Comparison
Vault compared with account aggregators
An aggregator connects to your accounts and updates itself. Vault connects to nothing and asks you to state what you own. The trade is real: aggregators cost you a bank connection and a business model, and cannot see illiquid assets. Vault costs you a few minutes a month and sees everything.
| Vault | A typical aggregator | |
|---|---|---|
| Bank connection | Never requested | Required for the product to work |
| Assets it cannot see | None — anything you can describe | Anything without a connector |
| Who pays for it | You, by subscription | Often advertisers or advisor referrals |
| What the server can read | Ciphertext, identifiers, dates | Balances and usually transactions |
| Multi-currency consolidation | Built in, any currency | Varies, often home-market first |
| Private companies, look-through | Yes, including nested | Rare |
| Property with its mortgage | Yes, as a loan with events | Sometimes, as a flat value |
| Financial-independence projection | First-class, with Monte Carlo | Usually a side calculator |
| Export without friction | Backup and CSV, always | Varies |
| Upkeep per month | A few minutes | Close to none |
When an aggregator is the better choice
If everything you own sits in two domestic accounts and you want zero upkeep, an aggregator will serve you better and Vault will feel like work. That is a real answer to a real situation, and pretending otherwise would not make Vault the right tool for it.