Have you heard of Personal Capital? In this review I’ll explain why I use their product and how their free personal finance tools can help you better manage your money.
Personal Capital offers free personal finance software that many find more powerful than Mint. If you already use Mint, it’s worth checking out Personal Capital to see the difference.
Quick summary – Personal Capital’s free software lets you aggregate your financial accounts so you can view everything in one place. Link mortgages, bank accounts, credit cards, investment portfolios, retirement accounts and more. You can track cash flow, spending, savings, and investment performance — all for free.
And yes — it’s truly free with no hidden catch.
I focus on simplifying finances so you can spend time on what matters. Personal Capital helps by letting you manage all parts of your financial life in one place.
The tools are available on desktop, tablet, smartphone, and even some smartwatches, so you can keep tabs on your finances wherever you are.
Background before the review
Personal Capital has grown rapidly, so now is a good time to review their free financial software.
They have hundreds of thousands of registered users and track over $100 billion in assets across accounts. Their advisory business is also growing fast, managing over $1 billion in client assets with rapid year-over-year growth.
Bill Harris, the company’s cofounder and CEO, previously served as CEO of Intuit and PayPal.
Why Personal Capital is better than Mint
While both services help you track accounts and budgets, Personal Capital focuses heavily on investments and retirement planning in addition to everyday cash flow tracking. If improving your retirement readiness or understanding your investment performance matters to you, Personal Capital offers features Mint does not.
Key capabilities of Personal Capital’s free tools include:
- Net worth tracking so you can measure long-term progress toward financial goals and monitor debt reduction.
- Cash flow and spending analysis to view income, categorize expenses, and track bills.
- Investment portfolio aggregation to monitor performance, allocation, and holdings in one place.
- Fee analysis that reveals costs in retirement and investment accounts (for example, expensive 401(k) fees) and shows how fees may affect long-term results.
- Free investment checkup and portfolio review with personalized recommendations to improve retirement planning and risk alignment.
- An automated financial plan that assesses retirement readiness and evaluates risk and asset allocation.
Why is Personal Capital free?
Personal Capital’s core tools are free because the company also offers paid investment management services. They make the financial dashboard available at no cost to attract users who may later choose to use their advisory services. You are under no obligation to upgrade — the free features remain fully usable with no hidden fees.
Security and safety
Security is a priority. Personal Capital uses bank‑level encryption and performs regular security audits to protect account data. The platform is read‑only, so you cannot move money through their system; accounts remain under your control and transactions require the institutions themselves.
How to get started
Signing up is straightforward. Create an account, link your financial institutions, and the dashboard will begin aggregating your accounts so you can start using the tools immediately.
If you’d like to try it, sign up for Personal Capital and connect the accounts you want to monitor.
I hope this review helps you decide whether Personal Capital fits your needs. If you have questions about the software or how to use its features, feel free to ask.
What do you use to manage your finances? What personal finance tools have worked best for you, and are you interested in trying Personal Capital’s free tools?
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