Best Robo-Advisors: Top Picks for April 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.
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.
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:
Best for portfolio options: Wealthfront
Best for low-cost investing: Fidelity Go
Best for IRA investors: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Impressive SRI portfolio options: Betterment
They are all well-rounded offerings that are a good fit for most investors, with affordable fees that deliver significant value. Wealthfront and Betterment offer a few extra perks — most notably, investors get access to advanced tax-optimization strategies with no minimum balance. Fidelity Go is ideal for investors who want to keep costs as low as possible — it’s free for balances below $25,000 and offers its own index funds with no fees. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has a higher account minimum than other providers, but it charges no management fee and offers superb customer service.
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. See how they stack up in the comparison table below, or jump down to learn more details about the top-scoring picks.
Top robo-advisors of 2026
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 $12 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 highest-scoring robo-advisors on our list
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is one of the highest-scoring robo-advisors in our analysis, and it's easy to see why. The platform hits all the marks that automated investing customers tend to care about most. For those who want to try their hand at DIY investing, there’s an option for that, too.
Fees: Wealthfront collects an annual management fee of 0.25%. On a $10,000 portfolio, that works out to $25 per year. Expense ratios — the fees attached to the funds in your portfolio— average around 0.08%, which is pretty competitive overall.
Investments: Automated portfolios tend to be built around your risk tolerance, and Wealthfront offers exposure to more asset classes than some others on this list, including international stocks, emerging markets, real estate, dividend equities and bonds. It also offers access to socially responsible and sector-specific ETFs for investors who want a more targeted approach.
Tax tools: All automated investing accounts include daily tax-loss harvesting — where investments may be sold at a loss to offset taxable gains — as well as automatic rebalancing to keep your portfolio aligned with its recommended asset allocation.
$500 account minimum: If you’re new to investing, have a smaller starting budget, or simply don’t want to make a major commitment before you test-drive, this could give you pause.
No human advisors: Wealthfront has stayed true to its roots as a purely automated platform. For some, this could be a drawback, especially for anyone whose finances become more complex over time and who wishes to work with a human advisor, even for a fee. Some other robo-advisors on this list do offer that option, so if having a person to talk to matters to you, it's worth keeping in mind.
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.
Fidelity Go
If pricing and fees play a big role in your decision-making, Fidelity Go is worth a close look — in fact, it earned a best-of award for the low-cost category.
Fees. Fidelity uses its proprietary mutual funds called "flex funds" for automated investment portfolios, all of which carry a 0% expense ratio or management fee. That means no surprise charges on any investments you hold, a nice plus for set-it-and-forget-it investors. Advisory fees kick in only once your balance exceeds $25,000, at which point you'll pay 0.35%. On a $50,000 balance, that's $175 a year.
Fidelity's suite of products. Fidelity's vast ecosystem is another draw. If you're one of the 24.8 million people who already use Fidelity for your 401(k) and appreciate the platform's strong customer service and UX, adding Fidelity Go to your lineup of accounts could feel like a natural choice here.
Human oversight. A typical setup for robo-advisors is for investing algorithms to be paired with a dedicated financial advisor. With Fidelity Go, the management decisions tied to your account are exclusively handled by human advisors — this may be a selling point for people who would breathe easier knowing the ship is being steered by human hands.
No tax-loss harvesting under $25,000.While Fidelity Go excels in many ways, it doesn't offer tax-loss harvesting for accounts with balances under $25,000. Tax-loss harvesting is when some securities in your portfolio are sold at a loss to offset gains and potential taxes from gains. This may matter less if you plan to open a Fidelity Go IRA, if you're in a low tax bracket or if you plan to have a small balance.
A more limited investment selection. If you're after a niche portfolio (e.g., ESG) or want exposure beyond the core assets of stocks, bonds and cash (e.g., real estate investment trusts), Fidelity Go may fall short here.
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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.
Charles Schwab
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has a compelling hook: no annual account management fee. If you're already in the Schwab ecosystem with, say, an IRA or 401(k) account, adding a managed portfolio with no ongoing fee may also feel like a pretty easy call.
Fees: Intelligent Portfolios has no annual management fee — that’s pretty rare among robo-advisors.The only other robo on our list that does this is Fidelity Go (but only for certain lower balances) and Ally (but only for certain portfolios). You’ll still be on the hook for expense ratios on the funds in your portfolio, which average 0.12%, though some portfolios may be higher or lower depending on their risk allocation.
Large collection of portfolios: Schwab offers over 80 portfolios and 20 asset classes to choose from. Although there are no socially responsible portfolio options, investors can exclude up to 3 ETFs from their holdings.
Helpful for IRA investors: If you're investing for retirement, Schwab has a lot going for it: retirement planning tools, a solid mix of portfolio options, relatively low fees, strong customer service, educational resources, and 24/7 access to licensed professionals.
Account minimum: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios has what we consider a pretty steep account minimum — $5,000. While that might not fluster some investors, it’s a lot more than $0, which is pretty standard for most robo-advisors nowadays. It could be a barrier to entry for people with less capital to invest or for those just starting out.
Tax-loss harvesting: Schwab investors must have at least $50,000 in their accounts to access this feature. While this might not matter to some people, if you are in a high tax bracket but fail to meet the account minimum, it could be a drawback.
Unpaid non-client promotion
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.
Betterment
Many robo-advisors help you build portfolios based on risk tolerance, but Betterment also asks about your goals during initial setup , which can feel like a more personalized approach than most. The platform also stands out for its impressive range of socially responsible portfolio options.
Fees: Betterment’s fee structure is a bit quirkier than most. If you have less than $24,000 in your account, you pay $5 a month. If you hold more than $24,000 and set up monthly recurring deposits of $200 or more, you pay a 0.25% annual fee. Expense ratios for funds in the Betterment Core portfolio range from 0.04% to 0.17%, which are pretty competitive among the robo-advisors we review.
Investments: Betterment's Core Portfolio uses ETFs across 12 asset classes, and clients who want more control can use the Flexible Portfolio to adjust their asset-class weights or add exposure to sectors such as real estate investment trusts and commodities. There are also three socially responsible portfolio options for investors who want their money to reflect their values.
Tax tools: Betterment offers tax-loss harvesting on all robo accounts, plus a Tax Coordinated Portfolio tool that moves investments into tax-advantaged accounts — like an IRA — when it makes sense to do so (for this, you’ll need to have a retirement account with Betterment in addition to your robo). There's also a Tax Impact Preview tool that shows you the potential implications of any moves you're considering before you make them.
The flat fee can sting at lower balances. If you don't have more than $24,000 to start and don't want to set up recurring deposits, $5 a month can add up faster than a percentage-based fee would at most other robo-advisors.
Human advisors cost more. If having access to human help is important to you, you’ll need to upgrade to a different account — Betterment Premium — which requires a $100,000 minimum balance.
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Betterment offers a powerful combination of goal-based tools, affordable management fees and no account minimum.
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 for questions about 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 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:
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.
Methodology
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.