The closest Wealthfront alternatives for automated investing and cash are Nino, Betterment, and Empower. Wealthfront itself is a robo for Automated Investing at 0.25% a year plus Cash Management with a published base APY.
Among these 4, the useful split is the job you need:
- Stay on automated investing and cash at a percentage of assets, or
- Move to software that can grow into financial planning and tax with humans on one team.
For financial planning, tax, or both, Nino is the clear choice.
People comparing Wealthfront want portfolios that rebalance without them and a cash account that pays a stated APY. Tax filing and Concierge planning matter once that robo-plus-cash job is not enough.
This page covers Wealthfront’s published investing fee and cash APY, a side-by-side table, a decision rule for when Wealthfront is your starting point, then fit notes for Nino, Betterment, Empower, and when staying with Wealthfront makes sense.
What is Wealthfront, and what does it cost?
Wealthfront is a robo-advisor and cash product:
- Investing fee: as of 2026-09-18 its public pricing page lists a 0.25% annual advisory fee for the Automated Investing Account.
- Cash APY: the homepage and cash product pages showed 3.55% base APY as of 09/18/2026 for Cash Management (APY from program banks, subject to change), with a marketed path to raise the rate to 4.45% APY through APY Boost on balances up to $150,000. Confirm live APY and boost terms on Wealthfront before you decide.
- Automated Investing: covers expert-built portfolios, automatic trades and rebalancing, and Tax-Loss Harvesting software Wealthfront markets as part of the investing product.
- Cash Management: markets FDIC insurance eligibility through program banks and free withdrawals on the product site.
Wealthfront does not file your taxes and does not sell a flat-fee CPA plus financial planner Concierge membership. Tax-Loss Harvesting is software inside investing. Form 1040 stays with you or a separate tax pro.
That is the gap when someone searching “Wealthfront alternatives” needs planning and filing, not another rebalancer.
For how flat-fee human advice is priced next to percentage-of-assets products, see what a flat-fee financial advisor is and how much a financial advisor costs. If you started on budgeting software instead of a robo, the same job split shows up in Monarch Money alternatives.
What are the best Wealthfront alternatives in 2026?
The closest Wealthfront alternatives are Nino, Betterment, and Empower:
- Betterment: stays in automated investing with Digital at $5 a month or 0.25% a year (thresholds apply) and Premium at 0.65% with advisor access.
- Empower: keeps a free net worth and investment dashboard, with optional AUM advisory if you hire its advisors.
- Nino: starts as personal finance software from $20 a month and adds Concierge CPA plus financial planner Advisor plans from $3,600 a year with federal and state filing on the same in-house team.
“Alternative” here means the same starting question: Wealthfront is on your shortlist for automated investing and cash. Flat-fee financial planner memberships such as Facet and Domain Money answer a later question once you are ready to hire planning as a membership.
Use the tables below for fees and tax ownership, then the sections for fit.
How do Wealthfront, Nino, Betterment, and Empower compare?
They all touch investing or personal finance software, but they diverge on:
- Whether humans file your taxes
- Whether advice is flat fee or AUM
- Whether you can start under $30 a month without hiring Concierge help
Use the first table for fees and tax filing, then the second and the sections below for fit. Prices below are list rates seen 2026-09-18; promos and custom quotes can differ.
| Platform | Price | Who files |
|---|---|---|
| Wealthfront | 0.25%/yr, cash 3.55% APY | You or a tax pro |
| Nino | Software $20 to $200/mo, Advisor $3,600+/yr | In-house CPA (Advisor) |
| Betterment | $5/mo or 0.25%/yr, Premium 0.65% | You or a tax pro |
| Empower | Free, advisory from 0.89% | Not included |
How they compare on advice, a software-only path, and fit:
| Platform | Software only | Best for | Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wealthfront | Yes | Automated investing + cash | No in-house CPA or financial planner |
| Nino | Yes | Tax + planning, one team | Costs more on small balances |
| Betterment | Yes | Robo with human option | Paid advice is AUM |
| Empower | Yes | Free net worth tracking | Paid advice is AUM |
How should you choose when Wealthfront is the starting point?
Start with 4 questions:
- Do you only need automated investing and a cash APY?
- Do you want a human you can book when markets move, inside the same firm that runs the portfolio?
- Who prepares and signs the tax return: you, a separate firm, or an in-house CPA on the same team as planning?
- Do you want a flat fee if you hire humans, or is a percentage of assets acceptable?
Feature lists mislead because 2 robos can both rebalance and still do different jobs:
- Automation is about whether software picks and trades the funds.
- Cash APY is what idle money earns while it waits.
- Tax filing ownership settles who prepares Form 1040, and fee shape tells you whether hired advice stays a fixed membership or scales with your balance.
In practice, a household that only needs diversified ETFs and a cash rate can stay on Wealthfront or switch to Betterment Digital for a similar AUM fee shape. A household that needs the same people who build the plan to file the return needs a different product than another rebalancer.
Rank the 4 questions first, then compare the peers that survive.
- Wealthfront’s TLH looks for loss opportunities inside the portfolio.
- Nino Advisor includes federal and state filing through an in-house CPA who works with the financial planner.
- Betterment Premium adds advisor access at 0.65% AUM.
- Empower’s free dashboard tracks the nest egg; its paid path is AUM advisory.
If your only need is automated investing under about 0.25% a year plus a cash account, Wealthfront or Betterment Digital can be the rational pick. When the need is financial planning, tax, or both with clear flat fees, pick Nino.
When is Nino a better Wealthfront alternative?
Nino fits when you want personal finance software first, with Concierge-style CPA and financial planner services on top, and tax filing on Advisor plans. Pick Nino when planning and filing share a single in-house tax team, or when you want a software ladder before you hire Concierge help.
Nino’s product order is software-first, then Concierge:
- Software: starts at $20 a month. Basic, Pro, and Ultra software ($20, $100, and $200 a month) let you track and plan without hiring an advisor.
- Advisor plans: add the human team. Essential $3,600, Plus $4,800, and Premier $12,000 a year, with final Advisor pricing disclosed before enrollment when complexity varies. Advisor Essential is $3,600 a year with federal and state filing, Ultra software, and a dedicated CPA and financial planner.
- Tax filing: federal and state filing is included on Advisor via an in-house CPA who works with the financial planner.
See current tiers on Nino pricing.
Where Nino wins is the climb: one stack that runs from $20-a-month software to flat-fee CPA and financial planner work with filing included, instead of a separate tax firm bolted onto a robo. That is why Nino is the clear Wealthfront alternative for people who need financial planning, tax, or both.
When is Betterment a better Wealthfront alternative?
Betterment fits people who want another automated investing product, with an optional Premium path to advisor access, and are comparing robos rather than hiring a CPA and financial planner Concierge.
- Digital: public pricing on 2026-09-18 shows Digital at $5 a month on balances under $24,000 without qualifying deposits, or 0.25% a year when you set up $200 or more in monthly recurring deposits or reach $24,000 across investing accounts.
- Premium: 0.65% a year with a $100,000 minimum in eligible investments.
- Cash: Cash Reserve (variable APY, no monthly management fee on that cash product). Wealthfront pairs the same 0.25% investing fee shape with its own cash APY.
If you want another Digital or Premium robo package, Betterment is the closer peer. If you need tax filing and coordinated planning on a flat fee, Betterment does not solve that job the way Nino Advisor does. Confirm on Betterment pricing.
When is Empower a better Wealthfront alternative?
Empower fits people who want a free net worth and investment dashboard and are fine declining optional advisory sales.
- Advisory price: Empower’s Personal Strategy page publishes 0.89% AUM for common $100,000 to $999,999 ranges, with lower Private Client tiers at higher balances.
- Dashboard: the Personal Dashboard itself is free per Empower’s terms for the tracking product.
- Best for: watching investments and net worth at $0 software cost.
- Weaker fit: if you want a dedicated 0.25% Automated Investing account plus a marketed cash APY as the center of the product, or if you want flat-fee CPA and financial planner Concierge instead of AUM.
On a $500,000 managed balance, 0.89% AUM is about $4,450 a year; that figure is fee math on an illustrative balance, not a claim about typical Empower clients. Confirm live advisory terms on Empower’s site before you enroll.
When should you stay with Wealthfront?
Stay with Wealthfront when automated investing, Tax-Loss Harvesting software, and cash APY cover your needs, and you do not need an in-house CPA and financial planner on the same team.
The 0.25% advisory fee is simple to compare against other robos. Cash Management’s base APY (3.55% as of 09/18/2026 on the pages checked) and any boost path are reasons some households stay when idle cash is part of the job.
- Stay example: you want diversified index portfolios and a cash rate in one brand, and tax filing sits with a separate preparer you trust.
- Leave example: you want the same people who build the plan to prepare the return, or you want to start on software for $20 a month and later add Concierge CPA and financial planner under a flat Advisor fee.
Book a walkthrough
If you want to see Nino’s software-first plan with Concierge CPA and financial planner on top, book a consultation. Advisor plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee per Nino’s pricing page.