Empower vs E*Trade Core Portfolios: Which Is Better in 2026?
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
Empower and E*Trade Core Portfolios are often compared, but they are built for different jobs. Empower is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) (aggregates accounts and analyses them), best for free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. E*Trade Core Portfolios is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) (automates a diversified etf portfolio), best for e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading. Neither is universally better: pick Empower if you want free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision, E*Trade Core Portfolios if you want e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading.
Both Empower and E*Trade Core Portfolios get grouped under “AI investing tools,” which is why people compare them, but they sit in different categories and answer to different needs. Below is a balanced, 2026 look at what each one does, whether it reads the brokerage you already use, how each is priced, and who each fits, so you can tell which job you are actually hiring a tool for. Where relevant, we note where Walnut sits in its own category: chat-driven management of your own broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Empower vs E*Trade Core Portfolios at a glance
| Empower | E*Trade Core Portfolios | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) | Hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) |
| What the AI does | Aggregates accounts and analyses them | Automates a diversified ETF portfolio |
| Connects your broker | Yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts) | No (holds your money at E*Trade) |
| Read vs trade | Only in accounts it manages | Automated |
| Cost | Free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current) | Percentage of assets (verify current) |
| Best for | Free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision | E*Trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading |
| One limitation | The free tools are a lead source for a high-fee managed service, and the sales contact is persistent. | A conventional service whose main advantage is sitting next to an E*Trade brokerage account. |
Figures and features are point-in-time and change; treat the table as a starting map, not a live quote.
What is Empower?
Free account aggregation and portfolio analysis tools, alongside a percentage-fee wealth management service for larger balances.
How it works: You link accounts from across providers and Empower shows net worth, allocation, and a fee analyser that surfaces expense ratios you may not have noticed. That tier is free. Separately, Empower runs a managed wealth service with human advisors at a percentage of assets, with minimums, and the free tools are the funnel into it.
In practice, Empower’s AI aggregates accounts and analyses them. It falls under hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors), which makes it best suited to free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. On connecting an account it is “Yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts)”, and on execution it is “Only in accounts it manages”. It is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current).
One honest limitation: The free tools are a lead source for a high-fee managed service, and the sales contact is persistent.
What is E*Trade Core Portfolios?
E*Trade's automated investing service, offering managed ETF portfolios alongside its self-directed brokerage, now under Morgan Stanley.
How it works: A questionnaire sets a risk level and E*Trade invests in a diversified ETF portfolio with automatic rebalancing, including socially responsible and smart-beta variants. It sits alongside E*Trade's self-directed brokerage, so a managed portfolio and an account you trade yourself live under one login.
In practice, E*Trade Core Portfolios’s AI automates a diversified etf portfolio. It falls under hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors), which makes it best suited to e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading. On connecting an account it is “No (holds your money at E*Trade)”, and on execution it is “Automated”. It is priced as percentage of assets (verify current).
One honest limitation: A conventional service whose main advantage is sitting next to an E*Trade brokerage account.
Empower vs E*Trade Core Portfolios: how they actually differ
The core difference is category. Empower focuses on free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision (aggregates accounts and analyses them), and E*Trade Core Portfolios on e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading (automates a diversified etf portfolio). On broker connection they differ too: Empower is “Yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts)” versus E*Trade Core Portfolios at “No (holds your money at E*Trade)”. That shapes everything downstream: how personal the answers are, where trades settle, and how much control you keep over individual positions.
Empower vs E*Trade Core Portfolios: strengths and trade-offs
Every tool gives something up for what it does well. Here is the honest give-and-take on each, so you can weigh the specific strengths against the limitations that come with them rather than judging on the headline category alone.
Empower
Where it is strong
- Genuinely useful free aggregation across accounts no single provider sees
- The fee analyser routinely surfaces fund costs people did not know they were paying
- Managed tier includes access to human advisors rather than software alone
What to watch out for
- Expect sales contact after linking accounts. The free product exists to source clients for the managed one
- The managed service is priced at the higher end of the market for what is largely ETF portfolio management
E*Trade Core Portfolios
Where it is strong
- Managed and self-directed accounts side by side under one login
- Portfolio variants including socially responsible options
- Backed by Morgan Stanley following the acquisition
What to watch out for
- Priced at the middle of the market with no distinguishing feature
- A minimum applies to open the managed portfolio
The key divider: does it read your real holdings?
For AI investing tools, the distinction that matters most is whether the tool works from your actual, connected positions or reasons from something else: a separate account it manages for you, or the tickers and numbers you feed it. It decides how personal the answers can be, and where your money physically lives.
- Empower: manages a separate account it holds. Empower does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside Empower.
- E*Trade Core Portfolios: manages a separate account it holds. E*Trade Core Portfolios does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside E*Trade Core Portfolios.
On this specific question the two land on the same side, so the deciding factors between them are elsewhere: category, cost, and who each is built for. This holdings-aware angle is the one Walnut is built around: it connects the brokerage you already use and reasons from your live positions, read-only by default, with any trades left for you to approve.
Empower vs E*Trade Core Portfolios: which should you choose?
There is no universal winner here; the right pick depends on the job you are hiring the tool for. Match the category to your intent rather than chasing a single “best.”
- Choose Empower if you want free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. Its AI aggregates accounts and analyses them, it is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current), and it fits hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors). It is built for someone who wants a free, honest view of accounts spread across providers and is comfortable declining the follow-up call. Keep in mind that the free tools are a lead source for a high-fee managed service, and the sales contact is persistent.
- Choose E*Trade Core Portfolios if you want e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading. Its AI automates a diversified etf portfolio, it is priced as percentage of assets (verify current), and it fits hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors). It is built for an existing E*Trade customer who wants part of the money handled automatically and part self-directed. Keep in mind that a conventional service whose main advantage is sitting next to an e*trade brokerage account.
Because both sit in the same category, the choice comes down to the finer details above rather than a fundamental difference in approach.
Empower vs E*Trade Core Portfolios: pricing and cost model
Cost is easy to misread when two tools charge in different shapes, so compare the model, not just the number. Empower is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current), while E*Trade Core Portfolios is priced as percentage of assets (verify current). A percentage-of-assets fee scales with your balance, a flat subscription does not, and a “free” tier usually earns elsewhere (on cash, order flow, or premium upgrades), so the cheapest headline is not always the cheapest outcome for your situation.
Pricing and tiers change often. Confirm the current numbers on each provider’s own site before you decide; the framing above is point-in-time.
Where Walnut fits
If neither quite fits, Walnut sits in a third category: chat-driven management of your own brokerage. It connects the brokerage you already use through SnapTrade, lets you analyze and manage it by talking through Claude or ChatGPT, build thematic portfolios around a thesis, and place trades you approve. Read-only by default. See Walnut vs Empower and Walnut vs E*Trade Core Portfolios. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Try Walnut on top of your broker
Walnut is the AI that knows your portfolio: ask anything in plain English, research any fund, and get an honest second opinion. On the broker you already use, read-only, and you approve every trade. Walnut is not a registered investment adviser.
FAQ
Is Empower or E*Trade Core Portfolios better?
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Neither is universally better, because they are built for different jobs. Empower is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) and suits free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision. E*Trade Core Portfolios is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors) and suits e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading. Pick the one whose job matches what you actually want to do.
What is the difference between Empower and E*Trade Core Portfolios?
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Empower is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors): aggregates accounts and analyses them. E*Trade Core Portfolios is hands-off automated investing (robo-advisors): automates a diversified etf portfolio. They solve different jobs, so the better choice depends on whether you want free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision or e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading.
Is Empower or E*Trade Core Portfolios better for beginners?
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Empower is generally the more beginner-friendly of the two (free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision). The other is better once you know what you want from it. Neither replaces understanding what you own.
Does Empower connect to my brokerage?
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Empower: yes, for tracking (aggregates held-away accounts) (manages a separate account it holds). E*Trade Core Portfolios: no (holds your money at e*trade) (manages a separate account it holds). If keeping your current broker matters, that distinction is often the deciding factor.
Does Empower see my real holdings?
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Empower does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside Empower. By contrast, E*Trade Core Portfolios manages a separate account it holds: E*Trade Core Portfolios does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside E*Trade Core Portfolios.
Empower vs E*Trade Core Portfolios: which is cheaper?
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Empower is priced as free tools; managed accounts charge a percentage (verify current); E*Trade Core Portfolios is percentage of assets (verify current). The models are not always comparable (a percentage of assets is different from a flat subscription), so weigh cost against the job each does. Pricing and tiers change, so verify the current numbers on each provider's site before deciding.
Can I use Empower and E*Trade Core Portfolios together?
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Often yes, because they do different things. Many investors use one for free portfolio tracking; the paid advice is a separate decision and the other for e*trade customers wanting a managed portfolio alongside self-directed trading. Just watch for overlapping subscription costs and remember that trades ultimately settle in whatever account actually holds your money.
Who is Empower best for, and who is E*Trade Core Portfolios best for?
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Empower best fits someone who wants a free, honest view of accounts spread across providers and is comfortable declining the follow-up call. E*Trade Core Portfolios best fits an existing E*Trade customer who wants part of the money handled automatically and part self-directed. If you see yourself in one description more than the other, that is usually the clearer signal than any single feature or price.
What are the main trade-offs between Empower and E*Trade Core Portfolios?
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Empower's main thing to watch is that expect sales contact after linking accounts. the free product exists to source clients for the managed one. E*Trade Core Portfolios's is that priced at the middle of the market with no distinguishing feature. Neither is a dealbreaker on its own; the right call is whichever trade-off you can most live with given what you actually want the tool to do.
Where does Walnut fit between Empower and E*Trade Core Portfolios?
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Walnut is a third option in a different category: chat-driven management of the brokerage you already use. It connects your real account, lets you analyze and manage it by talking through Claude or ChatGPT, build thematic portfolios, and place trades you approve. Your login stays with your broker and the connection is read-only by default. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Related comparisons
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Competitor features and pricing are point-in-time and change; verify the current details on each provider's site before deciding. Nothing here is a recommendation to use any particular product or security.