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Robo-advisors are quickly becoming mainstream, which is good news for consumers who are looking for low-cost financial advice. The number of online advisors continues to swell, as does the range of services. Many now offer socially responsible investment portfolios, access to human financial advisors and comprehensive digital financial planning tools.
Bottom line: There’s now a low-cost advisor option for every type of investor. We’ve covered the best choices below.
Robo-advisors are quickly becoming mainstream, which is good news for consumers who are looking for low-cost financial advice. The number of online advisors continues to swell, as does the range of services. Many now offer socially responsible investment portfolios, access to human financial advisors and comprehensive digital financial planning tools.
Bottom line: There’s now a low-cost advisor option for every type of investor. We’ve covered the best choices below.
Summary of Best Robo-Advisors of October 2021
| Broker | NerdWallet Rating | Fees | Account Minimum | Promotion | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SoFi Automated Investing Learn more on SoFi Invest's website | Best for Overall | 0% management fee | $0 | Free career counseling plus loan discounts with qualifying deposit | Learn more on SoFi Invest's website |
 Betterment Learn more on Betterment's website | Best for Overall | 0.25% management fee | $0 | Up to 1 year of free management with a qualifying deposit | Learn more on Betterment's website |
 Vanguard Digital Advisor Learn more on Vanguard's website | Best for Overall | 0.15% per year
(approximately) | $0 | No advisory fees your first 90 days of Vanguard Digital Advisor investment management (Enrollment requires a Vanguard account with a minimum of $3,000) | Learn more on Vanguard's website |
 Wealthfront Learn more on Wealthfront's website | Best for Overall | 0.25% management fee | $500 | $5,000 amount of assets managed for free | Learn more on Wealthfront's website |
 Ellevest Learn more on Ellevest's website | Best for Overall | $1 - $9 per month | $0 | 2 months free with promo code "nerdwallet" | Learn more on Ellevest's website |
Our picks for
Overall
on SoFi Invest's website
SoFi Automated Investing
Fees
management fee
Account Minimum
Promotion
career counseling plus loan discounts with qualifying deposit
on SoFi Invest's website
on Betterment's website
Betterment
Fees
management fee
Account Minimum
Promotion
of free management with a qualifying deposit
on Betterment's website
on Vanguard's website
Vanguard Digital Advisor
Fees
per year (approximately)
Account Minimum
Promotion
your first 90 days of Vanguard Digital Advisor investment management (Enrollment requires a Vanguard account with a minimum of $3,000)
on Vanguard's website
on Wealthfront's website
Wealthfront
Fees
management fee
Account Minimum
Promotion
amount of assets managed for free
on Wealthfront's website
on Ellevest's website
Ellevest
Fees
per month
Account Minimum
Promotion
with promo code "nerdwallet"
on Ellevest's website
on Axos Invest's website
Axos Managed Portfolios
Fees
management fee
Account Minimum
Promotion
no promotion available at this time
on Axos Invest's website
Our pick for
401(k) management
While Blooom is slightly different than the other robo-advisors on this list, the company deserves a mention for offering a unique and useful product: Blooom directly manages 401(k)s — a rare service among robo-advisors.
on Blooom's website
Blooom
Fees
per year
Account Minimum
Promotion
with code REEETIRE10
on Blooom's website
Want to compare more options? Here are our other top picks:
Disclosure: The author held no positions in the aforementioned securities at the time of publication.
Last updated on October 8, 2021
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Methodology
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers and robo-advisors by assets under management, along with emerging industry players, using a multifaceted and iterative approach. 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.
DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW PROCESS
We collect data directly from providers, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. Our process starts by sending detailed questionnaires to providers to complete. The questionnaires are structured to equally elicit both favorable and unfavorable responses from providers. They are not designed or prepared to produce any predetermined results. The questionnaire answers, combined with product 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). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
RATING FACTORS
Evaluations vary by provider type, but in each case are based upon the weighted averages of factors that include but are not limited to: advisory and account fees, account minimums and types, investment selection, investment expense ratios, trading costs, access to human financial advisors, educational resources and tools, rebalancing and tax minimization options, and customer support including branch access, user-facing technology and mobile platforms.
Each factor can involve evaluating various sub-factors. For instance, when gauging the investment selections offered by robo-advisors, 80% of the score is based on the potential for diversification (how well-diversified a resulting portfolio of investments could be) combined with the availability of specialty portfolios and level of customization for investors. Expense ratios form an additional 10% of the score, and low or no management fee the remaining 10%.
FACTOR WEIGHTINGS
The weighting of each factor is based on our team’s assessment of which features are the most important to consumers and which ones impact the consumer experience in the most meaningful way. The factors considered, and how those factors are weighted, change depending upon the category of providers reviewed.
Provider categories include: Best Brokers for Stock Trading, Best Brokers for Beginners, Best Brokers for Day Trading, Best Brokers for Options Trading, Best Discount Brokers, Best Brokers for Free Trading, Best Investment Apps, Best Brokers for Penny Stocks, Best IRA Brokers, Best Robo-Advisors, Best Financial Advisors, Best Real Estate Platforms, Best Brokers for ETFs and Best Brokers for Mutual Funds.
INFORMATION UPDATES
Writers and editors conduct our broker and robo-advisor reviews on an annual basis but continually make updates throughout the year. We maintain frequent contact with providers and highlight any changes in offerings.
THE REVIEW TEAM
The review team comprises seasoned writers, researchers and editors who cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds, alternative investments, socially responsible investing, financial advisors, retirement and investment strategy on a daily basis. In addition to NerdWallet, the work of our team members has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, USA Today, Bloomberg News, Nasdaq, MSN, MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance and other national and regional media outlets.
The combined expertise of our Investing team is infused into our review process to ensure thoughtful evaluations of provider products and services from the customer perspective. Our writers and editors combine to have more than 70 years of deep experience in finance, ranging from a former Wall Street Journal reporter to a former senior financial advisor at Merrill Lynch.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
While NerdWallet does have partnerships with many of the reviewed providers, we manage potential conflicts of interest by maintaining a wall between our content and business operations. This wall is designed to prevent our writers and the review process from being influenced or impacted by our business partnerships. This way, all reviews can provide an unbiased review that serves the interests of our users. For more information, see NerdWallet’s editorial guidelines.
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Best Robo-Advisors of October 2021
- SoFi Automated Investing: Best for Overall
- Betterment: Best for Overall
- Vanguard Digital Advisor: Best for Overall
- Wealthfront: Best for Overall
- Ellevest: Best for Overall
- Axos Managed Portfolios: Best for Overall
- Stash: Best for Overall
- Ally Invest Robo Portfolios: Best for Overall
- SigFig: Best for Overall
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios®: Best for Overall
- Blooom: Best for 401(k) management
Frequently asked questions
Robo-advisors automate investment management by using computer algorithms to build you a portfolio and manage your assets 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.
Robo-advisors use advanced software to handle many of the tasks that used to require expensive experts to manage. 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.
Here’s what you should consider:
Management fees. This is what you’ll pay annually to have an account at a robo-advisor.
Expense ratios. These are like management fees, only they’re paid not to the robo-advisor, but to the investments the robo-advisor uses. Mutual funds, index funds and exchange-traded funds all 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.
