Best Robo-Advisors: Top Picks for March 2026
We spent hours testing robo-advisors to find ones that charge low fees but still offer high-quality features, including automated portfolio rebalancing, exposure to a range of asset classes and financial planning tools.The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
If you're in the market for a robo-advisor, there are plenty to choose from — but fees, portfolio diversification and customization options, account minimums and other features can vary widely.
In our analysis, four robo-advisors earned the highest scores from our team: Wealthfront, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, Betterment and Fidelity Go. They are all well-rounded offerings that are a good fit for most investors, with affordable fees that deliver a lot of value. Wealthfront and Betterment offer a few extra perks — most notably, investors get advanced tax optimization strategies with no balance minimum. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Fidelity Go are both ideal for investors who want to keep costs as low as possible — Schwab's service charges no management fee, and Fidelity Go is free for balances below $25,000. Fidelity Go also uses its own index funds that do not carry any fees for investors.
That said, all the robo-advisors on this list scored highly and impressed our testers — if they didn't, they wouldn't be here. The best one for you will depend on your individual needs.
Our deep, independent analysis of robo-advisors cuts through the details to find and evaluate the information investors want when choosing an investing account. To see our full methodology and learn more about our process, read our criteria for evaluating robo-advisors.
Over 60 investment account providers reviewed and rated by our expert Nerds.
More than 50 years of combined experience writing about finance and investing.
Hands-on testing of provider websites and investment platforms.
Dozens of objective ratings rubrics and strict guidelines to maintain editorial integrity.
10 best robo-advisors
Company | NerdWallet rating | Fees | Account minimum | Promotion | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vanguard Digital AdvisorReviewed in: Oct. 2025Period considered:Aug. - Oct. 2025 | 4.8/5 Reviewed in: Oct. 2025Period considered:Aug. - Oct. 2025 | 0.15% per year (approximately) | $100 | No advisory fees your first 90 days of Vanguard Digital Advisor investment management (Enrollment requires a Vanguard account with a minimum of $100) | |
Best Robo-Advisor for Low-Cost Investing | 4.9/5 Reviewed in: Dec. 2025Period considered:Aug. - Dec. 2025 | 0% - 0.35% no advisory fees for balances under $25k | $0 | None no promotion available at this time. | |
 Robinhood StrategiesReviewed in: October 2025Period considered:Aug. - Oct. 2025 | 4.9/5 Reviewed in: October 2025Period considered:Aug. - Oct. 2025 | 0.25% $250 annual fee cap for Robinhood Gold members | $50 | None no promotion available at this time | |
4.4/5 Reviewed in: Oct. 2025Period considered:Aug. - Oct. 2025 | 0.25% management fee | $50 | None no promotion available at this time. | ||
4.5/5 Reviewed in: Oct. 2025Period considered:Aug. - Oct. 2025 | $3 or $9 per month, depending on selected plan | $0 | Get $25 when you open a personal brokerage account and deposit at least $5. Subject to T&Cs. | ||
More about the robo-advisors that scored highest in our analysis
2026 Best-of Award winner: Wealthfront is NerdWallet's pick for the best robo-advisor for portfolio options. Wealthfront is our highest-scoring robo-advisor thanks to its blend of automated investment portfolios and DIY stock investing portfolios, its wide variety of account options, excellent tax strategy and low management fee. Wealthfront's only weak spots are its account minimum ($500) and its lack of access to human advisors.
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2026 Best-of Award winner: Fidelity Go is NerdWallet's pick for the best robo-advisor for low-cost investing. Fidelity's robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, frequently makes our list of the best robo-advisors for its low fees — including free management on balances below $25,000 — integration with other Fidelity accounts and its use of Fidelity Flex funds (Fidelity mutual funds), which have no expense ratios. Fidelity Go does not offer tax-loss harvesting.
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Betterment offers a powerful combination of goal-based tools, affordable management fees and no account minimum.
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Schwab Intelligent Portfolios is unique in charging zero management fee, but the advisor's portfolios tend to hold a larger cash allocation than other robo-advisors (meaning a good chunk of your money isn't invested). The account minimum, at $5,000, is fairly high, but Schwab has some of the best customer service in the business.
Frequently asked questions about robo-advisors
What does a robo-advisor do?
Robo-advisors automate investment management by using computer algorithms to build and manage an investment portfolio for you, based on your goals and your tolerance for risk. Since portfolio management is handled by software rather than a human financial advisor, robo-advisors charge lower fees, which can translate to higher long-term returns for investors. A few of the advisors on our list even offer completely free portfolio management.
Robo-advisor services range from automatic rebalancing to tax optimization, and require little to no human interaction. A robo-advisor might be a good fit if you prefer to be largely hands-off with your investments and you don’t have the kind of complex financial situation that requires a direct relationship with a human financial advisor.
That said, many providers offer access to human advisors available for questions related to account management or long-term investment planning — though these services may cost more.
How do you open a robo-advisor account?
Opening a robo-advisor account is very similar to opening a brokerage account or bank account: You'll provide some personal information and then link an existing account from which you can transfer money to fund the new account. The primary difference is in most cases, robo-advisors will take you through an onboarding quiz to help determine how to invest your portfolio. These quizzes generally ask about your investment goals, risk tolerance and time horizon, and the robo-advisor will use your answers to build the most optimal portfolio for you.
What factors should you consider when picking the best robo-advisors?
Here’s what you'll want to look at — and what we look at when curating this list:
Management fees. This is what you’ll pay annually to have an account at a robo-advisor. See our calculator below to help you analyze these.
Expense ratios. These are like management fees, only they’re paid not to the robo-advisor, but to the investments the robo-advisor uses. Most mutual funds, index funds and exchange-traded funds charge this annual fee to cover the costs of running the fund.
Account types. Investment accounts fall into two general categories: Retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, that offer tax advantages while adhering to certain rules; and taxable accounts, where there are no specific tax advantages but also no limits on contributions or distributions.
Investments. Most robo-advisors use low-cost index funds and ETFs.
Rebalancing. Portfolios are fluid, and market fluctuations can cause the mix of investments you hold to get out of sync with your goals. Rebalancing brings that allocation back to its original mix.
Access to human advisors. Many robo-advisors have merged computer-driven portfolio management with access to human financial advisors. Some services offer a dedicated advisor to individual clients; others offer only email or online chat with a team of advisors.
How do robo-advisors get paid?
Robo-advisors are paid through their account management fee. This is usually shown as a percentage, such as 0.25%. This means the fee is a percentage of the money that you invest. For example, if you put $1,000 into a robo-advisor investment account, and it charges a 0.25% fee, you'd pay $2.50 for that year's worth of investment management. If you put in $100,000 you'd pay $250. Both of those figures are significantly lower than what they would be if you worked with a traditional financial advisor.
Expense ratios are different from management fees: They are not paid to the robo-advisor, but to the people and institutions that manage the funds you're invested in.
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers and robo-advisors. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating providers and our processes, read our full broker ratings methodology and our full robo-advisor ratings methodology.