How Much Does Walnut Cost? Pricing and Fees in 2026
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
Walnut is free to use, with one optional paid plan: Walnut Unlimited, $9.99 a month plus applicable tax, sold on the web, which removes the per-session limit on the in-app assistant. There is no percentage-of-assets fee. You connect a brokerage account you already have, ask questions about what you actually hold, build thematic portfolios, and approve any trade yourself at your own broker, all on the free plan. Because Walnut never takes custody of your money, there is nothing for it to charge a percentage on. What you still pay is charged by other people: your broker's commissions, which are zero on US stocks and ETFs at most large brokers, and the expense ratios of the funds you own. For comparison, a robo-advisor such as Betterment or Wealthfront charges roughly 0.25% of assets a year, and a human financial advisor typically charges around 1%. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Pricing pages usually bury the number. This one has one number, $9.99 a month, and most people never need it, so it is worth explaining the model instead: what is free, what the paid plan adds, what you pay anyway, and where paying someone else is genuinely the better call. The last part matters, because a free tool that reads your existing brokerage is not a replacement for a planner or a robo-advisor if what you actually want is for someone to manage the money.
What Walnut costs
Nothing, to use it. Connecting a brokerage is free, analyzing your holdings and getting a keep, trim or exit read on each one is free, building and tracking a thematic portfolio is free, placing trades you approve is free, and using your portfolio through Claude or ChatGPT with the Walnut connector is free. The built-in assistant is free up to a per-session spend allowance. There is no trial that expires.
Walnut Unlimited is the one paid plan: $9.99 a month, plus applicable tax, billed monthly. It removes the assistant's per-session limit and changes nothing else. If you reach the limit without it, the assistant pauses for that session, your conversation is saved, and you can come back once it resets. It is sold on the web only, the iOS and Android apps do not sell it, and you can cancel anytime from Settings, under Plan, which opens the billing portal. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the billing period, and the account returns to the free plan with nothing deleted.
The absence of a fee on assets is structural rather than generous. Walnut connects to the broker you already have, read-only by default, and any order you approve executes at that broker under that broker's terms. Walnut never holds your money. A fee on assets under management requires assets under management, and there are none.
What you still pay, and who charges it
- Broker commissions. Most large US brokers charge zero commission on US stock and ETF trades. Options, fractional orders, and other asset classes vary, so check your own broker's schedule. Some brokers also set a minimum per fractional order: at Public it is $5 per order, so each leg of a basket buy has to clear $5.
- Fund expense ratios. Every ETF charges one, deducted inside the fund rather than billed to you. A broad index fund often charges 0.03% to 0.10%; a thematic or actively managed fund charges more.
- Spreads and, at some brokers, payment for order flow. Not a line item you see, but a real cost of trading. It is charged by the broker and the market, not by Walnut.
- Tax. Selling a holding in a taxable account can create a taxable gain. See capital gains tax on investments for how that works. This is not tax advice.
All of these exist whether or not you use Walnut. The honest framing is that Walnut adds no cost layer on your money, and at most a flat $9.99 a month if you choose Unlimited, not that investing through it is costless.
How that compares to the alternatives
| Option | What it charges | What you get for it |
|---|---|---|
| Walnut | Free; Walnut Unlimited $9.99 a month (web) | No fee on assets. Connect a broker, analyze holdings, build portfolios, approve trades yourself. Unlimited lifts the assistant's session limit. |
| Betterment | ~0.25% of assets a year | Manages the money for you. Holds your assets rather than connecting to your broker. |
| Wealthfront | ~0.25% of assets a year | Same model: automated management of assets it custodies. |
| A human financial advisor | ~1% of assets a year, typically | Personalized planning, tax and estate work, and a fiduciary relationship. |
| A fee-only planner | Hourly or flat project fee | Advice without a percentage of assets. You implement it yourself. |
The percentage figures are the part worth translating into dollars, because a percentage of a growing balance compounds. A 0.25% fee is about $250 a year on $100,000 and about $1,250 a year on $500,000, charged every year including the ones where the account falls. A 1% advisory fee on $500,000 is about $5,000 a year.
That is not an argument that those fees are wrong. A robo-advisor buys automation and the discipline of not touching the account, and a good human advisor buys planning, tax and estate work, and a fiduciary relationship, none of which an AI assistant provides. It is an argument for knowing the dollar figure before you agree to the percentage. The tradeoff is laid out in full in AI vs a human financial advisor.
Where paying for something else is the better call
- You want the money managed, not analyzed. A robo-advisor charges roughly 0.25% precisely because it does the work. Walnut keeps you in the loop on every trade by design, which is the wrong shape if you want to set it and forget it.
- You need planning, tax, or estate work. That is a human advisor or a fee-only planner. No AI assistant, ours included, is a fiduciary or can act as one.
- You need deep primary research. Terminals and research platforms charge subscriptions because they license expensive data. Walnut reads your portfolio, not a filings archive.
The bottom line on Walnut's pricing
Walnut is free to use, with no fee on assets, because it connects the brokerage you already have rather than taking custody of your money. Walnut Unlimited, $9.99 a month on the web, is there for anyone who wants no limit on the assistant, and is optional. The costs that remain are your broker's and your funds', and they exist regardless. Compare it to a robo-advisor at roughly 0.25% a year or an advisor at roughly 1% not on price alone but on what you actually want: analysis and control, or management and delegation. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser.
Get a recommendation for your situation
Walnut is the AI that knows your portfolio: ask anything in plain English, research any fund, and get an honest second opinion. On the broker you already use, read-only, and you approve every trade. Walnut is not a registered investment adviser.
FAQ
How much does Walnut cost?
Walnut is free to use, and there is no percentage-of-assets fee. Connecting brokers, the portfolio analysis and keep, trim or exit reads, baskets, trades you approve, the Claude and ChatGPT connector, and the in-app assistant up to a per-session allowance are all free. Walnut Unlimited, $9.99 a month plus applicable tax on the web, removes that assistant limit. You connect a brokerage account you already have, analyze what you hold, and place trades through your own broker, so Walnut never takes custody of your money and does not charge on it. Costs you still pay are charged by other parties: your broker's commissions and the expense ratios of the funds you own.
Does Walnut charge a percentage of my assets?
No. That model belongs to robo-advisors and human advisors, who manage or custody your money and charge roughly 0.25% and roughly 1% of assets a year respectively. Walnut sits on top of the brokerage account you already have, read-only by default, so there are no assets under management to charge a percentage of.
Is Walnut free forever?
The core is free today: no fee on assets, and no charge to connect a broker, analyze your holdings, build baskets, or use the assistant within its per-session allowance. The one paid plan, Walnut Unlimited at $9.99 a month on the web, only removes that allowance. We are not going to promise permanence on a pricing page, because no honest product can. If that changes, it will be stated here rather than buried.
What is Walnut Unlimited?
Walnut Unlimited is Walnut's one paid plan: $9.99 a month, plus applicable tax, billed monthly through Stripe. It removes the per-session spend limit on the in-app assistant, and nothing else changes: every other feature is the same on the free plan. It is sold on the web only; the iOS and Android apps do not sell it. It renews monthly until you cancel.
What happens when I reach the free assistant limit?
The assistant pauses for that session and your conversation is saved. You can come back after the limit resets, or subscribe to Walnut Unlimited on the web to remove it. Everything outside the assistant, including your connected brokers, portfolio reads, baskets and orders, keeps working either way.
How do I cancel Walnut Unlimited?
Cancel anytime from Settings, under Plan, which opens the billing portal where you can also change your card or download invoices. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you keep unlimited use until then. After that your account returns to the free plan with nothing deleted.
What do I actually pay when I use Walnut?
On the free plan, whatever your broker and your funds charge, plus $9.99 a month if you choose Walnut Unlimited. Most large US brokers now charge zero commission on US stock and ETF trades, though some charge on options, on fractional orders, or on other asset classes, and every trade carries a spread. Every ETF you own charges an expense ratio, deducted inside the fund. Those costs exist whether or not you use Walnut, and Walnut does not add to them.
Is there a minimum account size?
Walnut has no minimum. Your broker may have one, and individual funds have a minimum of one share unless your broker supports fractional trading. One practical floor worth knowing: some brokers set a minimum order size on fractional trades. Public, for example, requires at least $5 per fractional order, so a basket whose smallest holding is 10% needs about $50 per buy for every leg to clear that minimum.
What does a 0.25% robo-advisor fee actually cost?
On $100,000 it is about $250 a year, and it is charged every year on the whole balance, including years the account falls. That is the figure worth comparing, rather than the percentage, because a percentage of a growing balance compounds into a large number: the same 0.25% on a portfolio that grows to $500,000 is $1,250 a year. Whether that is worth it depends entirely on whether you want the money managed for you.
When is paying for an investing tool actually worth it?
When it does something you genuinely will not do yourself. Paying a robo-advisor buys automation and the discipline of not touching it. Paying a human advisor buys planning, tax and estate work, and someone accountable to you. Paying for a research terminal buys data depth. A free tool that reads your existing account is a complement to those, not a substitute for the ones you need.
Does Walnut charge to connect my brokerage?
No. Connecting a broker is free, and the connection is read-only by default, so Walnut can see your holdings but cannot move money unless you explicitly approve an order. The connection runs through a regulated aggregator, so your broker login stays with your broker.
Does Walnut make money from my trades?
No. Walnut does not route your orders for payment, does not take a spread, and does not receive a commission on trades you approve. Trades execute at your own broker under your own broker's terms. Walnut is not an investment adviser and does not charge advisory fees.
How does Walnut's cost compare to Magnifi, PortfolioPilot, or Mezzi?
Those are subscription products, typically charged monthly or annually regardless of your balance, and each publishes its own current rate. Walnut is free to use, and its one subscription, Walnut Unlimited at $9.99 a month on the web, only lifts the assistant's session limit. The more useful comparison is not price but model: a subscription tool you pay for should be doing something a free one cannot, so compare what each actually does with your real holdings before comparing the price tags.
Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. Competitor fees are published headline rates and change; verify current pricing on each provider's own site. Broker commissions, fund expense ratios, and account minimums are set by those providers, not by Walnut. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to use any particular product.