | Yes |
| Enhanced Credit Report Insights | No | No | Yes |
| Why My Credit Score Changed | No | No | Yes |
| Credit-Improvement Plan | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Score Goals | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Score Simulator | No | No | Yes |
| Debt Payoff Plan | Yes | No | Yes |
| Debt Payoff Goals | No | Yes | Yes |
WalletHub and Monarch Money give you access to your credit score, unlike Empower. However, WalletHub offers more credit management tools than Monarch Money and Empower. With a WalletHub account, you can view your credit report, get a detailed breakdown of what’s hurting your score, and get credit monitoring services. You can also access a credit score simulator and report your on-time rent and utility payments to TransUnion to help you increase your credit score. This is why WalletHub leads in this category.
Monarch Money doesn’t have these additional features, and Empower doesn’t offer credit management tools at all.
Empower vs. Monarch Money vs. WalletHub: Identity Theft Protection
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Empower | Monarch | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Report Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Real-Time Credit Inquiry Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Change of Address Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Password Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Social Security Number Trace Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Credit Lock (with alerts and scheduling) | No | No | Yes |
| Identity Theft Restoration | No | No | Yes |
| Dark Web Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| $1,000,000 Identity Theft Insurance | No | No | Yes |
| Enhanced Loan Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Lost Wallet Assistance | No | No | Yes |
| USPS Address Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Bank Account Takeover Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Checking & Savings Account Application Alerts | No | No | Yes |
| Criminal Activity Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| OFAC Sanctions List Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| SMS for Urgent Alerts | Yes | No | Yes |
WalletHub easily wins this category since it is the only app here that offers credit and identity monitoring services that will keep tabs on your credit report and personal information and alert you to any suspicious activity. WalletHub also provides additional features such as lost wallet assistance, identity theft restoration services, and up to $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance. Monarch Money and Empower don’t have these features.
Empower vs. Monarch Money vs. WalletHub: Investing & Retirement
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Empower | Monarch | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Worth | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Investing News | No | No | Yes |
| Sync Real Estate Values | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sync Vehicle Values | No | Yes | Yes |
These apps all let you sync your investment accounts to see your balances and monitor your performance all in one place. The apps also offer a net worth tracking feature and give you a detailed breakdown of your investment activities. However, WalletHub has the edge since you can see investment news straight from your account. Empower and Monarch Money don’t offer that feature.
Empower vs. Monarch Money vs. WalletHub: Additional Features
Winner: WalletHub
| Features | Empower | Monarch | WalletHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interactive Alerts | No | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Dashboards | No | Yes | Yes |
| Auto Insurance Score | No | No | Yes |
| Financial Timeline | No | No | Yes |
| App Store Rating | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 |
| Google Play Rating | 3.2 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Details Loaded From Credit Report | No | Yes | Yes |
| Customer Support (like email/live chat/etc) |
Unlike Empower, both WalletHub and Monarch Money let you customize your dashboard based on your preferences. However, WalletHub offers far more features, providing things such as a financial timeline that summarizes important alerts as well as access to an auto insurance score and a WalletScore, giving it the top spot in this category. Monarch Money and Empower don’t have these additional features.
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