How to Find Cheap or Free Financial Advice

Sometimes there is such a thing as a free lunch, at least when it comes to getting help with your finances. You can find a wealth of financial advice from financial advisors and other resources for free or at a low cost with these options.

• One-time question or short-term problem: A pro-bono CFP or your 401(k) provider

• Hands-off investing: A low-cost robo-advisor

• Learning the basics: Your bank and broker or a budgeting app

• Ongoing advice on a budget: An hourly or flat-fee advisor

1. Pro-bono financial planning services from a CFP

Start here if you want live, personal help at no cost. A certified financial planner, or CFP®, is a credentialed professional who is trained to look at your whole financial picture, and they're fiduciaries when providing financial planning, which means they're required to give advice that's in your best interest, not theirs.

Some volunteer their time to give free, one-on-one help to individuals who can't afford a paid advisor, often through a nonprofit or the CFP Board (their professional organization). There are many programs intended for specific groups, such as Savvy Ladies for women, Wings for Widows for widows and widowers and Triage Cancer for cancer patients and caregivers. If you’re looking for a CFP who has experience with clients like you, the Foundation for Financial Planning funds pro-bono nonprofits throughout the country (see their current list of grantees) and some local chapters of the Financial Planning Association also run pro-bono programs.

» Prep for the first meeting: Questions to ask a financial advisor

You can also look into Advisors Give Back, which matches qualifying individuals to a volunteer CFP for a free initial phone call. You create a financial plan with your advisor, then have four weeks to carry it out. I tested the service’s match flow, and appreciated that the questionnaire tried to match me to a CFP in my area, as they’d be most familiar with my city’s cost of living.

Pro-bono help is best suited for a specific question or short-term challenge, as many programs cap the number of times you can meet with your advisor. If you want long-term help from a financial advisor or active management, many financial advisors offer a free initial consultation. This can help you determine if short-term or long-term help is best for you right now. (Keep in mind that a free consultation may also be a sales conversation.)

» See NerdWallet's top-rated financial advisors

2. Investment management through a robo-advisor

If your main goal is investing rather than broader financial planning, a robo-advisor can be a low-cost (and even sometimes free) option for staying hands-off with the decision making while still trusting your money is being invested appropriately for your goals. (Like any investment, the portfolio can lose value.) During our annual review of robo-advisors, here are the ones we found that reduce the cost barrier to entry:

• Fidelity Go: At account balances below $25,000, clients pay no account management fee to invest with Fidelity Go. Above this amount, the fee is 0.35% annually and you get access to human advisors. That means if you have $25,000 invested, you can expect to pay around $87.50 for the year.

• Ally Invest: The Cash-Enhanced Management Portfolio charges no management fee, but the downside is that it requires a 30% cash allocation. This may be too much in cash for those who want to be more invested in the market. An alternative is the Market-Focused Managed Portfolio, where the account management fee is 0.30%, but the cash allocation is only 2%. 

• SoFi Robo Investing: While SoFi doesn’t offer free management, it does offer more human advisor access compared to the two above. Its account management fee is 0.25% with a $50 account minimum. While every SoFi Robo Investing client can have one meeting with an advisor, SoFi Plus members (a premium add-on) can meet with an advisor as often as they need.

Robo-advisors have some trade-offs. They typically offer limited customization and little personalized planning, and often you still pay the expense ratios of the funds they use.

» Compare all of NerdWallet's top-rated robo-advisors in one place

3. Financial guidance through your bank or investment accounts

If you have an account with a bank or credit union, chances are it has free tools or some sort of free financial guidance. If your bank or credit union has physical locations, you can likely walk into the branch and speak to a representative in person, though you may need to make an appointment.

Online brokers can be a good source of free financial education, if you already have an account with one. During our annual review of brokers, we graded providers on educational support, and two stood out for having more than just articles and calculators:

• Charles Schwab: Schwab has a video library, in-depth courses, podcasts and email newsletters for investors. In particular, its Schwab Coaching webcasts show its education coaches demonstrating concepts and strategies live on Schwab’s trading platforms.

• E*TRADE: E*TRADE’s Insights and Knowledge center has educational videos, a webinar program for novice to advanced traders, and market webcasts Monday through Wednesday. There’s also a paper trading feature that lets you get familiar with their platform and try out trading strategies before putting real money in the market.

4. Free planning consultations from your employer or 401(k) provider

Have a workplace retirement plan? Your plan administrator likely offers free tools and guidance on how to manage your account — sometimes, even free one-on-one consultations with a professional are available.

Fidelity, for example, has in-house planning consultants who work with clients on reviewing investing and savings strategy, retirement, and recommended next steps. If you choose to explore advisors within your workplace retirement plan provider, be sure to ask if they’re held to a fiduciary standard, which means they hold their clients' best interests over their own, or if they're held to Regulation Best Interest, which is a different standard that applies to broker-dealers who must act in their client’s best interest only when making investment recommendations.

Whoever your administrator is, you can find what’s available to you by logging into your portal and looking for links that mention “tools” or “planning.” If you can’t find anything, pick up the phone and ask a customer support representative, or check with your company’s human resources department.

Separately, don’t forget to check other employer benefits, too. Financial education or planning resources may be part of your package. According to a 2025 survey by Alight Solutions covering 2,500 employees across the U.S., 68% said the current or potential personalized financial management programs offered by their employers are valuable^[1]. Again, your HR department is probably a good place to ask about what's available.

5. Hourly or flat-fee financial advisors

If you want a human to build or review a financial plan but don’t want someone else managing your assets, an advice-only financial advisor may be a consideration. Often, this work is done on an hourly or flat-fee basis, which means you’ll only pay for the help you need, rather than an ongoing percentage of your assets under management (AUM). At a 1% AUM fee, for example, an adviser managing $500,000 might charge about $5,000 a year.

When reaching out to financial advisors, also ask if they’re a fiduciary, and in what capacity.

To find an hourly or flat-fee planner, try independent directories such as NAPFA, the Garrett Planning Network or the XY Planning Network. The CFP Board’s search tool lets you look up CFP professionals, too. Before hiring anyone, check their registration and disciplinary history on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov) and FINRA BrokerCheck (www.brokercheck.finra.org). 

6. Free or cheap financial apps for budgeting, credit monitoring and account tracking

Many apps offer budgeting advice or other services, such as:

• Creating and sticking to a budget by providing a snapshot of where your money is going.

• Finding ways to cut expenses.

• Viewing and understanding your credit score.

• Keeping an eye on investment accounts.

• Suggesting better accounts and credit cards to help you get a better interest rate or earn more benefits.

The costs and services vary by app, but most of NerdWallet’s picks for budgeting apps and personal finance tools are free, including the NerdWallet app.