Betterment Alternatives

1. 1. Walnut: Best overall if you want to keep your own broker: a keep, trim or exit read on every holding and the trades you approve. Free.
2. 2. Wealthfront: Best like-for-like robo swap: the same 0.25% fee and hands-off model as Betterment.
3. 3. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios: Best for no advisory fee, if you have $5,000 and accept a cash allocation.
4. 4. Fidelity Go: Best for balances under $25,000: $0 advisory fee, $10 to start.
5. 5. Vanguard Digital Advisor: Best low-cost index option: 0.20% gross, $100 minimum.
6. 6. SoFi Automated Investing: Best if you want investing bundled with banking and planner access (0.25%).
7. 7. Robinhood Strategies: Best managed portfolio for Robinhood Gold members: 0.25%, charged only on the first $100,000 with Gold, $50 to start.
8. 8. M1 Finance: Best for designing your own portfolio and auto-rebalancing it ($3/mo, waived at $10,000).
9. 9. Acorns: Best for spare-change round-ups on a flat subscription ($4, $8 or $12 a month).

Prices checked October 2026 on each provider's own pricing page.

Betterment is a robo-advisor, and a good one. You answer a few questions about your goals and risk tolerance, and Betterment builds and manages a diversified ETF portfolio for you, rebalancing automatically and harvesting tax losses. Its Digital plan costs $5 a month on balances under $24,000, or 0.25% a year once you reach $24,000 or set up $200 or more in monthly deposits. Premium adds unlimited access to CFP professionals for 0.65% a year and needs $100,000. Traditional portfolios have no minimum, and Betterment charges $75 to transfer an account out to another firm (all checked on betterment.com/pricing, October 2026).

People look for alternatives for a handful of recurring reasons. Some want the same hands-off management for less, which points toward Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, Fidelity Go or Vanguard Digital Advisor. Some want a near-identical robo with different edges, which points toward Wealthfront. Some want more control over the holdings, which points toward M1 Finance. And some do not want a robo at all: they want to keep their existing broker and use AI to judge what they own and act on it, which points toward Walnut.

Betterment is a rules-based robo-advisor that holds and manages your money. AI investing apps do something different: Walnut works on the brokerage accounts you already have and places the trades you approve, Origin plans across your whole household, PortfolioPilot scores portfolio risk, Magnifi helps you find funds, and Danelfin scores individual stocks.

Is Betterment AI? Its portfolio engine is algorithmic: modern portfolio theory sets the ETF mix, and fixed rules trigger rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting. Such automation works well, but it does not read a brokerage account you hold elsewhere or answer questions about stocks you picked. For the longer version, see are robo-advisors actually AI?

In practice the comparison comes down to who holds the money and who decides. With Betterment, Betterment does both. With Walnut, your money stays at your broker, Walnut does the analysis (a keep, trim or exit read on each holding, a flag on anything above a quarter of the portfolio, the trades that would restore your target weights), and nothing is placed until you approve it.

1. 1. Walnut: Best AI investing app for the accounts you already have: reads your real holdings, gives each a keep, trim or exit read against the S&P 500, and places the trades you approve. Free; Plus $9.99/mo.
2. 2. PortfolioPilot: Best for a risk-scored second-opinion report you act on yourself (free; Gold $20/mo billed yearly).
3. 3. Origin: Best for whole-household planning across cash, debt and goals ($99 a year list price).
4. 4. Magnifi: Best for plain-English fund and ETF discovery (free; Premium $99 a year).
5. 5. Composer: Best for automating rules-based strategies you write ($0 to $32 a month).
6. 6. Danelfin: Best for an explainable AI score on individual stocks, used as one input (free tier; paid plans).

Of these, only Walnut and Composer place trades, and only Walnut does it at a broker you already use. The others analyze or plan and leave the order entry to you. Prices checked October 2026.

Walnut is an AI investing app, and it is the Betterment alternative for people who want to keep their own broker. It connects the brokerage accounts you already have, read-only by default, and gives every holding a keep, trim or exit read from its one-year price return against the S&P 500, its momentum and its size in your portfolio. You can turn a thesis into a basket with target weights, let Walnut draft the trades that bring it back to those weights, and approve them; Walnut then places them at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade, tastytrade and Webull (US and Canada). Recurring investments into a basket run from cash already at your broker. It has its own AI assistant and also works inside Claude and ChatGPT.

• What it is: An AI investing app that works on the brokerage accounts you already have. It connects them read-only by default, gives each holding a keep, trim or exit read from its one-year price return against the S&P 500, its momentum and its position size, and flags any holding above a quarter of the portfolio. It turns a thesis into a basket with target weights, drafts the trades that would bring the basket back to those weights, and places the trades you approve at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade, tastytrade and Webull (US and Canada). It has its own AI assistant and also works inside Claude and ChatGPT.
• Price: Free; Walnut Plus $9.99/mo on the web; no fee on assets.
• Best for: People who want to keep their existing broker and choose their own holdings, with AI that reads their real positions, explains each one and carries out the trades they approve.
• How it differs from Betterment: Betterment holds your money and picks the ETFs for you. Walnut leaves your money at the broker you already use, reads what you actually own, and acts only when you approve, including recurring investments into a basket from cash already in the account. You keep the decisions and the account; Walnut does the analysis and the order entry.
• The catch: Walnut does not hold money, harvest tax losses, look through ETFs or rebalance on its own without your approval, and it has no cost basis, so returns are one-year price returns, a measure distinct from profit and loss. At Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard the connection is read-only, so you place those trades yourself.

Choose Walnut when you would rather keep control and your existing broker. Choose Betterment when you want it managed for you with tax-loss harvesting and no decisions to make. For the head to head, see the Walnut vs Betterment comparison, and for the broader category, the AI robo-advisor alternatives roundup and the conversational AI investing assistants comparison.

If you like Betterment's hands-off model and just want a different provider, the closest alternatives are the other major robo-advisors. They all take discretion and manage a diversified portfolio for you; they differ mainly on fees, minimums, fund families and ecosystem.

• What Wealthfront is: A robo-advisor that builds and manages an automated portfolio of low-cost ETFs for you, with automatic rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting and a cash account, for a 0.25% yearly advisory fee.
• Price: 0.25%/yr advisory fee.
• Best for: Hands-off investors who want Betterment-style automated management but lean toward Wealthfront's cash account, direct-indexing options at higher balances and fully digital model.
• How it differs from Betterment: Wealthfront is Betterment's closest direct competitor, and the posture is nearly identical: both take discretion and manage an ETF portfolio for the same 0.25% headline fee. The differences sit at the edges. Wealthfront charges 0.25% from the first dollar and leans on its cash account and direct indexing, while Betterment charges $5 a month under $24,000 without $200 monthly deposits and offers human CFP access on its Premium tier.
• The catch: You still hand over discretion and pay a percentage of assets, and nothing in the service judges individual stocks you picked yourself. Check the account minimum on its site.

• What Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is: Charles Schwab's robo-advisor that builds and automatically rebalances a diversified ETF portfolio with no advisory fee, funded in part by holding a cash allocation in the portfolio.
• Price: $0 advisory fee; $5,000 minimum.
• Best for: Cost-sensitive investors with at least $5,000 who want automated management with no advisory fee and are comfortable inside the Schwab ecosystem.
• How it differs from Betterment: The headline difference is the fee model. Betterment charges 0.25% a year (or $5 a month on small balances); Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges no advisory fee but requires a cash allocation that can act as an indirect cost in a rising market, and it needs $5,000 to start where Betterment needs nothing.
• The catch: The mandatory cash allocation can drag on returns when markets rise, the $5,000 minimum rules out small accounts, tax-loss harvesting starts only at $50,000, and it keeps you within Schwab.

• What Fidelity Go is: Fidelity's robo-advisor that manages a portfolio of Fidelity Flex mutual funds, free below $25,000 and 0.35% a year at $25,000 and above, with no minimum to open and $10 to start investing.
• Price: $0 under $25,000, then 0.35%/yr; $10 to start.
• Best for: Beginners and balances under $25,000 who want a simple, low-cost managed portfolio from a major established firm.
• How it differs from Betterment: Under $25,000 Fidelity Go costs nothing, where Betterment charges $5 a month unless you deposit $200 a month. Above $25,000 it gets dearer than Betterment (0.35% against 0.25%). Fidelity Go is simpler and uses Fidelity's own funds; coaching sessions and tax-loss harvesting arrive at the $25,000 mark.
• The catch: At $25,000 and above the 0.35% fee applies, which is more than Betterment's 0.25%, and the portfolio stays inside Fidelity's own funds.

• What SoFi Automated Investing is: SoFi's robo-advisor that builds and rebalances a diversified ETF portfolio for a 0.25% advisory fee and bundles with SoFi's banking, lending and member-benefit ecosystem.
• Price: 0.25%/yr advisory fee.
• Best for: People who already use or want SoFi for banking and loans and would like an automated portfolio in the same app, with access to financial planners as a member perk.
• How it differs from Betterment: The fee matches Betterment's 0.25%, so the draw is the bundle: automated investing sits alongside checking, savings and lending, and members can talk to financial planners. Betterment is a more focused investing product with deeper tax and goal features.
• The catch: The investing product is less specialized than Betterment, and the appeal depends on wanting the wider SoFi ecosystem. Check the minimum to start on its site.

• What Vanguard Digital Advisor is: Vanguard's robo-advisor that manages a portfolio of low-cost Vanguard funds with automatic rebalancing, for a 0.20% gross yearly fee on index portfolios (about $15 to $16 per $10,000 after Vanguard's credit) and a $100 minimum.
• Price: 0.20%/yr gross (about 0.15% net) for index portfolios; $100 minimum.
• Best for: Long-term, cost-focused investors who already believe in Vanguard's low-cost index philosophy and want automated management built around Vanguard funds.
• How it differs from Betterment: Vanguard Digital Advisor is the most index-purist of the robos and costs less than Betterment's 0.25%, but it is built around Vanguard's own funds. Betterment has more portfolio choices and goal tooling.
• The catch: The portfolios are Vanguard-centric, the active option costs 0.25% gross, and the experience is more utilitarian than Betterment's.

Two more managed options turn up in the same answers. Robinhood Strategies charges 0.25% a year with a $50 minimum, and Robinhood Gold members ($5 a month) pay that fee only on the first $100,000. Acorns runs on a flat subscription of $4, $8 or $12 a month and invests spare change through round-ups, which costs more than a percentage fee on small balances: $48 a year is 4.8% of $1,000. For the wider field, see the best robo-advisors of 2026 roundup.

The other reason people leave Betterment is the opposite of cost: they want more control over what they actually own. A robo, by design, takes the decisions out of your hands. Two kinds of tool give them back.

M1 Finance is the half-step. You design your own portfolio (a customizable “pie” of stocks and ETFs at target weights), and M1 automates the buying and rebalancing toward those targets inside its own account.

• What M1 Finance is: A self-directed platform built around customizable portfolio “pies” that you design, where M1 then automates the buying and rebalancing toward your chosen target weights.
• Price: $3/mo platform fee, waived at $10,000.
• Best for: Investors who want more control than a robo, picking their own stocks and ETFs and target weights, while still getting automatic rebalancing toward those targets.
• How it differs from Betterment: Betterment chooses and manages the portfolio for you. M1 lets you design the portfolio and then automates the mechanics toward weights you set, so you stay the decision-maker. M1 does not give discretionary advice.
• The catch: You make the investment decisions, there is no tax-loss harvesting, and trading runs inside a new M1 account on a set trading window, away from any broker you already use.

The other kind of control-keeping tool is an AI investing app that works on the broker you already use, so you do not move your money anywhere. Walnut, covered above, holds target weights the way M1 does, but at your own broker and only with your approval.

Prices checked October 2026 on each provider's own site. Fund expense ratios are extra wherever a provider holds your money.

Yearly fees from the October 2026 prices above, before fund expense ratios. The small balance is where the gaps are widest: Betterment's $5 a month is $60 a year on $1,000, or 6%, unless you set up $200 a month in deposits, which drops it to $2.50.

1. Who holds the money. Betterment, Wealthfront and the other robos hold it in their own accounts. Walnut, Origin and PortfolioPilot connect to accounts you already have.
2. Total cost at your balance. Betterment is $5 a month under $24,000 without $200 monthly deposits, then 0.25%. Compare that with $0 (Walnut, Schwab, Fidelity Go under $25,000) and flat fees (M1, Acorns) using the cost table above.
3. Minimums. Betterment needs nothing for traditional portfolios; Schwab needs $5,000, Vanguard $100, Robinhood Strategies $50 and Fidelity Go $10 to start.
4. Tax handling. Betterment and Wealthfront harvest losses automatically; Schwab starts at $50,000 and Fidelity Go at $25,000. Walnut, M1 and Acorns do not.
5. Who decides and who places trades. A robo decides and trades for you. M1 trades toward weights you set. Walnut drafts trades and places only the ones you approve.
6. Human advice. Betterment Premium includes CFP access at 0.65% and $100,000. Fidelity Go adds coaching at $25,000; SoFi offers planners to members.
7. Whether the AI changes a decision. Ask what the tool says about a specific holding. Walnut gives each one a keep, trim or exit read; a robo's automation picks funds but says nothing about stocks you chose.
8. Portability. Betterment charges $75 to transfer an account out. A tool that connects to your broker has nothing to transfer.
9. Account types. Check that IRAs, joint and taxable accounts are all supported where you need them.

For the same checklist applied across the whole category, see the best AI portfolio management tools guide.

• You want to keep your broker and add AI. Walnut reads the brokerage you already use, gives each holding a keep, trim or exit read and places the trades you approve. Free.
• You want a near-identical robo. Wealthfront charges the same 0.25% and competes on its cash account and direct indexing.
• You want hands-off management for less. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges no advisory fee from $5,000, Fidelity Go is free under $25,000, and Vanguard Digital Advisor charges 0.20% gross.
• You want investing bundled with banking. SoFi Automated Investing pairs a 0.25% portfolio with checking, savings, lending and planner access.
• You want to design the portfolio yourself. M1 Finance auto-rebalances a pie you build for $3 a month, waived at $10,000.

For the robo field from the other side, see the Wealthfront alternatives roundup.

We ranked each alternative on the dimensions AI answers and review sites use when they compare Betterment: total cost at three balances, minimum, tax-loss harvesting, human advice, who holds the money and who places trades, and what the software actually decides. Fees and minimums were read from each provider's own pricing page in October 2026. Where a provider's page did not state a figure, the table says “see its site” rather than guess.

Not included: trading-signal tools such as Trade Ideas, because they do not replace a managed portfolio, and human advisory firms that charge around 1%, because they answer a different question. Walnut is our own product; its row states what it does not do as plainly as what it does.

Betterment is strong at one specific job: managing a diversified ETF portfolio for you, fully hands-off, for 0.25% a year (or $5 a month on small balances). If you want to keep your own broker and decide for yourself, Walnut is the best alternative: a free AI investing app that judges each holding against the S&P 500 and carries out the trades you approve. If you want the same managed job elsewhere, Wealthfront is the closest swap, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Fidelity Go are the cheapest, Vanguard Digital Advisor is the index pick, and M1 Finance gives you more control inside its own account.