The Empower alternative built for Europe
Your whole balance sheet, in euros., from the banks you actually use.
2,700+ banks across 29 countries, DeGiro, Bitvavo and Coinbase in one net worth, encrypted with your own key in Frankfurt. From €8 a month.Empower's dashboard is free and built for the United States: its help centre states that only US-based financial institutions, in US dollars, can be linked, and that signing up needs a valid US phone number. Gylder is built for Europeans: live PSD2 connections to 2,700+ banks across 29 countries, DeGiro, Bitvavo and Coinbase, a mortgage modelled loan part by loan part, and every balance encrypted in Frankfurt. From €8 a month.
- PSD2 livePSD2 live · 2,700+ banks
- Stored in FrankfurtStored in Frankfurt
- Your own encryption keyEncrypted before storage, key unique to you
- No ads, no data salesNo ads, no data sales
- PSD2 live for 2,700+ banks in 29 countries
- Data stays in the EU
Why Gylder
Four reasons Gylder is the better fit for Europeans.
Empower is built for American households, and for those it is a capable free dashboard. Gylder is built for the way Europeans bank, own a home and protect their data. Here is what that means in practice.
- Why Gylder
Connects to 2,700+ banks across 29 countries.
Gylder's PSD2 connections reach 2,700+ banks across 29 countries, and DeGiro, Bitvavo and Coinbase connect too. Empower's help centre states that it currently supports only US-based financial institutions, in US dollars, and that a valid US phone number is needed to sign up; accounts elsewhere are added by hand.
- Why Gylder
Your data stays in Europe, encrypted with your own key.
Gylder encrypts every balance with AES-256-GCM before it is stored, with a key unique to you, and keeps everything in Frankfurt. A copy of the database alone reveals nothing. Empower's cybersecurity page states that it stores all data in the United States, encrypted with AES-256 and user-specific keys and salts.
- Why Gylder
Your European home and your mortgage, as they really are.
Gylder revalues property and precious metals for you and models a mortgage as its real loan parts. Empower's help centre states that home values come from Zillow, only for homes publicly listed there, updated once a month; a mortgage is one linked account, and precious metals are added as a manual account.
- Why Gylder
The subscription is the whole business.
Gylder Basic is €8 a month and Pro €15 a month or €150 a year, billed in euros, with 14 days of Pro free. Empower's site states that the dashboard and its tools are free of charge, and that investment advisory services are offered for a fee by Empower Advisory Group, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser, from 0.89% a year with a $100,000 minimum. If an adviser is what you want, that is something Gylder does not offer.
Swipe for all four
Privacy, the European way
Your financial data stays in Europe, encrypted before it is stored.Your financial data stays in Europe, and is encrypted before it is stored.
Gylder was built for European rules from the first line of code. A copy of our database, on its own, reveals nothing.
- GDPR compliant
- EU data centres
- PSD2 regulated
- AES-256-GCM
Encrypted before it is stored
Every balance is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key unique to you. A copy of our database alone reveals nothing.
Read-only by nature
Connections can only ever read. Gylder never trades, transfers or touches your funds.
Kept in the EU, two-factor sign-in
All data lives in Frankfurt, Germany, GDPR-compliant by design, and every login uses two-factor authentication.
Yours to take and to delete
Export everything in one click. Delete your account and the key your data was encrypted with is destroyed with it; encrypted backups age out within seven days.
Swipe for more
Gylder vs Empower on privacy
Where your balance sheet lives, and who can read it.
A net worth tracker holds the most complete picture of your finances that exists anywhere: every account, every holding, your home and your debts, in one place. Where that picture is stored, and who can open it, matters more than any feature.
Gylder keeps it in the EU and encrypts every balance before it is stored, with a key that belongs to your account alone. Empower is a US company; its cybersecurity page states that all data is stored in the United States, and the EU and UK section of its privacy policy applies to participants in Empower Stock Plan Services rather than to the dashboard.
| Privacy point | Gylder | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| Where your financial data is stored | Frankfurt, Germany, inside the EU | The United States, per their cybersecurity page |
| The company behind it | A European company, based in the Netherlands | A US company; advisory services are offered by Empower Advisory Group, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser |
| Bank connections run through | Enable Banking, based in Finland, which keeps no copy of your data | Yodlee, Inc., an Envestnet company, named in their terms of use |
| Encryption | Every balance encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it is stored | AES-256 with user-specific keys and salts, per their cybersecurity page |
| Your bank password | Never asked for: you approve access at your own bank under PSD2 | Collected for most institutions and encrypted in transit and at rest; OAuth where the institution supports it, per their help centre |
| European data-protection law | A Dutch company, under the GDPR for everything it holds | Their privacy policy's EU and UK section applies to Empower Stock Plan Services participants |
Only in Gylder
Your mortgage is not one number.
Most Dutch mortgages have several loan parts. Gylder models each one as it really is, annuity, linear or interest-only, with its own rate, schedule and extra repayments. The debt on your balance sheet is the debt you actually have. Empower's help centre describes a mortgage as a single linked account, and notes that not every institution even supplies the split between principal and interest.
Start 14 days of Pro, freeGylder vs EmpowerGylder vs Empower, feature by feature
Point by point, for a European household.
Tap a topic to compare.Pick a topic to compare.
| Getting your numbers in | Gylder | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| European bank accounts over open banking (PSD2) | Yes:Live: 2,700+ banks in 29 countries | No:US-based institutions in US dollars, per their help centre |
| American banks, brokers, credit cards and 401(k) plans | No:Not a job Gylder takes on: Europe is the whole brief | Yes:Yes: bank, credit, loan, mortgage and investment accounts |
| Sign up from anywhere in Europe | Yes:Yes | No:Their help centre states a valid US phone number is needed |
| Broker and exchange holdings arrive without typing | Yes:DeGiro, Bitvavo, Coinbase | Yes:Yes, for US institutions through Yodlee |
| Crypto balances kept current | Yes:Read-only API key to Bitvavo or Coinbase | Partly:Entered by hand and priced every eight hours, in US dollars, per their help centre |
| A European home kept at today's value | Yes:Revalued for you | Partly:A Zillow estimate for homes publicly listed there, updated monthly; otherwise a figure you enter |
| Precious metals revalued | Yes:Yes | No:Added as a manual account; their help centre states automatic tracking is not supported |
| What it keeps track of | Gylder | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| A mortgage modelled as separate loan parts | Yes:Annuity, linear, interest-only | Not stated:Their site does not say; a mortgage is one linked account |
| A daily net worth history that reaches back | Yes:Yes, including before you signed up | Partly:From the day the account is linked; their help centre states historical data cannot be imported |
| Transactions sorted into spending categories | Yes:Yes | Yes:Yes, with up to 30 custom categories |
| A budget set in advance for the month | No:Not a job Gylder takes on: Gylder answers where you stand and what changed | Partly:A monthly budget figure; their help centre states specific budgeting goals cannot be set |
| Holdings in other currencies, counted in euros | Yes:Yes, converted for you | No:Their help centre states only US-dollar institutions are supported |
| What it works out for you | Gylder | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| Annualised return on the money you put in (XIRR) | Yes:Yes | Not stated:Their site describes the calculation but names no method |
| Cost basis that survives a transfer between brokers | Yes:Yes | Partly:Editable on holdings you add by hand, per their help centre |
| Dividends received and yield on cost | Yes:Received and yield on cost, with the coming year projected from the last twelve months | Partly:Investment income, including dividends, shown per account |
| Portfolio against a market index | Yes:Yes | Yes:Yes, against benchmarks and their You Index |
| What Empower offers that Gylder does not | Gylder | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| A financial professional who manages your money for a fee | No:Not a job Gylder takes on: Gylder is not a financial adviser | Yes:Yes: Empower Advisory Group, LLC, from 0.89% a year with a $100,000 minimum |
| A retirement planner you can test scenarios in | Partly:Goals and a FIRE calculator, not a full planner | Yes:Yes, with alternative scenarios on the web |
| The fees inside your retirement funds, worked out for you | No:Not yet | Yes:Yes: their Retirement Fee Analyzer |
| A dashboard that costs nothing | No:No: the subscription is what pays for Gylder | Yes:Yes: their terms of use state the dashboard is offered free of charge |
| Privacy and security | Gylder | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| Your financial data stored inside the EU | Yes:Frankfurt, Germany | No:The United States, per their cybersecurity page |
| Encrypted with a key tied to your account | Yes:Yes: AES-256-GCM, a key unique to you | Yes:AES-256 with user-specific keys and salts, per their cybersecurity page |
| Read-only connections | Yes:Yes | Yes:Yes: their help centre states no individual at Empower has access to client login credentials |
| Your bank password is never asked for | Yes:Yes: you approve access at your own bank under PSD2 | Partly:OAuth where the institution supports it; otherwise credentials are collected and encrypted |
| No copy of your bank data at the connection provider | Yes:Yes | Not stated:Their site does not say what Yodlee retains |
| Encryption key destroyed when you delete your account | Yes:Yes; backups age out within seven days | Not stated:Their site does not say |
| Price | Gylder | Empower |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Yes:Flat: €8 or €15 a month; Pro €150 a year | Yes:The dashboard is free; advisory services from 0.89% a year, minimum $100,000 |
| Billed in | Yes:Euros | Yes:US dollars |
| Free trial | Yes:14 days of Pro | Not stated:Their site does not state a trial: the dashboard is free of charge |
| Export everything | Yes:One click | Partly:Transactions as CSV, net worth as PDF on iOS, per their help centre |
Live in Europe? Gylder is the better choice.If you live in Europe, Gylder is the better choice.
- your money is at European banks, DeGiro, Bitvavo or Coinbase
- you have a mortgage with more than one loan part
- you want your financial data kept in the EU and encrypted with your own key
- you want returns, dividends and spending in one place
- you would rather pay a lower flat price, in euros
Stay with Empower if:
you bank in the United States, you want a retirement planner and a fee analyser, or you want a financial professional who can manage your money. Those are real things Empower offers and Gylder does not, and the last of them is not on any roadmap here: Gylder is not a financial adviser.
QuestionsQuestions people ask before switching
Their help centre states that Empower currently supports only US-based financial institutions, in US dollars, and that accounts elsewhere can be tracked by creating a manual account. Gylder connects over PSD2 to 2,700+ banks across 29 countries, and DeGiro, Bitvavo and Coinbase connect too.
Their help centre states that a valid US phone number is needed to sign up for the Empower Personal Dashboard. Gylder has no such requirement, and the app and the site are in English and Dutch.
Two different businesses. Empower's site states that the dashboard and its tools are free of charge, and that investment advisory services are offered for a fee by Empower Advisory Group, LLC, from 0.89% a year with a $100,000 minimum. Gylder is a subscription: €8 a month for Basic, €15 a month or €150 a year for Pro, with 14 days of Pro free. That subscription is the whole business, so there is nothing else being sold.
No. Gylder is not a financial adviser. It shows you what you own, what it is worth today and what changed; what to do about it stays yours. If you want an adviser relationship, Empower offers one and Gylder does not.
In Frankfurt, Germany. Every balance is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it is stored, using a key unique to you, so a copy of the database alone reveals nothing. Our PSD2 connection provider keeps no copy of your bank data, and every login uses two-factor authentication.
Yes. PSD2 connections reach 2,700+ banks across 29 countries. DeGiro comes in with its full history, and Bitvavo and Coinbase connect with a read-only API key.
Yes. Gylder converts everything you hold in other currencies into euros, so your net worth is always one figure.
Add it by hand, from DeFi positions to private stakes. Want it tracked automatically? Request it: the Gylder team adds the integrations members ask for.
Try it against your own numbers.
Connect your bank, import DeGiro or link an exchange. You will know the same evening.Connect your bank, import DeGiro or link an exchange with a read-only key. Within an evening you will know whether the picture is worth keeping.