Alternatives
An Empower alternative without account linking
Meridary is an alternative when you want a focused retirement projection and prefer manual account entry over a connected financial dashboard.
By Steven, Founder · Updated September 2, 2026
Short answer
- Empower's dashboard is free and designed to connect financial accounts.
- Meridary charges for a narrower retirement model and does not provide human advice.
- Leaving Empower means losing automatic net-worth, spending, and transaction views.
What Empower already gives you
The Empower Personal Dashboard brings connected investments, cash, credit, retirement accounts, budgeting, cash flow, and net worth into one free interface. Its retirement tools support scenario testing, while separate Empower services provide portfolio management and ongoing planning for eligible clients.
Why manual entry can be a feature
Meridary does not request a connection to financial institutions. You enter supported account values and planning assumptions directly, which avoids maintaining account links but also means balances do not update automatically.
The software is paid: $149–$199 for a founding lifetime license or $12 per month. It does not use a free dashboard as its entry point.
What you give up by leaving the dashboard
You lose Empower's automatic financial overview, transaction and spending tools, investment allocation views, connected net worth, and access to its broader product ecosystem. Meridary is not a daily financial dashboard.
When Meridary is the closer fit
Meridary fits when the main job is testing a supported retirement plan after federal tax, RMDs, Social Security, Roth conversions, healthcare, and changing markets—not monitoring every account and transaction in one place.
Meridary vs Empower, at a glance
| Feature | Meridary | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| What you leave | No aggregation or daily dashboard | Connected net worth, spending, and investments |
| What you gain | Published retirement-model scope and validation | Broad free financial tools |
| Data maintenance | Update values yourself | Connections can update account information |
| Advisory relationship | None | Available separately through Empower |
| Cost change | $149–$199 lifetime or $12/month | Dashboard remains free |
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Frequently asked
- Is Meridary a replacement for Empower's budgeting tools?
- No. Meridary does not categorize transactions or maintain a connected cash-flow dashboard. It is a long-range retirement-planning application.
- Does using Meridary require sharing bank credentials?
- No. Meridary uses manual account entry and has no bank aggregation feature.
Read next
Sources
- Financial tools — Empower
The free Personal Dashboard, connected accounts, and planning tools.
Accessed September 2, 2026
- Personal Strategy — Empower
Empower's separate advisory and wealth-management offering.
Accessed September 2, 2026
This is an educational estimate, not tax or financial advice. Figures reflect the law year shown and the inputs you provide. Consult a qualified professional before acting.