---
title: Portfolio Performance vs WealthScout: features and differences
url: https://wealthscout.app/compare/portfolio-performance-vs-wealthscout
checked: 2026-08-20
---

# Portfolio Performance vs WealthScout: features and differences

> Portfolio Performance is a free, open source desktop app with detailed return and trade reporting, and it stores your data on your own machine. WealthScout runs in a browser, updates share and crypto prices automatically, records your property, mortgage and asset owners as well, and projects all of it over time to estimate when you could retire.

Checked 2026-08-20. Source: https://wealthscout.app/compare/portfolio-performance-vs-wealthscout

## Verdict

Pick Portfolio Performance if keeping everything on your own machine matters more than anything else. Pick WealthScout if property, debt, owners and a retirement date belong in the same place.

- **WealthScout is best for:** People who want their whole net worth projected without maintaining the software.
- **Portfolio Performance is best for:** People who want their data local, free and under their own control.

## What both do

Both track share trades, dividends, fees and cost bases, both hold cash accounts, and both report on holdings over time.

## Pricing

- **WealthScout.** $99 a year — Plus is $99 a year, or $11.99 a month. One subscription per household, with no per-person charge. Free plan: Free has no time limit and asks for no payment. It includes one user, your complete current position, up to 10 share holdings in one supported market, one property and a current-trajectory projection..
- **Portfolio Performance.** Free — There is no paid plan and no account. You install it and keep the file. Free plan: The whole product is free and open source, and runs on your own machine..

## Feature by feature

| Question | WealthScout | Portfolio Performance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Do my share and crypto prices update automatically? | Yes — Share prices update automatically during the trading day. Crypto prices update at least every fifteen minutes. | Partly — It can fetch quotes, but only while the desktop app is open and its price sources are configured. |
| Can I open it in a browser, on any device? | Yes — It opens in a browser on any device, with nothing to install and no file to maintain. | No — It is a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux. |
| Is it open source, with the data in a file I keep? | No — It is hosted, with access set per person. You can export the raw data whenever you want. | Yes — It is open source and stores the portfolio in a local file you manage. |
| Can it keep property, mortgages and other loans? | Yes — WealthScout records the value, the owner, the mortgage, the rent and each running cost separately. | No — It covers securities accounts, cash accounts and investment trades. |
| Does it record who owns each asset? | Yes — Every asset belongs to an owner, which can be a person, a trust or a company. | No — The file stores portfolios, securities accounts and cash accounts. It has no owner field. |
| Does it show detailed return and risk charts? | No — You see what each holding returned and what income it paid. Risk and rebalance charts are not built. | Yes — Detailed return charts, plus an asset mix and rebalance tracking. |
| Can I model life changes and a drawdown order? | Yes — Change the retirement date, sell an asset or change the drawdown order, and the projection updates to match. | No — It sets an asset mix and tracks when the portfolio needs a rebalance. |
| Can I review gains from my share trades? | Partly — You get a factual summary of what you sold and the raw gain or loss on it, not a tax calculation. | No — It captures trade taxes and can show a tax rate. It is not a tax return tool. |

## Choose Portfolio Performance when

- Your main need is a securities portfolio on a desktop.
- You want an open source tool and a local file.
- You need its return, risk or rebalance charts now.
- You are happy to set up and maintain the file yourself.

## Choose WealthScout when

- You want your whole net worth projected over time, not only your portfolio measured.
- You want to open it on any device, with nothing to install or maintain.
- You want property and debt recorded in detail, with an owner on each asset.
- You want prices to update automatically instead of maintaining a file yourself.

## Where WealthScout falls short

Portfolio Performance is free, open source, and stores your data on your own machine, which for some people is the deciding factor. WealthScout is hosted, updates share and crypto prices automatically, and records property, debt and asset owners, then projects them over time.

## Portfolio Performance covers securities only

Portfolio Performance measures securities carefully: trades, prices, returns and asset mix, at no cost.
For many people the property is worth more than the portfolio. WealthScout records shares alongside property, mortgage, cash, debt and retirement accounts, records an owner for each, and projects all of it together.

## Nothing to install, and no file to maintain

Portfolio Performance stores your portfolio in a file on your computer. You install the app, keep the file safe, take your own backups, and can only open your figures on that machine.
WealthScout opens in a browser on any device, and you can give your partner access to the same records. Share and crypto prices update automatically, so there is no file to maintain and no application to update.

## Who owns an asset changes the tax you pay on it

Portfolio Performance stores portfolios, securities accounts and cash accounts. It does not record who owns a holding.
In WealthScout every asset belongs to an owner. The projection calculates the tax on returns while the asset stays with that owner, and the tax charged again when money is paid out to a person, so the estimate reflects what you would actually receive.

## The projection uses the figures you already track

Portfolio Performance can set a target asset mix and tell you when the portfolio needs rebalancing. It does not project your wealth into the future.
You confirm the WealthScout figures once a month, and every projection uses them. Add a move, a career break or school fees to the timeline, and see how the estimated retirement year changes. Later you can compare what actually happened with what you projected.

## Questions

**What is the main difference between Portfolio Performance and WealthScout?**

Portfolio Performance is a local securities tracker with detailed return reporting, free and open source. WealthScout runs in a browser, updates share and crypto prices automatically, records property, debt and asset owners as well, and projects your wealth over time.

**Does Portfolio Performance run in a web browser?**

No. Portfolio Performance is a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, so your figures live on that machine. WealthScout opens in a browser on any device, and your partner can open the same records.

**Where does each product keep my data?**

Portfolio Performance keeps a local file that you maintain and back up yourself. WealthScout hosts it, with access set per person, and you can export the raw data whenever you want.

**Which product is better for your whole net worth?**

WealthScout. Portfolio Performance covers securities and cash accounts only. WealthScout also records property, debt, retirement accounts, income and spending, records an owner for every asset, and projects all of it over time.

## Sources

- Portfolio Performance product site
- Portfolio Performance manual
- Portfolio Performance portfolio files
- Portfolio Performance reports