Why Personal Capital and Empower users switch to SheetLink
Wealth management sales pressure
Empower (formerly Personal Capital) is primarily a wealth management firm. After you sign up, expect calls from advisors pushing you toward managed accounts with $100k+ minimums.
Data privacy concerns
Your financial data is stored in Empower’s database, which it uses to identify “qualified” clients for wealth management. Some users are uncomfortable sharing detailed financial information with a sales-driven company.
No spreadsheet sync
Personal Capital’s dashboard is built for high-net-worth investors. You can download a CSV of transactions by hand, but nothing keeps a spreadsheet you own and control up to date. For that, it’s the wrong tool.
SheetLink vs Personal Capital / Empower
| Feature | Personal Capital / Empower | SheetLink |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (wealth management upsell) | Free, or $4.99/mo for Pro |
| Annual price | Free | $39.99/year for Pro |
| Free tier | Free forever (with upsell) | 1 bank, your last 7 days, no expiry |
| Spreadsheet sync | None | Google Sheets and Excel |
| Sync method | Automatic (background) | Manual (you control) |
| Advisor calls | Expected after sign-up | Never |
| Data ownership | Empower’s database (CSV download by hand) | Your Google account |
No wealth management. No sales calls. Just data.
Personal Capital / Empower
- A wealth management firm first, an app second
- Expect calls from advisors after you sign up
- A free app designed to identify qualified clients
- $100k+ minimums for managed accounts
- Your data used for sales targeting
SheetLink
- An independent Chrome extension, with no advisory services
- No advisor calls, ever
- Public, open-source code for the extension and recipes, and no VC funding
- Your data stays in your own Google account
- Simple bank-to-spreadsheet sync, when you press Sync now
How to migrate from Personal Capital to SheetLink
Export your Personal Capital data (optional)
Install the SheetLink Chrome extension
Connect your accounts through Plaid
Start syncing and build your own analysis
Questions
What is Personal Capital called now?
Personal Capital rebranded to Empower in 2023. The product is the same: a free financial dashboard with optional paid wealth management at 0.89% AUM.
Does Empower (Personal Capital) sync to Google Sheets?
No. Empower keeps your data in its own dashboard; the most you can do is download a CSV by hand. SheetLink syncs your bank transactions to Google Sheets or Excel when you press Sync now, for full spreadsheet access.
Is Personal Capital (Empower) free?
The dashboard tools (net worth tracking, spending, budgeting) are free. Empower’s wealth management service charges 0.89% of assets under management.
Can I use both Empower and SheetLink?
Yes. Empower is great for net worth and investment tracking (free). SheetLink is great for syncing transaction data into spreadsheets. They serve different purposes and work well together.