App Comparison
Spense vs YNAB: A Smarter, More Flexible Alternative
A head-to-head look at YNAB vs Spense — covering pricing, features, and why Spense's two budgeting modes make it the more flexible and affordable choice.
April 1, 2026
8 min read
App Comparison
Spense vs Empower (Personal Capital): Budgeting vs Wealth Management
Updated April 2026
•5 min read
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is a financial dashboard focused on investments and net worth. It has budgeting features, but they're secondary to wealth management. If you're looking for serious budgeting, here's how it compares to Spense.
Different Goals, Different Apps
Empower's Focus
- • Investment tracking
- • Net worth monitoring
- • Retirement planning
- • Wealth management services
Spense's Focus
- • Day-to-day budgeting
- • Envelope-based spending
- • Proactive money management
- • Spending behavior change
Empower is great for seeing your big financial picture. Spense is better for controlling where your money actually goes day-to-day.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Empower | Spense |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free (sells advisory) | $3/mo or $25/yr |
| Primary Focus | Investments | Budgeting |
| Envelope Budgeting | — | ✓ |
| Zero-Based Budget | — | ✓ |
| Investment Tracking | ✓ (core feature) | — |
| Net Worth | ✓ | — |
| Spending Insights | Basic | Detailed |
| Ads/Upsells | Advisory services | None |
Empower's Business Model
Empower is free because they're selling wealth management services. The app is designed to attract people with investable assets and convert them to advisory clients. Budgeting is an afterthought.
When to Use Each
Use Empower if you:
- Primarily want to track investments
- Care more about net worth than budgeting
- Have significant investable assets
- Don't need envelope budgeting
Use Spense if you:
- Want to actively manage daily spending
- Need envelope/zero-based budgeting
- Want to change your spending behavior
- Care more about cash flow than net worth
- Don't want financial product upsells
Can You Use Both?
Yes! Many people use Empower for investment tracking and net worth, while using Spense for day-to-day budgeting. They solve different problems.
A good financial stack: Spense for budgeting, Empower for investments. Each does what it does best!
The Bottom Line
Empower isn't really a budgeting app — it's a wealth management platform with basic spending tracking. If you want to actively manage your spending and change your financial behavior, Spense is the right choice.
Ready for real budgeting?
Try Spense free and take control of your spending.