Pure Benchmarks · Head to head

PortfoliosLab vs Snowball Analytics

Short answer

PortfoliosLab has no capability here that Snowball Analytics lacks. Pick Snowball Analytics for links brokerage. They overlap on 3 of the 10 capabilities scored here. Neither one covers ranks vs investors, which is the gap our own product, Pure Benchmarks, is built around.

PortfoliosLab and Snowball Analytics get compared constantly because both sit in the peer portfolio comparison category and both start from your real holdings. They are not the same product. PortfoliosLab is strong free analysis and backtesting, compared against indices and model portfolios rather than against people (Free tier, paid Plus, Pro and Max plans). Snowball Analytics is browsable public portfolios rather than a ranking, with a real free tier (Free plan, paid tiers above it). This page scores both on the same capability list, shows the 1 places they actually diverge, and names what neither of them does. Pure Benchmarks is our own product and appears in the table with its own gaps marked.

What PortfoliosLab does that Snowball Analytics does not

Nothing, on the capabilities scored here. Every box PortfoliosLab ticks, Snowball Analytics ticks too. The difference between them on this page is price and fit rather than capability. Free access is capped at 1 watchlist, 100 symbols, 15 holdings per portfolio, 10 calculations per month and 5 years of history.

What Snowball Analytics does that PortfoliosLab does not

1 capability: Links brokerage. Public portfolios of other investors can be browsed on every tier, including the free one. Strong dividend tracking, income projections and filters. That matters for dividend investors who want to see how other people have actually built an income portfolio.

Where PortfoliosLab and Snowball Analytics are the same

Both cover Whole portfolio; Index benchmark; Manual entry. On these, the choice comes down to price and interface rather than capability. Price: PortfoliosLab — free tier, paid Plus, Pro and Max plans; Snowball Analytics — free plan, paid tiers above it.

What neither PortfoliosLab nor Snowball Analytics does

6 capabilities are missing from both: Ranks vs investors; Risk-matched; Verified peers; Decision scoring; Free real output; Non-market assets. Pure Benchmarks, our own product, covers 5 of them: Ranks vs investors; Risk-matched; Verified peers; Decision scoring; Free real output. It does not cover Non-market assets.

Which one to choose

PortfoliosLab is built for investors who want risk metrics, drawdowns and backtests without paying for them. Snowball Analytics is built for dividend investors who want to see how other people have actually built an income portfolio. The capability table above is the fastest way to settle it: find the row you actually care about and read across. Main limitation of PortfoliosLab: compares against indices and model portfolios, not against other investors, despite often being listed in this category. Main limitation of Snowball Analytics: browsing published portfolios is not the same as being ranked against a cohort.

How this comparison works

Which matters more to you: what PortfoliosLab does, or what Snowball Analytics does?

The test is whether the thing on the other side of the comparison is a person or a product. Several tools marketed around peer comparison benchmark against an index, an ETF or a model allocation, which is a benchmark rather than a peer.
Where a tool does rank you against people, the next question is who those people are: a verified set of connected accounts, or a self-selected group who chose to publish.
The third question is what gets ranked. A hit rate on individual stock picks and a whole-portfolio return answer different questions, and one does not substitute for the other.
Capabilities were read from each vendor's own published pages and documentation on the date shown.
Pure Benchmarks is our own product, and the four things it does not do are listed in the same table as the eight it does.
Two tools are included specifically because they are often named in this category and turn out not to rank you against other investors at all; showing that is more useful than leaving them out.

The comparison

Capabilities verified against each vendor's published pages on September 17, 2026.

Capability	PortfoliosLab	Snowball Analytics	Pure Benchmarks
Ranks vs investors	No	Partly	Yes
Risk-matched	No	No	Yes
Verified peers	No	No	Yes
Whole portfolio	Yes	Yes	Yes
Decision scoring	No	No	Yes
Links brokerage	No	Yes	Yes
Index benchmark	Yes	Yes	Yes
Free real output	Partly	Partly	Yes
Manual entry	Yes	Yes	No
Non-market assets	Partly	Partly	No
Price	Free tier, paid Plus, Pro and Max plans	Free plan, paid tiers above it	Free account

✓ yes · ~ partly · ✗ no

What each capability means

Ranks your portfolio against other real investors rather than against an index alone

This is the whole question. Most tools described as peer comparison turn out to compare you against a model allocation or a fund, which is a benchmark, not a peer.

The comparison group is matched on portfolio risk

Ranking a conservative retiree against a leveraged growth portfolio measures risk appetite, not skill. Without a risk match the ranking mostly tells you what you already knew about your own allocation.

Peer data comes from verified linked accounts rather than self-reported entries

A peer set built from portfolios people chose to publish is a survivorship-biased sample. Nobody publishes the account they are embarrassed by.

Compares the whole portfolio outcome, not individual stock picks

A hit rate on individual trades and a portfolio return are different measurements. You can pick winners often and still trail, if the losers were larger.

Scores each change you made against the portfolio you gave up

Ranking tells you where you finished. Decision scoring tells you which of your own moves put you there.

Connects to a real brokerage account instead of requiring manual entry

A manually entered portfolio drifts out of date the moment you trade, and a comparison run on stale holdings is a comparison of something you no longer own.

Also benchmarks against a market index

Peer comparison is the second baseline, not a replacement for the first. You want both.

Free tier produces the comparison on your real portfolio

Several tools here gate either the peer feature or the holdings capacity behind a paid plan.

Can run on a manually entered portfolio with no account connected

Some people will not link a brokerage, and some accounts cannot be linked. A tool that requires a connection simply cannot serve them, whatever else it does well.

Includes real estate, private holdings and self-custody crypto in the comparison

If a large share of your wealth sits outside a brokerage, a securities-only comparison ranks the visible half of your position.

Every tool in detail

PortfoliosLab

Strong free analysis and backtesting, compared against indices and model portfolios rather than against people.

Best for: Investors who want risk metrics, drawdowns and backtests without paying for them.

Pricing: Free access is capped at 1 watchlist, 100 symbols, 15 holdings per portfolio, 10 calculations per month and 5 years of history.

Strengths

Backtesting, drawdown and risk analysis across stocks, ETFs, funds, crypto and model portfolios
Free tier limits are published plainly rather than hidden behind a trial
Good correlation and screening tools for portfolio construction

Limitations

Compares against indices and model portfolios, not against other investors, despite often being listed in this category
Portfolios are built manually rather than synced from a brokerage
The free tier caps holdings and monthly calculations, which most real portfolios will exceed

Snowball Analytics

Browsable public portfolios rather than a ranking, with a real free tier.

Best for: Dividend investors who want to see how other people have actually built an income portfolio.

Pricing: A permanent free plan covers one portfolio and ten holdings with limited index benchmarking.

Strengths

Public portfolios of other investors can be browsed on every tier, including the free one
Strong dividend tracking, income projections and filters
A permanent free plan rather than a countdown

Limitations

Browsing published portfolios is not the same as being ranked against a cohort
Published portfolios are self-selected, which biases the sample toward accounts people are happy to show
Benchmarking against anything beyond index funds requires the higher tiers

Pure Benchmarks

Ranks whole-portfolio outcomes against verified connected portfolios sorted into nine standardized risk categories.

Best for: Investors who want to know how they did against comparable people, not against a self-selected leaderboard.

Pricing: The ranking and the decision report run on a free account with a linked portfolio.

Strengths

Peer set is built from verified connected accounts rather than portfolios people opted to publish
Every portfolio is recategorized daily from actual end-of-day holdings, so the cohort tracks your allocation as it drifts
Scores each portfolio change against the portfolio you would still hold if you had left it alone
Read-only by design and unable to move money in any linked account

Limitations

Requires a read-only brokerage connection, so there is no way to run it on a manually typed portfolio
Does not track real estate, private holdings or self-custody crypto wallets
An unusual allocation sits in a thinner cohort, which makes its ranking less informative
No stock-picking hit rate, no research ratings and no community leaderboard

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Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between PortfoliosLab and Snowball Analytics?

PortfoliosLab is strong free analysis and backtesting, compared against indices and model portfolios rather than against people. Snowball Analytics is browsable public portfolios rather than a ranking, with a real free tier. On the capability list scored here they overlap on 3 and differ on 1 and Snowball Analytics alone covering Links brokerage.

Is PortfoliosLab or Snowball Analytics better value?

PortfoliosLab: free tier, paid Plus, Pro and Max plans. Free access is capped at 1 watchlist, 100 symbols, 15 holdings per portfolio, 10 calculations per month and 5 years of history. Snowball Analytics: free plan, paid tiers above it. A permanent free plan covers one portfolio and ten holdings with limited index benchmarking. Value depends on which of the differing capabilities you will actually use, not on the headline price.

Can PortfoliosLab or Snowball Analytics compare my portfolio to other real investors?

Neither does. Both compare you against an index or a model allocation rather than against other real portfolios. That comparison is what Pure Benchmarks, our own product, is built to provide, by sorting connected portfolios into nine standardized risk categories and ranking inside them.

How were PortfoliosLab and Snowball Analytics compared?

Both were scored against the same peer portfolio comparison capability list, checked against each vendor's own published pages. Anything a vendor does not publish is marked as unlisted rather than estimated. Pure Benchmarks is included as our own product with its gaps shown in the same table.

Keep exploring

See how portfolios at a specific firm rank against real investors everywhere else:

New here? Read the portfolio benchmarking FAQ or the Pure Benchmarks blog.

This page is an information baseline for comparison only. It is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy, sell, replace, or transfer any specific asset, account, or firm. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All figures shown are illustrative.