Robo-advisors, comparedAutomated investing services compared on advisory fees in dollars, account minimums, tax-loss harvesting, cash allocation and human advisor access. Every fee is read on the provider's own page and dated.
Independent research. Every number is checked against the provider's own page and dated. Some links may earn us a commission, which never changes a ranking. How we make money
5 robo-advisors compared; 5 of 5 in the main list were re-read in the last 14 days (newest read Oct 14, 2026). Ranking rule: Robo-advisors are sorted by our editorial review, which weighs the advisory fee in dollars plus the costs that are not called fees (cash allocation, locked-in funds), how openly the provider says so, its track record and who can use it. It is not a sort by one number, and nobody pays for a place in it. How we rate
Each pick wins a specific rule, written on its label, and is chosen from the numbers on its own page. They are listed in the order of our ranking, and who pays us has no say in it.
0.25% a year ($5 a month on small balances), no real minimum, tax-loss harvesting included and an optional human planner tier.
People who want one automated home for several goals and the option of a human planner later.
No advisory fee under $25,000, 0.35% from there with coaching included. No minimum to open, $10 to start investing.
Newer investors with smaller balances who want a $0 advisory fee, with coaching available once they reach $25,000.
A flat 0.25% a year and $500 to start, with daily tax-loss harvesting and direct indexing from $100,000. No human advisor tier.
Hands-off investors who want daily tax-loss harvesting and a simple flat fee, and who do not need a human advisor.
A robo-advisor is a service that builds a diversified portfolio for you, keeps it balanced and reinvests your dividends, for a small yearly fee. You answer a few questions and it does the rest. The five we cover cost between nothing and about $88 a year in advisory fees on a $25,000 balance (Fidelity Go is the highest at $87.50), before the small fees of the funds inside. Price is not the only thing that differs: some hold part of your money in cash, some lock you into their own funds, and only some offer tax-loss harvesting or a human to talk to. Each fee below was read on the provider's own page on 14 October 2026, with the catches beside it.
| Robo-advisors | Annual fee | Account minimum | Tax-loss harvesting | Human advisor | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25% a year | $10 | Yes | From $100,000 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| $0 under $25k | $10 | From $25,000 | From $25,000 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| 0.25% a year | $500 | Yes | No | Oct 14, 2026 |
 | 0.20% gross a year | $100 | Yes | From $50,000 | Oct 14, 2026 |
 | $0 | $5,000 | From $50,000 | No | Oct 14, 2026 |
Each date is when we last checked the provider's own page. Rates and terms can change, so confirm with the provider before you apply.
The advisory fee is what you pay the service to build, rebalance and look after the portfolio. Here it is in dollars on three balances. The funds inside the portfolio charge their own small fees on top.
| Robo-advisor | On $10,000 | On $25,000 | On $100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Betterment Investing | $601 | $63 | $250 |
| Fidelity Go | $02 | $883 | $350 |
| Wealthfront Automated Investing Account | $25 | $63 | $250 |
| Vanguard Digital Advisor | $164 | $40 | $160 |
| Schwab Intelligent Portfolios | $0 | $05 | $0 |
Computed from each provider's own published figures, latest check Oct 14, 2026. Your actual cost depends on how you use the account.
In ranking order. Each one lists the numbers that decide the choice, its main strengths and its main catches.
0.25% a year ($5 a month on small balances), no real minimum, tax-loss harvesting included and an optional human planner tier.
Betterment builds and manages a diversified portfolio of low-cost funds for you. You set a goal, it chooses the mix, rebalances, reinvests dividends and, if you switch it on, harvests tax losses in taxable accounts.
Watch out
No advisory fee under $25,000, 0.35% from there with coaching included. No minimum to open, $10 to start investing.
Fidelity Go is Fidelity's automated investing service. You answer a few questions, Fidelity builds a portfolio from its own Flex Funds, keeps it balanced and reinvests for you.
Watch out
A flat 0.25% a year and $500 to start, with daily tax-loss harvesting and direct indexing from $100,000. No human advisor tier.
Wealthfront's Automated Investing Account builds a portfolio of low-cost index funds, rebalances it, reinvests dividends and looks for tax losses to harvest every day, all without any input from you.
Watch out
About 0.15% to 0.16% a year after Vanguard's fee credit (0.20% gross), $100 to start, built on Vanguard index funds.
Vanguard Digital Advisor is Vanguard's automated service. It builds a portfolio mainly from Vanguard index funds and ETFs, rebalances it when it drifts and, if you elect it, harvests tax losses.
Watch out
No advisory fee and a $5,000 minimum, in exchange for holding 6% to 30% of your portfolio in cash.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is Schwab's automated service. It builds a diversified portfolio of ETFs, rebalances it and, on larger accounts, can harvest tax losses.
Watch out
Choosing a robo-advisor is mostly about what you want handled for you. Work through these in order.
A robo-advisor adds automatic rebalancing, dividend reinvestment and, at some providers, tax features. If you are comfortable holding one or two index funds at a broker, you can do that yourself with no advisory fee. If you would rather not think about it, a robo-advisor is the 'set it and let it run' option, and the yearly fee is what you pay for that.
0.25% sounds like nothing until you see it as $25 a year on $10,000 or $250 on $100,000. Some fees are not a single percentage: Betterment charges $5 a month under $24,000 unless you set up $200 or more in monthly deposits; Fidelity Go charges nothing under $25,000 and then 0.35% on the whole balance; Vanguard's 0.20% is a gross fee that falls to about 0.15% to 0.16% after its credit. The table above works these out for three balances.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has no advisory fee, but it holds 6% to 30% of your portfolio in cash, which earns income for Schwab's bank. Since 1 May 2026 Betterment keeps about 0.5% of each taxable, HSA and IRA portfolio in cash that earns no interest. Fidelity Go uses funds you cannot take elsewhere, so leaving means selling them. None of this is hidden, but it is easy to miss.
Tax-loss harvesting means selling an investment at a loss to lower your tax bill, then buying something similar. Wealthfront does it daily on taxable accounts, Betterment offers it as an option, Fidelity Go includes it from $25,000 and Schwab from $50,000. For a human to talk to, Betterment Premium costs 0.65% and needs $100,000, Fidelity Go includes coaching calls from $25,000, and Vanguard's Personal Advisor is a separate service at 0.35% gross with a $50,000 minimum.
Several robo-advisors have settled with the SEC over how they described their services: Betterment in 2023 ($9 million, tax-loss harvesting), Schwab in 2022 ($187 million in penalty and disgorgement, the cash allocation) and Wealthfront in 2018 ($250,000, tax-loss harvesting claims). Each product page links the orders. A past settlement is not a verdict on today, but it tells you which claims to read twice.
Robo-advisors are sorted by our editorial review, which weighs the advisory fee in dollars plus the costs that are not called fees (cash allocation, locked-in funds), how openly the provider says so, its track record and who can use it. It is not a sort by one number, and nobody pays for a place in it.
Providers cannot pay to change this order. If a paid placement ever appears in a list, it is labeled Sponsored and never carries a “best for” label.
The advisory fee in dollars on real balances, plus fund costs and costs such as a required cash allocation. Checked on the provider's own pages, with the date.
How plainly the provider describes its fees, cash and conflicts. A past regulator finding about those claims is listed on the product page.
Years operating and the SEC, FINRA and state actions we found, each linked on the product page.
Minimums, the IRA types offered, tax-loss harvesting thresholds and whether a human advisor is available.
Date of the newest provider-page check
A service that builds a diversified portfolio for you from a few questions, keeps it balanced and reinvests dividends, for a yearly fee, with no need to pick investments yourself. Some also offer tax-loss harvesting and a human to talk to.
On a $25,000 balance, the advisory fees we list run from $0 a year (Schwab Intelligent Portfolios) to $88 (Fidelity Go). The funds inside the portfolio charge their own small fees on top. Some fees are not a single percentage, so each product page shows how it is calculated.
Some have no advisory fee, but not all costs are fees. A required cash allocation can lower returns and earn income for the provider, and the funds inside charge their own expense ratios. The product pages list these costs next to the headline fee.
Yes. 5 of the 5 robo-advisors we list offer Traditional and Roth IRAs. For 2026 the IRA limit is $7,500 across all your IRAs ($8,600 if you are 50 or older).
SIPC protects up to $500,000 per customer, of which $250,000 can be cash, if a member firm fails (SIPC.org, checked 2026-10-14). It does not protect against investment losses.
Robo-advisors are sorted by our editorial review, which weighs the advisory fee in dollars plus the costs that are not called fees (cash allocation, locked-in funds), how openly the provider says so, its track record and who can use it. It is not a sort by one number, and nobody pays for a place in it.
Best Robo-Advisors was last updated in October 2026 and uses rates and fees we verified against each provider's own page. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
