Betterment vs. Wealthfront

What you'd pay at different balances

Both list 0.25% a year for automated investing, but Betterment’s fee works differently at small and very large balances. Betterment charges a flat $5 a month on balances under $24,000 unless you set up recurring deposits of at least $200 a month, in which case you pay 0.25%. Above $1 million it charges less: 0.15% on the part between $1 million and $2 million and 0.10% above $2 million. Wealthfront charges 0.25% on the whole balance and needs $500 to start.

Fund expenses for the ETFs inside each portfolio come on top at both. If you have a few thousand dollars and won’t set up automatic deposits, Wealthfront is cheaper once you reach $500. If you deposit $200 a month or more, they cost the same until $1 million, where Betterment pulls ahead.

Cash accounts

Both sell a high-yield cash account next to their investing accounts, and for many customers that’s the main product.

Betterment Cash Reserve listed a 3.50% variable base APY, plus a 0.75% boost for new customers, with a $10 minimum deposit for the base rate. Cash is swept to more than 25 program banks for FDIC coverage of up to $4 million for individuals and $8 million for joint accounts. Betterment also offers a checking account with no monthly fees and no foreign transaction or ATM withdrawal fees.

Wealthfront Cash listed a 3.55% variable base APY as of October 1, 2026, plus 0.65% for 3 months on up to $150,000 for new clients, and another 0.25% ongoing with $1,000 a month in direct deposits and a funded investing account. Its sweep to up to 32 program banks covers up to $8 million individual and $16 million joint. The account has no fees and includes a debit card with access to more than 19,000 fee-free ATMs.

Neither company is a bank. FDIC coverage applies once your money reaches the partner banks, and rates change often, so compare the current figures on each site.

Tax tools and portfolio options

Both run automated tax-loss harvesting in taxable accounts, which sells investments at a loss to offset gains and buys similar ones to keep you invested. Wealthfront says its harvesting can typically cover its annual fee more than 4.2 times for clients using its Classic portfolio, and Betterment says its harvesting can cover its fee. Those are the companies’ own estimates, and the benefit depends on your tax bracket and market swings.

Wealthfront has more automated options beyond the standard ETF portfolio: an Automated Bond Portfolio (0.25%), an Automated Bond Ladder of Treasuries (0.15%), and direct indexing of the S&P 500 (0.09%) or Nasdaq-100 (0.12%) with a $5,000 minimum. It also has a commission-free Stock Investing account from $1.

Betterment offers core portfolios, socially responsible and climate portfolios, custom portfolios where you choose stocks and ETFs, and crypto portfolios. Its accounts include traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs, solo 401(k)s, trusts and 401(k) rollovers. Wealthfront’s adviser brochure lists IRAs, trusts and 529 college savings plans.

Tax-loss harvesting has gone wrong before: in 2023 the SEC found that Betterment had failed to disclose software changes and coding errors from 2016 to 2019 that cost more than 25,000 client accounts about $4 million in tax benefits.

Human advice versus software only

This is the clearest difference between the two. Wealthfront is software only and does not offer human financial advisors. Its pitch is that automation keeps costs low and decisions consistent.

Betterment offers a Premium tier at 0.65% a year (0.25% base plus 0.40%) once you have $100,000 in eligible investments, which gives you access to its team of financial experts. Premium gets the same discounts above $1 million as the digital plan.

If you think you’ll want to ask a person about a rollover, a home purchase or retirement income, Betterment lets you upgrade inside the same account. If you know you won’t, Wealthfront’s extra automated tools may matter more.

Customer service ratings are weak at both. Betterment has an A- from the BBB (accredited since June 2025) and a 1.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 82 reviews. In January 2026 a voice phishing attack on Betterment’s marketing and operations tools exposed data on about 1.4 million customers and contacts, mostly names and email addresses; Betterment says account systems and passwords were not breached. Wealthfront has an F from the BBB, where the listing cites complaints it didn’t respond to, and a 1.9 on Trustpilot from 28 reviews. CFPB complaints over the past three years were 56 for Betterment and 25 for Wealthfront, mostly about managing cash accounts. Both apps hold a 4.8 out of 5 on the US App Store.