Why Empower users look for alternatives
Wealth management upsells
Empower’s free dashboard is funded by selling wealth management at 0.89% AUM a year. Once you show investable assets, expect recurring advisor outreach and investment pitches.
Data in a proprietary app
Your financial data lives in Empower’s system. SheetLink puts your transactions in your own Google Sheet or Excel file: you own it, format it and share it however you want.
Investment focus, not budgeting
Empower is built for high-net-worth investors tracking portfolios. If you need simple cash flow tracking and bookkeeping, SheetLink is a better fit.
SheetLink vs Empower
| Feature | SheetLink | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, or Pro at $4.99/mo | Free (wealth management upsell) |
| Advisor calls and wealth management pitches | None | Advisor calls and wealth management offers |
| Spreadsheet output | Writes straight to Google Sheets and Excel | Export only |
| Data ownership | Your own Google Sheet or Excel file | Empower’s servers |
| Best for | Budgeting, bookkeeping, cash flow | Investment and net worth tracking |
| Sync method | Manual click (privacy-first) | Automatic (daily) |
Straightforward pricing
SheetLink charges a simple subscription, not a percentage of your wealth.
Empower’s dashboard is free, and its wealth management costs 0.89% of your assets a year. Expect advisor calls after you sign up, and it doesn’t write to a spreadsheet (export only).
SheetLink is free for one bank and your last 7 days, with no expiry, and Pro is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. There are no advisor calls, ever, and it writes straight to Google Sheets and Excel.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 bank, your last 7 days, Google Sheets |
| Pro | $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr | Every bank you connect, up to 2 years of history, Google Sheets and Excel, priority support |
| Max | $10.99/mo or $99/yr | Everything in Pro, plus investments, CLI automation, Postgres and SQLite output, and Claude |
Questions
What does Empower not do that I might need?
Empower’s free dashboard is great for net worth and investment tracking, but it doesn’t sync transactions to Google Sheets or Excel. If you want your bank data in a spreadsheet, SheetLink is the complement.
Is Empower really free?
Empower’s financial dashboard is free. It makes money by upselling wealth management at 0.89% AUM. The free tools (budgeting, net worth, cash flow) have no cost.
Can I use Empower and SheetLink together?
Yes. Keep Empower for net worth and investment tracking (it’s free) and use SheetLink to sync your transactions into Google Sheets for custom budgeting.
What is the difference between Empower and SheetLink?
Empower is a dashboard app: you view your finances inside its interface. SheetLink syncs your transactions to your own Google Sheet or Excel file, giving you full control.