Deep Dive

eMoney Advisor

Founded: 2000 (25+ years in market)
Owner: Fidelity Investments (acquired 2015)
Pricing: $3,500-$8,000+ annually (tiered structure)
Best For: Established RIAs serving high-net-worth clients with complex financial situations

5 Key Strengths

1. Industry-Leading Cash Flow Modeling - The most granular and sophisticated cash-flow projections available, allowing detailed modeling of complex scenarios including trust distributions, charitable vehicles, and multi-state tax planning.

2. Comprehensive Estate Planning Tools - Advanced capabilities for trust analysis, charitable split-interest vehicles, and estate tax projections that competitors struggle to match.

3. Premium Client Portal - Recently enhanced with mobile app, personalized homepages, and interactive tools that allow clients to explore scenarios independently.

4. Extensive Integration Ecosystem - Over 2,000 data aggregation sources with 300+ added in 2025 alone, plus new machine learning-powered account categorization.

5. Decision Center - Real-time scenario editing and comparison tools that allow advisors to toggle assumptions during client meetings and immediately visualize impacts.

5 Key Weaknesses

1. Premium Pricing - Most expensive option ($3,500-$8,000+ annually), making it less accessible for solo advisors and smaller RIAs without broker-dealer discounts.

2. Steep Learning Curve - Complex interface with overwhelming functionality that requires significant training time and can produce "overkill" output for simpler client situations.

3. Connection Issues - Users report frequent problems with account aggregation, requiring regular reauthorization and causing client frustration with password/security issues.

4. Siloed System - Limited integration with many CRMs; data flows one direction only, creating workflow inefficiencies compared to competitors.

5. Slower Innovation - Critics note the platform hasn't evolved significantly despite its market presence; even the original founder stated "the product hasn't gotten anywhere."

Key Integrations

• Wealth.com (estate planning)

• Vanilla (estate visualization)

• Fidelity platforms

• Orion portfolio management

• Black Diamond

• Major custodians

• Limited CRM integration

Standout Feature

Advanced Cash Flow Modeling - No other platform matches eMoney's ability to model complex cash flows with granular detail, making it essential for advisors serving ultra-high-net-worth clients with intricate financial structures.

MoneyGuidePro

Founded: 2000 (owned by Envestnet)
Pricing: $1,400/year (Pro) | $2,000/year (Elite)
Best For: Advisors focused on goal-based planning for clients with straightforward financial situations who value visual storytelling

5 Key Strengths

1. Exceptional Goal-Based Planning - Industry-leading approach that helps clients define and prioritize goals into "Needs, Wants, and Wishes," creating emotionally resonant planning conversations.

2. PlayZone Interactive Tool - Clients can use sliders to adjust retirement age, savings, and goals in real-time, seeing immediate impacts on plan success—highly engaging for client meetings.

3. Visual Storytelling Excellence - Clean, intuitive presentations with retirement cash-flow charts that plot goals, surpluses, and shortfalls over time in an easy-to-understand format.

4. Affordable Pricing - At $1,400 annually for the base version, it's significantly more accessible than eMoney for solo advisors and small RIAs.

5. Monte Carlo Simulations - Runs minimum 100 trials using stochastic modeling to provide probability-based analysis that helps clients understand investment risks and returns.

5 Key Weaknesses

1. No Native CRM or Client Portal - Requires purchasing and integrating separate solutions for client relationship management and portal functionality, increasing total cost.

2. Limited Pre-Retirement Planning - Minimal consideration of income and expenses before retirement; assumes clients aren't spending more than they make, missing crucial cash-flow details.

3. Outdated User Interface - Many users describe it as looking like "a relic of the nineties" that may require explaining to tech-savvy clients, detracting from advisor credibility.

4. Basic Tax Planning - Not a dedicated tax planning tool; explaining Roth conversions and tax nuances requires workarounds and lacks the depth of specialized platforms.

5. Declining Market Satisfaction - Advisor satisfaction dropped from 8.0 to 7.9 in recent years, with market share declining from 33% to 22.79%, suggesting competitors are pulling ahead.

Key Integrations

• Redtail CRM

• Wealthbox

• SmartOffice (Zinnia)

• Black Diamond

• Morningstar Office

• ByAllAccounts (aggregation)

• Asset-Map

• MX and Yodlee (data aggregation)

Standout Feature

PlayZone™ - The interactive client engagement tool that allows real-time scenario testing is beloved by both advisors and clients, making complex financial decisions tangible and understandable through immediate visual feedback.

RightCapital

Founded: 2015
Pricing: Starting at $124.95/month (~$1,500/year)
Best For: Modern advisory practices targeting younger demographics, tax-focused planning, or those seeking powerful features with excellent user experience

5 Key Strengths

1. Outstanding Tax Planning Tools - Industry-leading Tax Analyzer with OCR technology to read tax returns in seconds, interactive Roth conversion tools, tax strategy module, and future tax projections with sample Form 1040s.

2. Highest Advisor Satisfaction - Rated #1 for advisor satisfaction (8.7/10) in the 2025 Kitces Report, ranking as market leader in 11 of 13 categories including Client Portal, Customer Support, and Ease of Use.

3. Modern, Intuitive Interface - Clean design with features like Blueprint™ (interactive net worth visualization), Cash Flow Maps (Sankey-style diagrams), and Snapshot (one-page plan overview) that clients immediately understand.

4. Flexible Planning Approaches - Unlike MoneyGuidePro's goal-only approach, offers both goal-based AND cash-flow planning, allowing advisors to choose the best methodology for each client.

5. Rapid Innovation - Continuously releases new features including RightExpress™ for prospect planning, advanced business planning, Jump AI integration, and RightIntel™ business intelligence—showing commitment to staying current.

5 Key Weaknesses

1. Shorter Track Record - Founded in 2015, it's newer than competitors and took years to achieve feature parity with eMoney, though it now often exceeds legacy platforms.

2. Less Granular Cash Flow - While comprehensive, doesn't match eMoney's ability to model extremely complex cash-flow scenarios with the same level of detail for ultra-high-net-worth clients.

3. Growing Pains - As the platform scales rapidly (market share growing from 9.71% to 20.68%), some users experience occasional performance issues during updates.

4. Aggregation Limitations - While improving, doesn't yet match eMoney's 2,000+ data aggregation sources, though this gap is narrowing with each release.

5. Feature Overload for Simple Cases - The comprehensive toolset might be more than needed for advisors serving only straightforward retirement planning clients.

Key Integrations

• Redtail CRM (enhanced syncing)

• Wealthbox CRM (enhanced syncing)

• SmartOffice

• Orion portfolio management

• Black Diamond

• Tamarac

• Riskalyze

• Jump AI (meeting notes)

• AssetMark

• TD Ameritrade

• First Clearing/TradePMR

• Betterment

• SEI

• PreciseFP

• MaxMyInterest

• Flourish

Standout Feature

Tax Analyzer with OCR Technology - Revolutionary tool that scans and analyzes tax returns in seconds, automatically identifying tax-saving opportunities and creating visual tax projections that make complex strategies immediately actionable for clients.

Elements

Founded: 2020
Pricing: Contact for pricing (discounts through XYPN membership)
Best For: Advisors seeking efficient ongoing client monitoring, prospect engagement tools, and simplified financial health assessments—typically used alongside comprehensive planning software

5 Key Strengths

1. Financial Vital Signs Methodology - Unique approach using 12 standardized metrics (Equity Rate, Burn Rate, Total Term, etc.) that assess financial health like medical vital signs, making complex situations instantly understandable.

2. Rapid Client Engagement - Can generate meaningful financial health scores in minutes rather than hours, allowing advisors to quickly demonstrate value to prospects before full plan creation.

3. Ongoing Monitoring Focus - Designed for continuous client engagement rather than annual planning events, shifting from "financial plan as noun" to "financial planning as verb."

4. Low Cost of Entry - Free for advisors with fewer than four clients; significantly more affordable than comprehensive planning tools, making it ideal for new advisors.

5. Easy Invites & Marketing - "Easy Invites" feature allows advisors to use financial health assessments as marketing lead magnets, building relationships before formal engagement.

5 Key Weaknesses

1. Not a Comprehensive Planning Tool - Cannot replace full financial planning software for detailed projections, complex scenario analysis, or regulatory/compliance documentation needs.

2. Limited Projections - Focuses on current financial health rather than future modeling; advisors need separate software (eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, or RightCapital) for retirement projections.

3. Minimal Integrations - Fewer third-party integrations compared to comprehensive platforms, though Zapier connectivity provides some workflow automation.

4. Client Adoption Challenges - Some advisors report clients don't engage with Elements between meetings; requires consistent advisor reinforcement to build client habits.

5. Newer Platform - Founded in 2020, it has less market history and fewer case studies than established competitors, though growing rapidly through XYPN partnership.

Key Integrations

• Zapier (workflow automation)

• XYPN ecosystem

• Limited direct integrations compared to comprehensive platforms

Standout Feature

12 Financial Vital Signs Scorecard - The revolutionary framework that distills complex financial situations into 12 measurable, understandable metrics allows advisors to have impactful conversations in minutes, dramatically reducing meeting prep time while increasing client understanding.

Key Considerations for Your Decision

Training & Onboarding

• Easiest to Learn: Elements (minutes), RightCapital (days)

• Longest Learning Curve: eMoney (weeks to months)

• Best Training Resources: RightCapital (responsive support) and Elements (mastermind groups)

Client Demographics

• Retirees & Pre-Retirees: MoneyGuidePro or eMoney

• Young Professionals: RightCapital or Elements

• Business Owners: RightCapital (new business module) or eMoney

• Ultra-HNW: eMoney

Firm Growth Stage

• Startup: Elements or RightCapital

• Scaling: RightCapital

• Mature: eMoney or RightCapital

Planning Philosophy

• Goal-Based Advocates: MoneyGuidePro

• Cash-Flow Focused: eMoney or RightCapital

• Behavioral/Ongoing: Elements + any comprehensive tool

• Tax-Centric: RightCapital