Wealthfront and Betterment: Which is right for you?

Both platforms support investing, savings, and financial planning but take differing approaches. 


Wealthfront allows you to take a low-fee, flexible approach. 

Our automated investing software handles everything for you, managing all of the trading for you to ensure your investments stay balanced and diversified. Whether you’re looking to create your first portfolio or you're a seasoned investor, Wealthfront is a great choice for you. 


If you feel strongly about meeting a human for personalized advice – and don't mind paying higher fees to do so – then Betterment may be the better choice. 

Wealthfront

Betterment

0.25% - 0.40%

Investment Overview

0.25% - 0.40%

0.25%

Annual Account Fee

Available

Available

Automatic Rebalancing

Available

Available

US Direct Indexing

  fka Stock-level Tax-Loss Harvesting

Unavailable

Available

Fully-customizable investment portfolios

Semi-customizable investment portfolios available

Design-your-own Portfolios

Hundreds of individual options are available for you to customize your portfolio or build your own from scratch

Investing Options

Prebuilt portfolios available

Hundreds of individual options, in addition to a prebuilt, for you to customize your own SRI portfolio

Socially Responsible Investing

Prebuilt SRI portfolio available

Unavailable

Education Savings

Available

Available

Retirement Savings

Available

Available (additional fee)

$500

$1

Minimum Opening Balance

Support is provided by our in-house team of Product Specialists, FINRA registered professionals with Series 7 licenses and certified financial designations.

Support is available, costs may vary by customer subscription level

Support

Monday-Friday

7am - 5pm PT

Monday-Friday

6am - 3pm PT

Phone Support

Available

Email Support

Available

All services, including financial planning, investment and cash management, exclusively through software.

Calls with financial advisors available for additional fees

Investment Support

Ready to start investing?

Our expert-built portfolios are strategically designed to help minimize risk through diversification and are optimized for long-term wealth.  

  • Curated by experts
  • Managed automatically
  • Easy to personalize
  • Tax optimization features

Better yet, customize your portfolio! We offer hundreds of investments in categories like clean energy, tech, and crypto to let you invest in what you want.

Need to access cash fast?

Secured by your investments, Portfolio Line of Credit lets you borrow money to meet your investing needs without disrupting long-term goals. It takes one click to request, and you can access the money you need in as quickly as 1 business day.

By using this website, you understand the information being presented is provided for informational purposes only and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wealthfront Advisers relies on information from various sources believed to be reliable, including clients and third parties, but cannot guarantee the accuracy and completeness of that information. Nothing in this communication should be construed as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Additionally, Wealthfront Advisers or its affiliates do not provide tax advice and investors are encouraged to consult with their personal tax advisors.


All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of money you invest, and past performance does not guarantee future performance. Historical returns, expected returns, and probability projections are provided for informational and illustrative purposes, and may not reflect actual future performance. Please see our Full Disclosure for important details.


Investment management and advisory services--which are not FDIC insured--are provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC (“Wealthfront Advisers”), an SEC-registered investment adviser, and financial planning tools are provided by Wealthfront Software LLC (“Wealthfront”). Brokerage products and services are offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC, member FINRA / SIPC


Portfolio Line of Credit is a margin lending product offered exclusively to clients of Wealthfront Advisers by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC. You should consider the risks and benefits specific to margin when evaluating your options. Learn more about these risks in the Margin Handbook. PLOC eligibility is subject to a minimum account balance which is subject to change.


Wealthfront, Wealthfront Advisers and Wealthfront Brokerage are wholly owned subsidiaries of Wealthfront Corporation.


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