You don’t need a lot of time, money or knowledge to put your money to work for you in the stock market: Robo-advisors use data and algorithms to automatically invest on your behalf, based on your investment goals, your time horizon and your overall risk tolerance.
They can be a great tool for both people who are just starting out and experienced investors who want to go on autopilot.
CNBC Select compared over 20 different robo-advisors to choose the best based on diversification, fees, and more.
See our methodology for more information on how we made our selections.
Best for extra perks: SoFi Invest
Who’s this for? SoFi Invest comes with loads of benefits, including access to exclusive events and free one-on-one time with financial advisors.
Standout benefits: SoFi Invest members get rate discounts on other SoFi financial products.
SoFi Invest®
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Minimum deposit and balance
Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. No account minimum for active or automated investing, or to participate in IPOs. $5 minimum to own a fractional share of a company.
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Fees
Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. Active investing has zero commission fees for trading stocks and ETFs (exchange and fund management fees may apply). Automated investing has zero management fees
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Bonus
Get up to 1,000 in stock when you open & fund a new Active Invest account.
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Investment vehicles
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Investment options
Stocks, bonds, ETFs, fractional shares and IPO participation
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Educational resources
Investors can create a personal watchlist that follows their stocks to stay up to date and receive the latest investing news
Pros
- $0 minimum deposit for active, automated investing and IPO participation
- Ability to purchase fractional shares and participate in IPOs before traded on public market
- No commission fees for trading stocks and ETFs
- No management fees for automated investing
- Variety of bonuses being offered
Cons
- Minimums required for fractional shares ($5)
- Exchange and fund management fees may apply with active investing
*Probability of Member receiving $1,000 is a probability of 0.026%; If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Customer must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. Probability percentage is subject to decrease.
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE
Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC
Automated investing is offered through SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser.
Best for high-net-worth investors: Charles Schwab
Who’s this for? With a $5,000 minimum deposit requirement, Schwab Intellegent Portfolios make sense for high-net-worth investors.
Standout benefits: Schwab has over 300 branches across the U.S. for in-person banking needs.
Charles Schwab
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Minimum deposit and balance
Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. No account minimum for active investing through Schwab One® Brokerage Account. Automated investing through Schwab Intelligent Portfolios® requires a $5,000 minimum deposit
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Fees
Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. Schwab One® Brokerage Account has no account fees, $0 commission fees for stock and ETF trades, $0 transaction fees for over 4,000 mutual funds and a $0.65 fee per options contract
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Bonus
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Investment vehicles
Robo-advisor: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios® and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium™ IRA: Charles Schwab Traditional, Roth, Rollover, Inherited and Custodial IRAs; plus, a Personal Choice Retirement Account® (PCRA) Brokerage and trading: Schwab One® Brokerage Account, Brokerage Account + Specialized Platforms and Support for Trading, Schwab Global Account™, Schwab Organization Account and Schwab Trading Powered by Ameritrade™
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Investment options
Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs and ETFs
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Educational resources
Extensive retirement planning tools
Pros
- $0 minimum deposit for active investing
- No commission fees for stock and ETF trades and no transaction fees for over 4,000 mutual funds
- Offers extensive retirement planning tools
- Users can get on-demand advice from a professional advisor/Schwab expert
- Robo-advisor Schwab Intelligent Portfolios® available as a no-fee automated service option (with Premium version available for a fee)
- Award-winning thinkorswim® trading platforms and all their cutting-edge tools are now available at Schwab.
- 24/7 customer support access by phone or chat
- Charles Schwab offers over 300 brick-and-mortar branches across the U.S. for in-person support
Cons
- Specific transactions may require commission fee
- Robo-advisor Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium charges a one-time planning fee of $300, then a $30 per month advisory fee. For that price, you get unlimited 1:1 guidance from a CFP, interactive planning tools, plus a personalized roadmap for reaching your goals
Best for female investors: Ellevest
Who’s this for? Ellevest‘s algorithm considers pay gaps, career breaks, longer life expectancies and other realities in women’s lives.
Standout benefits: Clients get up to five goal-specific accounts and portfolios, retirement planning tools, automatic rebalancing and access to online workshops, email courses and video resources. There’s also a 50% discount on one-on-one financial planning sessions with an Ellevest CFP.
Ellevest
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Minimum deposit and balance
No minimum deposit to start investing and no minimum account balance for Ellevest Membership advisory service; however, there are portfolio-specific minimums (ranging from $1 to approximately $240)
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Fees
Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. Ellevest Essential membership costs $1/month (or $12/year), Ellevest Plus costs $5/month (or $54/year) and Ellevest Executive costs $9/month (or $97/year); fund fees range from 0.05% to 0.10% across all Ellevest Core Portfolios and 0.13% to 0.19% across all Ellevest Impact Portfolios
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Bonus
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Investment vehicles
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Investment options
Stocks, bonds, ETFs, ESG, mutual, alternative and impact funds
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Educational resources
Online workshops, email courses and video resources
Pros
- Investment algorithm factors in important realities of women’s lives, such as pay gaps, career breaks and longer life expectancy
- Unlimited access to online workshops, email courses and video resources from Ellevest team of financial planners and career coaches
- 1:1 sessions (starting at $38) with Ellevest financial planners and career coaches at a discount (20% discount for Essential members, 30% for Plus and 50% for Executive)
- Offers private wealth management for high and ultra high net worth individuals, families and institutions (investments of $1 million or more)
Cons
- Ellevest requires membership cost ranging from $1/month to $9/month
- 0.05% to 0.19% fund fees
Best for beginners: Betterment
Who’s this for? Launched in 2008, Betterment remains the best for beginner investors, with algorithms that automatically adjust and rebalance portfolios and tools like tax-loss harvesting.
Standout benefits: Betterment has no minimum balance requirement. Its tax impact preview tool lets you see how much you might owe in taxes before withdrawing funds.
Betterment
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Minimum deposit and balance
Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. For example, Betterment doesn’t require clients to maintain a minimum investment account balance, but there is a ACH deposit minimum of $10. Premium Investing requires a $100,000 minimum balance.
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Fees
Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected, account balances, etc. Click here for details.
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Investment vehicles
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Investment options
Stocks, bonds, ETFs and cash
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Educational resources
Betterment offers retirement and other education materials
Terms apply. Does not apply to crypto asset portfolios.
Pros
- No trade or transfer fees
- Good for automated investing
- Customizes users’ portfolios around their financial goals, timeline and risk tolerance
- Users can assign specific investing goals (short- and long-term) to each portfolio and invest using different strategies (less and more risk)
- Quick and easy to set up account
- Able to sync external retirement accounts to your Betterment retirement goal so all your accounts are in one place. Premium plan users get unlimited access to a financial advisor (otherwise, one-time advisor consultations cost a fee ranging from $299 to $399)
- Advanced features include automatic rebalancing, tax-saving strategies and socially responsible investing
Cons
- Base price for investing accounts is $4/month – recurring monthly deposits totaling $250, or total Betterment account balances reaching $20,000, automatically switch you to an annual price of .25% of your investing account balances
- Premium plan requires $100,000 minimum balance
Best for starting small: Acorns
Who’s this for? Acorns‘ Round-Ups® feature invests spare change from everyday purchases, making it a great option for automatic investing. If you bought a $5.25 latte, 75 cents would automatically get invested.
Standout benefits: Acorns has automatic portfolio rebalancing and dividend reinvesting. Acorns’ ETF portfolios ensure that your investments are diversified and low-cost. If you want more control, Acorns’ Custom Portfolio option lets you add individual stocks and ETFs.
Acorns
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Minimum deposit and balance
Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. No minimum required to open an account, $5 minimum to start investing
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Fees
Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. Monthly plans include: Bronze ($3 per month), Silver ($6 per month), and Gold ($12 per month)
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Bonus
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Investment vehicles
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Investment options
Diversified ETFs which include more than 7,000 stocks & bonds
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Educational resources
Pros
- $0 minimum deposit to open an account
- Invests your spare change from everyday purchases
- Customizes users’ portfolios around their financial goals, timeline and risk tolerance
- Automatically rebalances portfolio
- Offers Acorns Sustainable Portfolios for ESG investing
- Access to educational articles and videos to learn about investing
Cons
- Monthly fee can be steep if you’re not investing much
- Investment options are limited
Best for parents: Wealthfront
Who’s this for? Wealthfront offers its own 529 college savings plan, the Wealthfront 529, making it a good choice for parents planning for their kids’ education. While the plan is sponsored by the state of Nevada, it’s available to investors nationwide.
Standout benefits: Wealthfront has a low 0.25% annual advisory fee and offers tax-loss harvesting.
Wealthfront
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Minimum deposit and balance
Minimum deposit and balance requirements may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. $500 minimum deposit for investment accounts
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Fees
Fees may vary depending on the investment vehicle selected. Zero account, transfer, trading or commission fees (fund ratios may apply). Wealthfront annual management advisory fee is 0.25% of your account balance
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Bonus
Get $30 bonus when you fund your first taxable investment account
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Investment vehicles
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Investment options
Stocks, bonds, ETFs and cash. Additional asset classes to your portfolio include real estate, natural resources and dividend stocks
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Educational resources
Offers free financial advice for college planning, retirement and homebuying
Pros
- No trade or transfer fees
- Good for automated investing
- Picks investments based on user’s risk tolerance and time until retirement
- Offers a cash management checking account with a debit card
- Tax-loss harvesting to reduce the taxes you pay:
- Fund your first taxable Investment Account and get a $50 bonus.
Cons
- $500 minimum deposit
- 0.25% management fee
You can diversify your portfolio with precious metals through these gold IRAs
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Initial Purchase Requirements
Minimum initial purchase requirement of $25,000
Minimum initial purchase requirement of $25,000
Account set-up fee of $50. Storage fees of $100 or $150 depending on storage type. Annual account administration fee of $125.
More on our top robo-advisors
SoFi Invest
SoFi Invest offers automated and active investing, IPO investing, fractional shares and IRAs. Beyond its investing vertical, SoFi covers virtually all personal finance products — loans, banking, insurance and credit cards.
Investment accounts: Brokerage and trading, robo-advisor, IRAs and rollovers
Cost: There is an annual advisory fee of 0.25%. with no minimum deposit or account requirement.
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab is a big-name brokerage with a variety of investment products and services, including brokerage and retirement accounts, online trading, as well as checking and savings accounts, credit cards and home loans.
Investment accounts: Brokerage and trading, robo-advisor, IRAs and rollovers, 529 plan, custodial investing account, education savings account, personal choice retirement account, small business retirement plans and trading, Schwab Charitable™ account, Schwab One® trust account, Schwab One® estate account
Cost: A basic Schwab Intelligent Portfolios account has no monthly management fees and a $5,000 minimum deposit requirement. If you have at least $25,000 invested, you can upgrade to Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium for a one-time $300 setup fee and a $30 monthly advisory fee.
Ellevest
Ellevest offers automated investing and retirement plans, as well as financial planning and wealth management services geared toward women.
Investment accounts: Robo-advisor, IRAs and 401(k) rollovers
Cost: $12 per month for automated investing with no minimum deposit or balance requirements. If you have $1 million to invest, you can switch to Ellevest Private Wealth Management. Ellevest requires a minimum of $250,000 for a sub-advised account.
Betterment
Betterment is a robo-advisor offering automated investing as well as IRAs, socially responsible investing, crypto investing, a high-yield cash account, a checking account, plus access to financial advisors.
Investment accounts: Robo-advisor, IRAs and 401(k) rollovers
Cost: $4 per month for automated investing, with no minimum deposit or balance requirements. If you make monthly deposits or transfers of at least $250 or reach a $20,000 balance across all Betterment accounts, that changes to an annual account fee of 0.25% of your fund balance.
Investors with at least $100,000 in cash, stocks, bonds or crypto holdings can upgrade to Betterment Premium for unlimited, one-on-one access to a CFP for a one-time 0.15% charge and a 0.40% annual fee.
Acorns
Acorns offers Acorns Invest for regular investing, Acorns Later for retirement investing, Acorns Banking that links to your investing, Acorns Early for kids investing and Acorns Earn to earn bonus investments when shopping with certain brands.
Investment accounts: Robo-advisor (ETFs, ESG portfolios, etc.), IRAs
Cost: Acorn doesn’t charge management fees or commissions on trades, but there is a $3 monthly fee for a basic Acorns Bronze account, $6 a month for mid-tier Acorns Silver and $12 per month for Acorns Gold. There is no account minimum requirement and you can start investing with just $5.
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is a robo-advisor with socially responsible investing, individual stocks and fractional shares, offering as well IRAs and a 529 college savings plan, plus a high-yield cash account.
Investment accounts: Robo-advisor, IRAs and rollovers, 529 plan
Cost: $500 minimum deposit is required for automated investing, with a 0.25% annual advisory fee
How do robo-advisors work?
A robo-advisor is a software platform that uses algorithms to create an investment portfolio for you. The best robo-advisors maximize your return potential according to your risk tolerance and automatically rebalance your investments regularly.
When you open an account with a robo-advisor, you will start by answering general questions such as your age, investment goals, investment time horizon and overall risk tolerance, or how much risk you’re willing to take on.
You’ll then deposit some money, and the robo-advisor will invest it in diversified portfolios of stocks and bonds that match your risk tolerance. For example, investors with aggressive risk tolerance may see a greater percentage of stock ETFs in their portfolio while those with more conservative risk tolerance are likely to see a greater percentage of bond ETFs in their portfolio.
To get the most out of your robo-advisor account, it’s smart to contribute every month. To maximize the value of your robo-advisor, you may also want to consider a hybrid approach. Hybrid robo-advisors are a mix of automated investing and real-life human advisors, so you get the best of both worlds: You can count on streamlined portfolio management as well as personalized investing guidance and advice along the way.
Keep in mind that robo-advisors on their own are generally safe. While neither can guarantee profits or protect you from losses, you can trust robo-advisors as much as you can a human financial advisor. Robo-advisors are fiduciaries, which means they are legally obligated to put an investor’s interests first.
How much does a robo-advisor cost?
The advisory fee for a robo-advisor can often range from 0.25% to 0.50% of your average annual account balance. A 0.25% management fee on a $10,000 annual balance would only be $25, for example.
Robo-advisor pros and cons
Pros
- Low-cost and simple way to invest
- No investing expertise required
- Automatic rebalancing
- Considers your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon
Cons
- Lack of personalization
- Access to real-life advisors may cost more
- Limited investment options
How to choose a robo-advisor
When choosing a robo-advisor, you’ll want to consider factors like minimum requirements to open an account, the selection of investments or portfolios the robo-advisor offers, any additional fees, whether or not it offers access to human financial advisors, the other investment vehicles it offers and any investor benefits or tax tools.
Robo-advisors vs. financial advisors
The main difference between a robo-advisor and a financial advisor is that the former is essentially a robot in that it’s a software platform using algorithms to invest on your behalf whereas a real-life financial advisor is sitting down with you, offering a much more personalized service since it’s a human on the other end. Because of this difference, robo-advisors are less expensive than financial advisors.
Robo-advisors FAQs
Do any robo-advisors beat the market?
Robo-advisors are set up to mainly meet the market’s performance, so you shouldn’t invest in a robo-advisor expecting to beat the market. Many automated investing services will put an investor’s money in index funds that track the S&P 500.
Is it worth paying for a robo-advisor?
It can be worth paying for a robo-advisor, especially compared to other investment options, since their management advisory fees are much more affordable than if you signed up with a traditional financial advisor.
What is the average return on a robo-advisor?
Five-year returns from most robo-advisors range from 2% to 5% annually, according to Vanguard.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. Every investment review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of investing products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best robo-advisors.
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Our methodology
To determine which robo-advisors offer the best services for investors, CNBC Select reviewed 22 different platforms. We then narrowed down our top picks by considering the following factors:
- Account minimums
- Account, advisory, trading and fund fees
- Selection of investments
- Other investment vehicles offered
- Tax tools
- Access to human financial advisors
- User perks
- Educational tools and resources
- Customer support
After reviewing the above features, we based our recommendations on platforms offering the lowest fees, the widest range of investment options, usability and any unique features like access to a human advisor. We also looked into each company’s customer support structure and app reviews, and we considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.
We then sorted our top picks by best for beginners, for parents, for high-net-worth investors, for female investors, for extra perks and for automatic investing.
Your investment earnings through a robo-advisor are subject to fluctuations of the market. Your earnings also depend on any associated fees and the contributions you make to your account. There are no guarantees that you’ll earn a certain rate of return or that current investment options will always be available. To determine the best approach for your specific investment goals, speaking with a reputable fiduciary investment advisor is recommended.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
