Betterment vs. Wealthfront: Choosing the Best Investment Platform?

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Looking for an automated way to invest and grow your wealth? Betterment vs. Wealthfront are two leading robo-advisors known for low fees, tax-efficient strategies and hands-off portfolio management.

However, differences in their features, fees, and investing options may make one a better choice for your goals.

Keep reading to see which one aligns more closely with your financial needs.

What Are Robo-Advisors and Why Compare Betterment vs. Wealthfront?

Robo-advisors are automated investment platforms that use algorithms to manage your money. They’re designed for investors who want a hands-off approach to investing while still benefiting from diversified portfolios, automatic rebalancing and tax optimization.

Betterment and Wealthfront are two of the top robo-advisors in the industry, but they cater to different types of investors. Betterment is ideal for goal-based investing, while Wealthfront offers more customization and tax-saving strategies.

Betterment vs. Wealthfront: At a Glance

Betterment and Wealthfront are robo-advisors that simplify investing with tools and collections of investments that take the guesswork out of deciding where to put your money. They also give you ways to manage your cash and automate saving and investing. But they’re two different brokers, each with its features, strengths and weaknesses.

This comparison will help you decide which is the best choice for you:

Account Types: What Does Each Platform Offer?

Betterment and Wealthfront both offer investors several accounts to choose from:

Betterment Account Types

You’ll find the following accounts at Betterment:

• Individual and joint accounts and trusts
• Traditional and Roth IRAs
• Single-participant SEP IRAs
• Taxable brokerage accounts
• Cash reserve accounts
• Checking accounts

You might have additional account types available if your employer uses Betterment at Work.

Wealthfront Account Types

Wealthfront offers these accounts:

• Individual and joint accounts and trusts
• Traditional and Roth IRAs
• SEP IRAs
• 529 college savings plans
• Taxable brokerage accounts
• High-yield cash accounts

If you’re saving for a child’s education, Wealthfront’s 529 plan gives it an edge. Otherwise, both platforms offer solid retirement and investment options. Both Betterment and Wealthfront support retirement and taxable investment accounts, but Wealthfront offers 529 college savings plans, which Betterment does not.

Investment Options: What’s in Your Portfolio?

Both robo-advisors offer diversified portfolios of ETFs across stocks, bonds and real estate, but they differ in how they handle customization and socially responsible investing.

Learn about the kinds of investments and investing strategies available with each:

Betterment Investment Options

Betterment offers 11 different portfolios covering one or more of the following assets and strategies:

• Stock-only ETFs
• Bond-only ETFs
• Stock and bond ETFs
• Cryptocurrency ETFs
• Cash-only ETFs
• Socially responsible ETFs
• Tax-loss harvesting

Wealthfront Investment Options

Wealthfront offers a more comprehensive selection of investments. You can invest in one of three pre-built portfolios or customize a portfolio by selecting from 239 funds with 17 asset classes. Wealthfront assets and strategies include:

• Individual stocks (available in stock investing account, S&P 500 Direct Portfolio and Automated Index Investing Accounts only)
• Stock ETFs
• Bond ETFs
• Cryptocurrency ETFs
• Socially Responsible ETFs
• Tax-loss harvesting

If you care about Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), Betterment is the clear choice. If you want advanced tax strategies and portfolio customization, Wealthfront wins.

Fees & Costs: Which One Is More Affordable?

Betterment

You won’t pay transaction fees to buy and sell funds within your stock or bond portfolios, nor will you pay fees to withdraw your money. But you will pay some fees when you invest with Betterment:

Wealthfront

Wealthfront doesn’t charge fees for its stock investing accounts, nor will you pay fees to withdraw money or close or transfer your account. Here are the fees you will pay:

Takeaway: Both platforms charge a standard .25% for their basic robo-advisor services, but Betterment’s Premium plan offers access to human financial advisors at a higher fee.

Features and Tools: What Sets Betterment and Wealthfront Apart?

When it comes to features, both Betterment and Wealthfront are impressive. But each service has a few differences in what they offer.

Betterment Features

Investing with Betterment begins with an interview to help you identify your financial goals and set target amounts and dates for achieving them. After that, you can let Betterment select its Core portfolio for you automatically, or you select your own or customize a portfolio from themed options. If you let Betterment pick, it’ll customize your Core portfolio based on your risk profile, which you can adjust.

Betterment offers several perks to help you get the most out of your portfolio:

• Automatic tax-loss harvesting
• Auto risk profile adjustments for each goal
• Automatic dividend reinvestment
• Auto rebalancing

Your dashboard has all the information about your account. Review goals and your progress toward meeting them, check the performance of your investments, track your net worth and manage external accounts all from one place, online or via the mobile app.

Betterment also has an automated retirement planning tool.

If your balance is $100,000 or more, you can upgrade to a Premium plan that includes unlimited support from a Certified Financial Planner. One-time support is available to non-Premium members who need assistance setting up their accounts.

Wealthfront Features

Wealthfront uses the same kind of process as Betterment to get you started. You answer a series of questions, and Wealthfront creates a portfolio for you. The portfolio is fully customizable at the time of account opening or any time after that. Once you’ve funded your account and Wealthfront has invested your money, Wealthfront handles account management tasks on your behalf. These automated features include:

• Tax-loss harvesting
• Portfolio rebalancing
• Deposit diversification

Wealthfront’s retirement planning tool is called Path. It guides you through all the variables that affect retirement planning to help you see how much income you’re likely to have.

Investors with balances above $500,000 in a taxable Automated Index Investing account have an additional resource, called Smart Beta, that optimizes their portfolios.

One area where Wealthfront shines is with customer service. Its product specialists are licensed and certified finance professionals who can help you get the most out of the Wealthfront platform.

Pros and Cons of Betterment vs. Wealthfront

Find out what Betterment and Wealthfront do best and where there’s room for improvement.

Betterment Pros and Cons

Here’s what to like and what to watch out for with Betterment:

Pros

• Excellent goal-setting and goal-management tool
• One-time setup assistance
• Personal financial advice with Premium accounts
• No minimum investment required

Cons

• Higher fees with Premium plan
• Limited availability of 529 college savings plans

Wealthfront Pros and Cons

Keep the following pros and cons in mind as you consider opening a Wealthfront account.

Pros

• Comprehensive planning tools
• Highly customizable robo portfolios
• Excellent customer service

Cons

• Fewer account types are available
• No access to financial advisors

Betterment vs Wealthfront: Which Is Right for You?

Betterment

• Great for beginning investors who want easy onboarding and goal-based tools.
• Ideal if you prefer having the option of speaking with a financial planner.
• Offers automated strategies plus SRI and crypto exposure.

Wealthfront

• Excellent for those wanting more advanced tax efficiency and customization.
• Perfect if you need 529 college savings options.
• Suited for investors comfortable with fully automated, technology-driven solutions.

Final Thoughts to GO: Betterment vs. Wealthfront

In the debate of Betterment vs. Wealthfront, both are top-tier robo-advisors with compelling features. Betterment stands out for its human advisor access and goal-oriented approach, while Wealthfront offers more customization and a 529 plan for education savings.

Compare each platform’s fees, investment strategies and special features to decide which aligns best with your financial objectives.

Ready to choose? Visit Betterment or Wealthfront to explore sign-up options and see which platform can help you reach your investing goals faster.

Daria Uhlig, Cynthia Measom and Amber Barkley contributed to the reporting for this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of April 3, 2025.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

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