"Wealth tracker" covers two quite different kinds of tool. Some answer "what am I worth?" across everything you own and owe. Others answer "how are my investments doing?" in detail. Knowing which question you are asking narrows the choice quickly.
Net worth tracker or investment tracker?
| Net worth tracker | Investment tracker | |
|---|---|---|
| Main question | What do I own and owe in total? | How are my investments performing and what do they pay me? |
| Typically covers | Cash, property, vehicles, crypto, debts, investments | Brokerage, retirement and registered accounts |
| Strength | The whole balance sheet in one number | Returns, benchmarks, dividends, allocation |
| Usually light on | Investment performance detail | Property, loans and other non-investment items |
If your wealth is mostly a house and a mortgage, a net worth tracker, or a simple spreadsheet, fits. If most of it is in investment accounts, an investment tracker will tell you far more. Some people use both.
A checklist for choosing
- How does data get in? Bank and broker connections update on their own but can drop and need re-linking. Statement and file imports need a few minutes now and then but share no logins.
- Does it work with your institutions and account types? Check for the specific brokers and the registered or retirement accounts you hold.
- Does it measure returns properly? Look for a return that accounts for when you added money, and a benchmark to compare against.
- Does it show income? Dividends received and expected, not just prices.
- What does it cost, and what is free? Many have a free tier with limits on accounts or holdings. Find the limit before you load your data.
- Can you get your data out? You should be able to export everything and delete your account.
- What does it do with your data? Look for a plain privacy policy and a promise not to sell your information.
A starter routine, whichever tool you choose
- Pick one reporting currency.
- List every account and what it holds.
- Load the history, not just today's balances. History is what makes returns possible.
- Check the totals against your statements.
- Review once a month. Write down one thing to do, or nothing.
Nimblewit is an investment tracker. It covers brokerage and registered or retirement accounts, returns against a benchmark, dividend income and planning, and does not track property, crypto or debts. If you want those in one view, a net worth tracker is the better fit; we say so on our comparison pages.