Five meaningful free tools exist for portfolio risk analysis in 2026. They serve different needs, make different trade-offs on privacy, and have meaningfully different accuracy levels. We compare them fairly — including ourselves — so you can choose what is right for your situation.
| Feature | Investment Risk Predictor | Empower (Personal Capital) | Portfolio Visualizer | Broker Dashboard | Morningstar Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free (with upsell) | Free (basic) | Free (account holder) | Free (limited) |
| Account required | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (brokerage account) | Yes |
| Data shared with provider | None | Full portfolio + linked accounts | Account data | Your brokerage data | Account data |
| Works offline | Yes (PWA) | No | No | No | No |
| Risk score / gauge | Yes | Yes | Yes (advanced) | Basic | Limited |
| Multi-account aggregation | Yes (manual) | Yes (automatic) | Manual upload | Same broker only | Manual |
| Rebalancing guidance | Yes | Yes | Yes (advanced) | Basic | No (free tier) |
| Benchmark comparison | Yes (3 benchmarks) | Yes | Yes (extensive) | Limited | Yes |
| Historical backtesting | No | Basic | Yes (extensive) | No | Limited |
| AI / on-device ML | Yes (TensorFlow.js + brain.js) | No | No | No | No |
| Risk history tracking | Yes (localStorage) | Yes | Session only | Yes | Limited |
The only tool in this comparison that processes data entirely on-device. No account, no data sharing, no server contact for the analysis. Run entirely on TensorFlow.js and brain.js in your browser. Works offline as a PWA once cached. Covers multi-account aggregation, risk gauge, benchmark comparison against three reference portfolios, rebalancing guidance by investment goal, and risk trend tracking across sessions.
Who it is best for: Investors who want fast, private portfolio risk checks without linking accounts or creating profiles. Particularly useful for checking hypothetical allocations or combining accounts from multiple brokers that you do not want to link to a third-party service.
Empower automatically connects to your brokerage accounts and provides real-time portfolio data, automatic allocation analysis, and net worth tracking. The risk analysis reflects your actual holdings rather than manually entered percentages, which significantly improves accuracy for complex portfolios. The trade-off: Empower collects your full financial data and uses it to market its wealth management advisory services.
Who it is best for: Investors comfortable sharing account data who want automatic aggregation across multiple brokerages and a comprehensive financial dashboard. If linking accounts and data sharing is acceptable, Empower’s automatic data collection makes it more accurate than manual-entry tools for complex multi-account situations.
Portfolio Visualizer is the most technically sophisticated free tool in this comparison. It offers Monte Carlo simulation, historical backtesting against real market data going back decades, factor analysis, and efficient frontier modelling. The free tier has usage limits but covers most needs for serious DIY investors. Requires an account and manual data entry; no automatic account linking.
Who it is best for: Experienced DIY investors who want rigorous historical backtesting and quantitative portfolio analysis. The learning curve is steeper than other tools, but the depth of analysis is significantly greater. If you want to backtest a specific allocation against 2008, 2020, and 2022, Portfolio Visualizer is the right free tool.
If all your investments are held at one broker, their built-in dashboard provides accurate allocation analysis using your actual holdings data, without requiring any additional tool. Fidelity’s Planning & Guidance tools, Vanguard’s portfolio analysis, and Schwab’s portfolio checkup all provide reasonable allocation analysis and basic rebalancing guidance. The limitation is that they only see assets held at that broker.
Who it is best for: Investors with all assets at a single broker who want the most accurate analysis of those specific holdings. Not useful for multi-broker situations or for checking hypothetical allocations not held at the broker.
Morningstar’s free tier provides fund analysis, basic portfolio X-ray functionality, and research data. The portfolio analysis tools that provide meaningful risk assessment are largely restricted to premium subscribers. The free tier is useful for researching individual funds and ETFs, but limited as a portfolio-level risk tool without a paid subscription.
| Your Situation | Best Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Want privacy, no account, fast check | Investment Risk Predictor | Zero data sharing, 60-second check, no sign-up |
| Multiple brokers, comfortable sharing data | Empower | Automatic aggregation is more accurate than manual entry |
| Want historical backtesting | Portfolio Visualizer | Real historical data, Monte Carlo, factor analysis |
| All assets at one broker | Broker Dashboard | Actual holdings data, no additional tool needed |
| Checking a hypothetical allocation | Investment Risk Predictor | Enter any allocation without needing real account data |
| Researching individual funds | Morningstar | Best fund-level research data in the market |
The most complete picture of your portfolio risk comes from combining tools rather than relying on one. A practical approach: use Investment Risk Predictor for quick quarterly allocation checks and rebalancing guidance (fast, private, no friction). Use Portfolio Visualizer annually for a deeper backtest of your current allocation against historical scenarios. Use your broker’s dashboard for day-to-day account monitoring and the most accurate view of your actual holdings.
None of these tools replaces a licensed financial adviser for complex situations — particularly around retirement income planning, tax efficiency across accounts, and estate planning. But for the purpose of regular portfolio risk monitoring, the combination of a fast on-device tool and occasional deeper backtesting covers the needs of most individual investors effectively.
Try the free, private risk check that takes 60 seconds and shares no data.
Check My Portfolio Risk →