Best Robo-Advisors in 2026

Wealthfront is the best robo-advisor in 2026 for a taxable account you plan to keep, at a 0.25% annual wrap fee as of September 24, 2026. On a $10,000 balance that is about $2.05 in a 30-day month. Fidelity Go charges $0 under $25,000, and Betterment charges $5 a month until you reach $24,000 or automate $200 a month.

A robo-advisor builds a portfolio from your risk answers and rebalances it, for a percentage of assets or a flat subscription. It is not a savings account, and it is not a budget.

Financeradar data: the 35 high-yield savings accounts we verify average 3.54% APY as of September 23, 2026, and the 34 with a published rate run from 1.84% to 4.50% (high-yield savings statistics). At that average, $707 earns $25.03 in a year if the rate holds, which covers a year of Wealthfront's wrap fee on $10,000. A portfolio can lose value, so that interest is a yardstick for the fee, not a return the robo pays.

Prices below were read on each company's own site, fee schedule, or disclosure brochure on September 24, 2026, and an older brochure keeps its own date.

Cash that is not invested belongs beside these accounts, not inside the portfolio fee. The Wealthfront cash account and Betterment Cash Reserve are separate deposit products, and the cash comparison ranks those yields. A chat about spending is a different product, covered in best AI personal finance apps.

1. Wealthfront, the default for a taxable account you will keep

The pricing page states a 0.25% annual advisory fee on the Automated Investing Account. The Form CRS dated July 23, 2026 calls that a wrap fee: advice, commissions, and administration sit inside it, accrued daily and charged at month end. Their published example is the monthly figure in the opener, for a 30-day month. There is no opening fee, withdrawal fee, commission, or account-transfer fee, so deposits and exits do not add a second charge.

The minimum to open is $500, and daily tax-loss harvesting covers taxable accounts, individual, joint, or trust, with no higher balance, so that feature is on from the first taxable dollar. US Direct Indexing, which replaces the US stock ETF with individual shares, starts at $100,000 and stays inside the same wrap, so the stock-level portfolio does not raise the rate, and Smart Beta starts at $500,000. If the market pulls a direct-indexing account under $50,000, Wealthfront sells the individual stocks and buys VTI, and a withdrawal under $90,000 does the same, so a drawdown or a large cash-out can end that sleeve.

The Automated Bond Ladder is 0.15% and opens at the same minimum, a lower rate if you want bonds instead of the stock mix. S&P 500 Direct is 0.09%, and Nasdaq-100 Direct is 0.12%, each with a $5,000 opening deposit, so a single index costs less than the main wrap but needs more cash to start. Wealthfront says Classic-portfolio harvesting can typically cover the annual fee more than six times, which is their average claim, not a credit you are owed.

ETF expense ratios sit on top of the wrap, and Form CRS says Wealthfront Advisers does not receive them. The invested account is at a SIPC-member brokerage, not an FDIC deposit, so spare cash belongs in the cash account.

2. Betterment, cheaper only after a deposit habit or a larger balance

Betterment fits a household that automates deposits or already clears the flat fee, and it stays expensive if the balance is small and the deposit stays off. Digital pricing on the pricing page is $5 a month until one of two switches flips. A household at $24,000 or more moves to the same annual rate as Wealthfront, and the pricing page counts Cash Reserve in that test, as does a recurring deposit of at least $200 a month.

There is no account minimum, but a year of the flat fee is $60. On the example balance above, that flat fee is 0.60%, which is $35 more than a year of the wrap, and the balance test is where the two bills meet.

Cash Reserve can qualify the household for the percentage while the fee hits only the investing balance, so cash can end the monthly bill without paying the wrap. The fee disclosure updated May 5, 2026 excludes that cash, plus checking, HSA, 401(k), and self-directed balances, from the discount above $1,000,000. The discounted band is 0.15% through $2,000,000 and 0.10% after that. Self-directed accounts pay no wrap fee, so a self-directed sleeve skips the Digital bill.

Premium needs $100,000 in eligible investments, and the fee is 0.65% on the first $1,000,000, the Digital rate plus 0.40%. On that minimum the bill is $650 a year against $250 at the Digital rate, so the adviser costs an extra $400 before the discounted slice. Checking and Cash Reserve do not count toward Premium, an outbound transfer is $75, and ETF expense ratios are extra. The cash yield is on the Cash Reserve page, separate from this fee.

3. Fidelity Go, no advisory fee until the whole balance starts paying

Fidelity Go charges no advisory fee under $25,000, which suits a balance you plan to keep below that line. At the line and above, the fee is 0.35% a year on the entire balance, not only the dollars past it, so a small step over bills the whole account. There is no minimum to open, and investing starts at $10, in Fidelity Flex mutual funds that Fidelity describes as zero expense ratio, with limited exceptions. There are no trading, transaction, or rebalancing fees, and the client agreement lets Fidelity end the program if the account is still unfunded after 90 days, so the free tier still needs a deposit.

Unlimited 30-minute coaching calls and tax-loss harvesting in taxable accounts both wait for that line, and the coaching does not cover retirement income planning. A balance one dollar under the line pays nothing in advisory fees. At the line, the annual fee is $87.50, while Wealthfront's wrap on that figure is $62.50, so Fidelity costs $25 more a year the moment the fee turns on, and Wealthfront has been harvesting since its opening minimum.

Fidelity also says Strategic Advisers paid Kiplinger to display a 2025 robo ranking, which is not why this list puts Fidelity third. Fidelity Go fits a balance you expect to keep under the line, where the advisory bill stays free and the funds skip a conventional expense ratio. It is a weak default if you are about to cross the line in a taxable account. Uninvested cash at Fidelity is the Cash Management Account, not this portfolio.

4. Vanguard Digital Advisor, the lowest published net fee if you are already there

Vanguard's robo-advisor page puts the net advisory fee at about $15 to $16 per $10,000. The gross fee is 0.20% for an all-index portfolio, and an active mix is billed like the wrap rate in the table. Vanguard credits revenue it keeps from the funds, and the net is what it collects.

That all-index gross on the example balance is $20 before the credit. The net still varies with the allocation and the holdings, and it excludes expense ratios paid to third-party managers.

Enrollment needs at least $100 in each Vanguard brokerage account, in investments Digital Advisor accepts or in the settlement fund, which only helps if that brokerage is already open. The first 90 days have no advisory fee, and investment costs still apply, so the waiver does not make the funds free. Personal Advisor, the hybrid with a person, is a higher minimum and a higher gross fee, and it is not this robo.

Vanguard fits someone who already holds a Vanguard brokerage and wants the lowest net advisory figure here. It is a poor fit if you wanted a standalone app or daily harvesting from the first taxable dollar. The Vanguard Cash Plus account is where that firm's cash yield lives.

5. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, no program fee, and a required cash sleeve

The June 30, 2026 disclosure brochure says clients are not charged an annual program fee, and that the program is not free of charge. You pay ETF operating expenses, including on Schwab ETFs, and every strategy holds cash at Schwab Bank, generally 6% to 30% of the account. On the opening example, that sleeve is $600 to $3,000 that is not in ETFs. Schwab says the sleeve can lower returns when riskier assets beat cash, and that it sets that share with the bank's revenue in mind.

Schwab compares the service to a 0.30% program, about $30 a year on that same example, then offsets affiliate compensation so the client pays no program fee. The sleeve is much larger than that avoided bill, so a zero program fee is not a zero cost. Each account needs $5,000, and balances under that floor can drift from the target, so the minimum is a hard floor. Tax-loss harvesting becomes active at $50,000, with no extra fee, and a lower balance turns it off.

The brochure records a June 2022 SEC settlement over 2015-2018 cash-allocation disclosures. Schwab agreed to pay $186,536,861, without admitting or denying the findings, and the current text states the conflict plainly. Schwab fits someone who can fund the minimum, wants no program fee, and will keep a cash slice they cannot drop.

Bank deposits are FDIC-insured only against the bank's failure, not against a drop in the ETFs beside them. The sweep rate follows the seven-day yield of Schwab Government Money Fund sweep shares, and that method can change. Everyday cash can sit in Schwab Bank Investor Checking.

6. SoFi Automated Investing, the same percentage and a lower start

SoFi's fee schedule lists the robo at the same annual advisory fee Wealthfront charges, with no opening fee and a $50 minimum before the money is invested. Roth, Traditional, and SEP IRAs are on that line. ETF management fees still apply, and SoFi says it does not take sales commissions or 12b-1 fees on ETFs it buys for advisory clients. Investments are not FDIC insured and can lose value, so this is not a stand-in for the savings account.

The other schedule lines are where a small account gets expensive. An outgoing ACAT is $100, and an IRA closing fee of the same amount can be assessed when the balance drops below that transfer fee, so a shrinking IRA can owe that amount on the way out. Login inactivity costs $25 per account for every six months, so a year without a login is $50. On that opening deposit, a year of the advisory fee is about $0.13, and one inactivity period costs far more.

SoFi fits someone who wants Wealthfront's percentage without that firm's opening minimum. It is a poor fit if you expect to transfer out, or if you will not log in for half a year. Cash yield is the checking and savings account, not the robo.

7. Acorns, a subscription that gets expensive when the balance is small

New signups pay a flat subscription, and the save and invest page lists Bronze at $4 a month, Silver at $8, and Gold at $12. A year of Bronze is $48, which is already a large slice of a small balance. The Form CRS dated August 3, 2026 keeps a legacy price: signup on or before August 16, 2026 stays at $3 a month for Bronze and $6 for Silver, and Gold stays at the current top price. Signup on or after August 17, 2026, or a later switch into Bronze or Silver, pays the higher pair.

The advisory slice inside every plan is $0.10 a month when the account holds anything, and the rest is the program fee, so most of the subscription is not the advice.

Round-Ups invest once spare change reaches $5, and there is no account minimum, which is why it can start before a brokerage floor. Five Core portfolios run from conservative to aggressive, the ESG set has four and no conservative option, and you cannot hold both sets at once, so the sustainable lineup drops the most cautious mix. Rebalancing starts at a 5% drift, a bitcoin-linked ETF is optional and capped at 5% of the account, and custom portfolios are Gold only. The ETFs charge their own expenses on top of the subscription.

Acorns' own Form CRS says the fee can be a large percentage of a small, infrequent investment. On Wealthfront's opening minimum, a year of new Bronze is 9.6% of the account, and the wrap on that balance is $1.25, so the subscription costs $46.75 more before the market moves.

Acorns fits spare change you will keep adding, and it is the wrong tool once a percentage account will already open. Silver and Gold add emergency savings that Acorns lists at 3.59% APY as of September 22, 2026, which is 0.05 percentage points above the catalog average. That gap is the savings bucket, not a cheaper portfolio.

What a year of each fee actually costs

The sticker and the bill after twelve months are different numbers when a flat fee, a cliff, or a cash sleeve is involved. Ranking by the headline rate alone mis-orders Betterment, Fidelity, and Schwab. The savings math freezes the catalog average and ignores tax.

A transfer can dwarf a year of advice on a small account. Betterment charges $75 to move an investing account out, and SoFi's outgoing ACAT is $100. Wealthfront's Form CRS lists no account-transfer fee, so a later move does not add that bill.

How we ranked

Seven robo-advisors were read on their own pages on September 24, 2026. The sources were Wealthfront's pricing page and July 23, 2026 Form CRS, Betterment's pricing page and May 5, 2026 fee disclosure, and Fidelity Go's product page, FAQ, and client agreement. Vanguard's robo-advisor page, Schwab's June 30, 2026 brochure, SoFi's fee schedule, and Acorns' save page plus the August 3, 2026 Form CRS were read the same day.

The savings average comes from our statistics page, dated September 23, 2026. Rank follows the fee a taxable account pays as the balance grows, including harvesting, minimums, and any cash the program forces you to hold. No paid placement changed a rank, and no account was opened or bank linked for this comparison.

Louis Corneloup, founder of Financeradar and Dupple, editorially reviewed this ranking, which is general information and not a personal investment recommendation. If a link pays Financeradar a commission, that payment does not change the order (how we make money). Cash you do not want inside a portfolio belongs on the savings ranking or in the high-yield savings guide. The rate tracker shows which savings rates moved, and the savings statistics report is the dataset behind the average above.

FAQ

What is the best robo-advisor in 2026?

Wealthfront, at 0.25% a year as of September 24, 2026, because daily tax-loss harvesting starts at the $500 minimum on a taxable account, and direct indexing at $100,000 stays inside that wrap. Fidelity Go is cheaper under the coaching line, where the advisory fee is nothing. Betterment matches that same annual rate only after $24,000 or a $200 monthly deposit, and charges $5 a month before that. Schwab has no program fee and holds a required cash sleeve, while Acorns charges a subscription.

How much does a robo-advisor cost?

On September 24, 2026, Wealthfront and SoFi sit at the same annual wrap rate, and Fidelity Go moves to 0.35% at the coaching line. Vanguard's published net is about $15 to $16 on the example balance, after a credit against a 0.20% gross, with a higher gross when the mix is active.

Betterment's year at the flat fee is $60 until the household qualifies for the percentage. New Acorns Bronze is $4 a month, or $48 a year. Schwab has no program-fee dollar and still passes through ETF expenses, while Betterment Premium is 0.65%.

Is there a free robo-advisor?

Fidelity Go charges no advisory fee under the coaching line, then the paid rate on the whole balance. Schwab charges no annual program fee and requires $5,000, with a required bank-cash sleeve, and neither is free of ETF costs.

The other five do not have a permanent free advisory tier. Vanguard waives its advisory fee for 90 days, and fund costs still apply. Acorns' advisory slice is $0.10 a month inside the subscription.

Is Wealthfront or Betterment cheaper?

Without the monthly deposit, and under the flat-fee line, a year of Betterment's flat fee costs more than Wealthfront's wrap. On the example balance the gap is $35 a year. After Betterment flips to the same annual rate, the rates match, and Wealthfront lists no outbound transfer fee while Betterment charges $75. Direct indexing is included at $100,000, and Premium, at 0.65%, needs its own balance at that level.

Is Schwab Intelligent Portfolios actually free?

No. The June 30, 2026 brochure puts 6% to 30% of every strategy in a Schwab Bank deposit, and Schwab sets that share with the bank's revenue in mind. On the opening example the sleeve is $600 to $3,000, and harvesting starts at $50,000. Schwab's own comparison prices a similar service at 0.30%, or $30 a year on that same example, then says clients pay no program fee because affiliate revenue offsets that figure, while ETF expenses still come out of the funds.

What does Fidelity Go charge once coaching starts?

The fee goes from nothing to 0.35% of the entire balance, $87.50 a year at $25,000. Wealthfront's wrap on that balance is $62.50, which is $25 less, and Wealthfront has been harvesting the whole way up. The line also opens coaching calls and taxable-account harvesting, and coaching does not include retirement income planning. Below the line, investing starts at $10 in Flex funds Fidelity calls zero expense ratio, with limited exceptions.

Should emergency cash sit in a robo-advisor?

No. The portfolio can lose value, and several of these fees are a percentage of it, so cash you may need belongs in a deposit account. The catalog average is 3.54% APY as of September 23, 2026. Acorns lists emergency savings at 3.59% as of September 22, 2026, on Silver and Gold, and that bucket is not the invested portfolio, though the savings statistics page keeps the average current. Interest of $25.03 on $707 at 3.54% matches a year of the wrap on the opening balance, and it does not protect the stocks.

Cite this: Financeradar, "Best Robo-Advisors in 2026", September 2026.