Merrill Guided Investing vs Range: Which Is Better in 2026?

Prices checked October 2026. A price marked (Oct 2026) was read on the vendor's own pricing page; others are described without a number because we could not verify one.

Merrill's automated investing service, built on Bank of America research, with an optional tier that adds an advisor.

How it works: A questionnaire sets a goal and risk level, and Merrill invests in model portfolios built by its investment office, rebalancing automatically. A higher-priced tier adds access to a financial advisor. Preferred Rewards status at Bank of America can reduce the fee, which is the main reason existing customers choose it.

In practice, Merrill Guided Investing’s AI automates a research-driven model portfolio. It is a robo-advisor (hands-off automated investing), best suited to bank of America customers who want managed portfolios in the same app. On connecting an account: no (holds your money at Merrill). On execution: automated. Cost: 0.45%/yr, $1,000 minimum; 0.85%/yr with an advisor (Oct 2026).

One real limitation: Priced above the cheapest automated services, and the portfolios lean on Merrill's own research and funds.

A flat-fee wealth management membership aimed at high-earning professionals, with equity compensation and tax planning at the centre.

How it works: You pay a flat annual membership and get advisors plus software covering equity compensation, tax planning, retirement projections and estate coordination, with accounts aggregated for a whole picture. The design assumes a high income and complexity from RSUs or options, even without a large accumulated balance.

In practice, Range’s AI software layer over human advice. It is a robo-advisor (hands-off automated investing), best suited to high earners with equity compensation, on a flat membership. On connecting an account: aggregates accounts for the advice picture. On execution: advisor-managed where applicable. Cost: $3,950 to $12,500/yr flat membership, no AUM fee (Oct 2026).

One real limitation: Aimed at high household income, so the membership is poor value for a simpler situation.

Category comes first. Merrill Guided Investing focuses on bank of America customers who want managed portfolios in the same app (automates a research-driven model portfolio), and Range on high earners with equity compensation, on a flat membership (software layer over human advice). On broker connection they differ too: Merrill Guided Investing is “No (holds your money at Merrill)” versus Range at “Aggregates accounts for the advice picture”. That shapes everything downstream: how personal the answers are, where trades settle, and how much control you keep over individual positions.

Every tool gives something up for what it does well. Below is the give-and-take on each, so you can weigh the specific strengths against the limitations that come with them, beyond the headline category.

For AI investing tools, the distinction that matters most is whether the tool works from your actual, connected positions or reasons from something else: a separate account it manages for you, or the tickers and numbers you feed it. It decides how personal the answers can be, and where your money physically lives.

• Merrill Guided Investing: manages a separate account it holds. Merrill Guided Investing does not read the brokerage you already use. It opens and holds a new account, then invests the money you move into it, so its view is limited to what sits inside Merrill Guided Investing.
• Range: reads your real connected holdings. Range connects your real brokerage (Aggregates accounts for the advice picture) and works from your actual positions, so its answers reflect what you actually own.

This is where they diverge most. One works from your real, connected account while the other does not, so if you want an assistant grounded in the exact positions you already hold, that gap is the thing to weigh first. This holdings-aware angle is the one Walnut is built around: it connects the brokerage you already use and reasons from your live positions, read-only by default, with any trades left for you to approve.

Each one wins a different job, so the answer depends on which job you need done.

• Choose Merrill Guided Investing if you want bank of America customers who want managed portfolios in the same app. Its AI automates a research-driven model portfolio, and it costs 0.45%/yr, $1,000 minimum; 0.85%/yr with an advisor (Oct 2026). It is built for an existing Bank of America customer whose rewards tier makes the pricing competitive and who values everything in one app. Keep in mind: priced above the cheapest automated services, and the portfolios lean on Merrill's own research and funds.
• Choose Range if you want high earners with equity compensation, on a flat membership. Its AI software layer over human advice, and it costs $3,950 to $12,500/yr flat membership, no AUM fee (Oct 2026). It is built for a high-earning professional with RSUs or options whose complexity comes from compensation more than from an accumulated portfolio. Keep in mind: aimed at high household income, so the membership is poor value for a simpler situation.
• Choose Walnut if you want a keep, trim or exit read on the stocks you already own, and placing the trades you approve. It is an AI investing app that connects the broker you already use, and it costs free; Walnut Plus $9.99/mo on the web; no fee on assets.

Because both sit in the same category, the choice comes down to the finer details above. Their basic approach is the same.

Cost is easy to misread when two tools charge in different shapes, so compare the model, not just the number. Merrill Guided Investing: 0.45%/yr, $1,000 minimum; 0.85%/yr with an advisor (Oct 2026). Range: $3,950 to $12,500/yr flat membership, no AUM fee (Oct 2026). A percentage-of-assets fee scales with your balance, a flat subscription does not, and a “free” tier usually earns elsewhere (on cash, order flow, or premium upgrades), so the cheapest headline is not always the cheapest outcome for your situation.

Prices checked October 2026. Pricing and tiers change, so confirm the current numbers on each provider’s own site before you decide.

Walnut is an AI investing app, and it is the pick for a keep, trim or exit read on the stocks you already own, and placing the trades you approve (free; Walnut Plus $9.99/mo on the web; no fee on assets). It connects the brokerage you already use, read-only by default, gives each holding a keep, trim or exit read against the S&P 500, flags any position above a quarter of the portfolio, and places the trades you approve. You use it through its own assistant, or inside Claude or ChatGPT. See Walnut vs Merrill Guided Investing and Walnut vs Range.