Start with the free options: Fidelity Go charges no advisory fee under $25,000, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges none at $5,000 or more, and a target-date fund in your 401(k) or IRA rebalances for only its expense ratio. Fidelity Go is our top pick for most beginners, Vanguard Digital Advisor has the lowest paid fee (up to 0.20%), and Wealthfront and Betterment charge 0.25% with tax-loss harvesting. Choose by pricing your actual balance, checking the minimum, deciding whether you need a human advisor and reading the firm's Form ADV.
This guide is for people who want a portfolio built and rebalanced for them instead of picking investments. We compared Fidelity Go, Betterment, Wealthfront, Vanguard Digital Advisor, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Empower Personal Strategy.
The differences that matter most are the advisory fee at your balance, the minimum, when tax-loss harvesting kicks in and whether you can reach a human. Two services charge no advisory fee at all for some balances.
Below you will find free options to check first, each service's published fees and weak spots, and how to read a robo advisor's SEC Form ADV.
Company reviews
Buy-and-hold investors who want low-cost, index-based management and are fine with a robo or an advisor team until they reach $500,000.: Vanguard
Why we picked it. Vanguard now sells four advice tiers: a $100 robo, a $50,000 hybrid at about 0.30% net, and a dedicated CFP from $500,000 for no more than 0.30%. In 2025 it paid the SEC $19.5 million over advisor pay disclosures.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Low fees: about 0.15% to 0.16% net for the robo and no more than 0.30% for a dedicated CFP
- $100 robo minimum and a 90-day fee waiver
- Advisors act as fiduciaries under an SEC-registered adviser
- Tax-loss harvesting included in the advisory fee
- Index-based portfolios built with low-cost Vanguard funds
Cons
- No dedicated advisor until $500,000
- Phone support weekdays only, no branches
- $19.5 million SEC penalty in 2025 over advisor incentive disclosures
- Advice only covers accounts held at Vanguard; 401(k)s at other firms, 529s and UTMAs don't count toward minimums
- Very poor Trustpilot score driven by service complaints
Investors who want a free or low-cost robo through Fidelity Go, or who already keep most of their money at Fidelity and value one firm for banking, brokerage and a dedicated advisor.: Fidelity
Why we picked it. Fidelity Go is free under $25,000 and 0.35% above. A Fidelity advisor team costs 1.10% a year from $50,000, and a dedicated advisor up to 1.50%, less fund credits.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Fidelity Go has no advisory fee under $25,000 and uses zero expense ratio funds
- Advice programs reach from $10 to $10 million, with 215 Investor Centers for in-person meetings
- Gross advisory fees are reduced by a credit for fund revenue Fidelity keeps
- Advisory arm reports no material disciplinary events in its current brochure
- Fee is prorated if you leave mid-quarter
Cons
- Fidelity Advisory Services charges 1.10% gross, more than triple Fidelity Go's 0.35%
- A dedicated advisor costs about 1.25% at $500,000, far above Vanguard's 0.30% and Schwab's 0.80%
- Representatives earn more when you move into Wealth Services, a conflict Fidelity discloses
- Some program funds can only be held in the program and are sold if you leave, which can trigger taxes
- Very low review site scores for service across all of Fidelity, and a customer data breach that led to a 2026 Massachusetts fine
Investors who want either a free robo-advisor or, with $500,000 or more, a dedicated advisor team at a large, regulated firm that also handles their banking.: Charles Schwab
Why we picked it. Charles Schwab offers a free robo-advisor from $5,000 and a dedicated wealth advisor from $500,000 at 0.80% a year. Its $30 a month Premium planning tier was shut down in early 2026.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free robo-advisor with no advisory fee from $5,000
- Free retirement plan for every client
- Dedicated advisor fee falls as low as 0.30% for large balances
- Satisfaction guarantee refunds eligible advisory fees within 90 days
- Heavily regulated firm with SIPC and FDIC protection on the right accounts
Cons
- No paid human advisor tier under $500,000 since Premium closed in 2026
- Robo portfolios hold cash that earns Schwab money, the subject of a $187 million SEC settlement
- 0.80% starting rate is well above Vanguard's 0.30% at the same $500,000 minimum
- Schwab earns more when it recommends its own managed strategies, a conflict its brochure discloses
- Low ratings on review sites for customer service
Show all 5 picks2 more, ranked 4 to 5
Savers and investors comfortable with an app-only service who want a no-fee cash account and automated, low-cost index investing in one place.: Wealthfront
Why we picked it. Wealthfront pays 3.55% base APY on cash (as of October 1, 2026) with up to $8 million in pass-through FDIC coverage, and charges 0.25% a year for automated investing from $500.
Pros and cons
Pros
- No account fees on cash, with a 3.55% base APY and boosts for new and active clients
- Up to $8 million individual or $16 million joint FDIC coverage through program banks
- Low 0.25% fee for automated investing from $500, and cheaper direct indexing at 0.09% to 0.12%
- Public company that files quarterly reports with the SEC
- Brokerage has no FINRA disclosures
Cons
- BBB grade of F and 1.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot, driven by account locks and slow support
- No human financial advisors and no branches
- Cash rate has dropped well below the 4.5% figures still quoted in older reviews
- Not a bank; FDIC coverage depends on the sweep program working as described
- Post-IPO shareholder investigations and a CEO-controlled home lending affiliate are governance points to watch
Investors with $250,000 or more who want two dedicated advisors, tax-aware stock portfolios and planning for one all-in fee.: Empower
Why we picked it. Empower Personal Strategy, the former Personal Capital advice service, charges 0.89% a year under $1 million with a $100,000 minimum. Its free dashboard is the bigger draw for most people.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free dashboard with strong net worth and retirement planning tools
- One fee covers management, trading and custody
- Individual-stock portfolios allow tax-loss harvesting
- Two dedicated advisors from $250,000
- Fees step down above $1 million
Cons
- 0.89% a year below $1 million is high next to robo advisors
- $100,000 minimum
- Persistent sales outreach to dashboard users with large balances
- 2025 SEC settlement over undisclosed advisor incentives
- Fee is charged on uninvested cash too
Free and low-cost options to check first
You may not need to pay an advisory fee at all:
- No-fee robo tiers. Fidelity Go charges no advisory fee under $25,000, and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges none at $5,000 or more (it keeps part of each portfolio in cash).
- Your workplace plan. If your 401(k) offers a target-date fund, it rebalances automatically inside the fund, with no separate advisory fee beyond the fund’s expense ratio.
- Do it yourself. A broad index fund or target-date fund at a no-minimum broker gives you a similar mix without a robo fee. See our best online brokers guide.
What robo advisors cost
As listed October 2026, advisory fees in this guide run from $0 to 0.89% a year:
| Service |
Advisory fee |
On $10,000 a year |
| Fidelity Go |
$0 under $25,000 |
$0 |
| Schwab Intelligent Portfolios |
$0 |
$0 (not eligible under $5,000) |
| Vanguard Digital Advisor |
Up to 0.20% (index) |
Up to $20 |
| Wealthfront |
0.25% |
$25 |
| Betterment |
$5 a month or 0.25% |
$25 with $200+ monthly deposits, otherwise $60 |
| Empower Personal Strategy |
0.89% |
Not eligible under $100,000 |
You also pay the expense ratios of the funds in your portfolio, and Schwab’s cash allocation is an indirect cost.
How to choose a robo advisor
- Price your balance, not the headline fee. A $5 monthly fee is cheap at $50,000 and expensive at $2,000.
- Check the minimum. Betterment and Fidelity Go have none, Vanguard needs $100, Wealthfront $500, Schwab $5,000 and Empower $100,000.
- Decide if you need a person. Wealthfront and Vanguard Digital Advisor are software only. Fidelity Go adds coaching at $25,000, Betterment Premium adds experts at $100,000, and Empower assigns an advisor.
- Look at tax-loss harvesting rules. It only helps in taxable accounts, and Fidelity Go and Schwab require $25,000 and $50,000.
- Read Form ADV Part 2. It explains fees, conflicts of interest and disciplinary history in plain English.
How tax-loss harvesting works
Tax-loss harvesting sells an investment that has fallen below what you paid and buys a similar one, so you keep your mix while booking a loss that can offset capital gains. It only applies to taxable accounts, not IRAs or 401(k)s.
Company claims about how much harvesting saves are estimates. Schwab notes that the ability to realize significant tax benefits depends on many factors, and Wealthfront’s claim that harvesting covers its fee is based on its own client estimates.
Red flags before you sign up
- A low advisory fee paired with a large cash allocation you cannot change.
- Monthly flat fees that are a high percentage of a small balance.
- Tax savings promised as a sure thing.
- An adviser you cannot find on adviserinfo.sec.gov, or a Form ADV with disciplinary events you do not understand.
- Pressure to move a 401(k) with low-cost funds into a higher-fee account.
Terms to know
- Robo advisor
- A service that uses software to build, invest and rebalance a portfolio for you.
- Advisory fee
- A yearly charge, usually a percentage of your balance, for managing your account.
- Expense ratio
- The yearly cost of a fund, taken from the fund's assets and paid on top of any advisory fee.
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Selling investments at a loss to offset taxable gains while keeping a similar portfolio.
- Rebalancing
- Buying and selling to bring a portfolio back to its target mix.
- Form ADV
- The SEC registration form for investment advisers, including a plain-English brochure on fees and conflicts.
- Hybrid robo advisor
- An automated portfolio paired with access to human financial advisors, usually for a higher fee.
