Betterment vs. Wealthfront: 2025 Comparison

The robo-advisor industry was pioneered by Betterment and Wealthfront, and while the companies started out with very similar models, they’ve slowly made changes to differentiate themselves.

Betterment vs. Wealthfront: Which is right for you?

The biggest deciding factor between these two robo-advisors: If you want to work with a human, you’ll find that option only at Betterment, with a premium tier that charges more for access to a team of financial advisors. (Note: Betterment discontinued the ability to purchase a la carte financial planning sessions in 2024.) If you’re after only digital advice, Wealthfront’s financial planning tools are more robust, as are its tax optimization options.

Other considerations include the type of account you plan to open, investment portfolios and key features. Here’s a quick look at both services to help you choose the best match for your money.

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Betterment is best for:

Hands-off investors.
Retirement investors.
Those who want automatic rebalancing.
Users who like goal-based tools.

Betterment at a glance

Reviewed: Oct. 2024

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2024

Account minimum	$0 ($10 to start investing).
Account management fee	0.25% annual fee on balances over $20,000 or if you set up recurring monthly deposits totaling $250 or more. Otherwise, $4 per month.
Investment expense ratios	Expense ratios of 0.04% to 0.11% for Betterment Core Portfolio.
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing)	$75 fee to transfer investments out of Betterment. No fee for cash withdrawals.
Portfolio mix	Core Portfolio uses ETFs from 12 asset classes. The portfolio mixes are well-diversified. Clients who want exposure to non-market correlated assets like real estate investment trusts (REITs) and commodities can obtain access through Flexible Portfolio. Crypto ETF portfolio consisting of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
Socially responsible portfolio options	Three socially responsible investing portfolio options: Broad Impact, Climate Impact, and Social Impact.
Accounts supported	Individual and joint taxable brokerage accounts. Roth, traditional, inherited, rollover and SEP IRAs. Trusts. Ability to link external accounts for better-informed advice (but not direct management).
Tax strategy	Tax-loss harvesting*. Tax-Coordinated Portfolio (asset location) tool. Tax Impact Preview tool. Charitable giving tool.
Automatic rebalancing	Automatic rebalancing is included in the advisory fee at no additional cost. If a client’s portfolio deviates or drifts from its allocation, Betterment will rebalance the portfolio back to its target allocation in certain circumstances. Betterment also uses any cash flow, such as a dividend or deposit, to partially rebalance your portfolio.
Human advisor option	Betterment Digital doesn't offer access to financial advisors and no longer offers an advice package for purchase. Betterment Premium includes access to a team of financial advisors.
Savings account/cash management option	Cash Account** with no fees or minimum balance requirements, unlimited transfers and FDIC coverage of up to $2 million in individual accounts or up to $4 million in joint accounts at program banks.
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)	Phone support Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Eastern time. Email support and questions also answered through social media.

» Read our full review of Betterment

I love Wealthfront's automated bond portfolio. I looked at Betterment's emergency fund investment strategy, but I personally thought Wealthfront's bond portfolio was easier to understand. It's a reliable way to earn a decent rate without too much risk. Overall, I find Wealthfront easy to use, and it helps me see my overall goals. I don't need access to a financial advisor, which is another reason I chose Wealthfront over Betterment.

Caitlin Mims, Content Management Specialist

Wealthfront is best for

Hands-off investors.
Taxable accounts.
Free financial tools, even if you don't have a Wealthfront account.
529 college savings plan management.
Both DIY and automated investing.

Wealthfront at a glance

Reviewed: Oct. 2024

Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2024

Account minimum	$500 for automated investment accounts; $1 for cash accounts and the stock investing account. Other minimums may apply.
Account management fee	0.25% for automated investing. No management fee or commissions for the stock investing account. S&P 500 Direct Portfolio fee is 0.09% instead of 0.25%.
Investment expense ratios	ETF expense ratios average 0.08%.
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing)	None.
Portfolio mix	Automated investment portfolios: ETFs from 12 asset classes (portfolios generally consist of 6 to 8), including two cryptocurrency trusts (Bitcoin, Ethereum). Clients can customize their Wealthfront portfolio by adding or deleting certain ETF holdings or building their entire portfolio from scratch. Portfolios over $500,000 are eligible for smart beta. No fractional shares with the automated portfolios, which means some cash may remain uninvested. S&P 500 Direct Portfolio: Directly purchases S&P 500 stocks; customization available. Bonds: Automated Bond Portfolio offers a collection of Treasury bond and corporate bond ETFs with automatic rebalancing, dividend reinvestment and tax-loss harvesting. Automated Bond Ladder is a portfolio made up of bonds that mature at different times. This allows an investor to lock in current yields. Wealthfront stock investing account: Offers access to curated collections of stocks, or over 1,500 stocks, ETFs or REITs that can be traded individually (including as fractional shares).
Socially responsible portfolio options	Automated investing clients can choose to invest in Wealthfront’s SRI portfolio or customize any other Wealthfront portfolio to include socially responsible options for no additional fee.
Accounts supported	Individual, joint and trust taxable investment accounts. Roth, traditional, rollover and SEP IRAs. 529 college savings plans. High yield cash account (not charged management fee). Note: Investing in individual stocks is only available through individual taxable accounts.
Tax strategy	Daily tax-loss harvesting free for all taxable accounts. S&P Direct Portfolio offers additional tax-loss harvesting opportunities by purchasing individual stocks. Stock level tax-loss harvesting (direct indexing) available at no cost for taxable accounts with $100,000 or more. Balances under $100,000 will hold a particular ETF, VTI. TurboTax customers can easily import tax-loss harvesting data from Wealthfront.
Automatic rebalancing	Free on all accounts.
Human advisor option	None.
Savings account/cash management account	The Wealthfront Cash Account is a high-yield cash management account. It offers a competitive yield through Wealthfront partner banks and is covered up to $8 million in FDIC insurance.
Customer support options (rating includes how easy it is to find key details on the website)	Phone support Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific. All emails are responded to within one business day.

» Read our full review of Wealthfront

Methodology

How do we review robo-advisors?

NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. robo-advisors. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. Our highest priority is maintaining editorial integrity.

We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across 16 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).

For more details about the categories considered when rating robo-advisors and our process, read our full methodology.