The Best Robo Financial Advisors of 2023

Thanks to a strong proven track record of success, diversity of services offered and user simplicity, Wealthfront is our pick for the best overall robo financial advisor of 2023. Wealthfront offers intuitive automated investing that can be easily curated to match both the goals and risk level of the client.

Wealthfront’s annual fee for its automated investing service is 0.25%, which matches up well with the rest of the industry, and customers have seen strong results for years.

According to the company’s website, portfolios with the most selected risk score have grown by 6.64% since 2011. Tax-loss harvesting has also resulted in an average boost of 1.8% on after-tax returns.

Wealthfront offers a hands-off way for customers to select their goals, pinpoint their risk tolerance and have a good chance at seeing real returns.

When cost is king in your search for a robo-advisor, it’s hard to beat SoFi Automated Investing. The company’s robo-advisor service comes with no fees attached, as well as no required minimum investment.

And that low cost is paired with a strong service. SoFi Automated Investing is a goal-oriented platform, advertising itself as a way to save money or grow investments towards specific goals such as buying a home or planning for a wedding. Customers also gain access to SoFi’s member benefits by signing up.

While the lack of fees is naturally attractive, the trade off is that the service is not quite as robust as some other competitors. It also does not offer tax-loss harvesting capabilities.

While many of the robo-advisor options listed have strong customer satisfaction, M1 Finance stands out in this category. The company has an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau (higher than Wealthfront or Betterment) and also boasts a 4.7/5 rating with 52,000 reviews on the App Store.

M1 Finance’s automatic investing allows both manual and dynamic rebalancing, giving users the hands-off freedom that comes with automation while allowing control over the movement of their portfolio. Investments are grouped into “pies,” which make up a portfolio and can be devised directly by the user.

Depending on how hands-on you are in creating and grouping your pies, M1 Finance can potentially require more heavy lifting by the customer than some other competitors. Tax-loss harvesting is also not offered.

Betterment is an excellent option for those who are just wading in to the robo-advisor space and are looking for an easy-to-understand option. The company’s website is simple to navigate, and it isn’t difficult to get started.

It also includes helpful gadgets, such as a life goals quiz to help funnel customers towards the service or strategy that makes the most sense for them.

On top of its simplicity and easy path to get started, Betterment includes many of the robust benefits offered by other robo-advisors, including tax-loss harvesting and coordination, and automatic portfolio adjustments.

One of the few drawbacks, which may be less of a concern for beginners, is the high barrier to entry for premium clients. While its regular service includes a $4 monthly fee (or 0.25% annually if your account exceeds $20,000), its premium service requires a balance of at least $100,000.

For women looking to invest in a robo-advisor catered specifically to their needs, Ellevest is a strong option. The company advertises itself as offering a womens-first approach to investing. Women make less money on average than men and live longer. Ellevest’s service takes concerns like that into account.

While Ellevest offers many of the same benefits as other robo-advisors, it also includes additional options such as the impact portfolio, which allows half of the customer’s portfolio to be invested in ETFs and mutual funds that help advance women.

Ellevest is generally affordable as well, with $5 per month and $9 per month options available, along with no minimum required balance.