Top robo-advisors compared

About Top robo-advisors compared

This ranking covers 154 robo-advisors, led by partners but including independent names across the UK, Europe and the US. The main trade-off is simple. Some of these charge nothing to run your account but ask for a larger opening deposit or offer fewer account wrappers. Others take a percentage every year but let you start with a small amount, inside a pension or a tax shelter. The numbers below come from each brand, so you can weigh the fee against the account type and the protection that applies to it.

How we picked

Every brand here is scored on three things, and the weights are set by the ranking itself. Trust carries the most at 40%, because readers are asking where their money sits and what happens if a firm cannot pay. Cost follows at 35%, covering the management fee and the minimum investment, since a cheap platform is worth little if the entry point is out of reach. The offer itself accounts for 25%, which covers account types, portfolio options and support. Figures come from each brand's own published material, such as pricing pages, protection statements and regulator records, and each is attributed to the brand that publishes it. Partners are listed first in the order, which is why the entries carrying a label sit at the top. Where a brand does not publish something, that is left out rather than filled in. One number deserves attention: the retail loss median of 70.15% across the wider market, which sits behind why trust outweighs everything else here.

Our top picks

1. 1. eToro: best for top pick

   A 0% management fee is the reason this sits at the top of this ranking, and the widest portfolio spread here, covering ETFs, ESG, cash and crypto through etf, esg and cash. eToro (Europe) Ltd is listed with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and SIPC, with EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 behind it. The catch is the entry point: $500 to start is well above the €60.06 typical here, so a small saver has to build up before the portfolio opens. Support runs on help centre only, so questions go in writing. Axos Invest, next in this ranking, opens lower and carries SIPC cover of SIPC up to USD 500,000, though it offers fewer portfolio types.

   • Minimum deposit: $1 to $10,000
   • Stock trade fee: $0
   • Account fee: $0

   Pros

   • Interest on the USD cash balance pays 3.8% on a variable basis, calculated daily and paid monthly, and withdrawals are allowed at any time.
   • Regulated by Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and SIPC, with client asset protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 and deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000.
   • Minimum deposit $1 to $10,000 and minimum portfolio investment $500 keep the starting point low, and fractional shares are among the listed features.
   • A tax-sheltered ISA is available, listed among the isa on offer, alongside portfolio types covering etf, esg and cash.
   • Markets reach stocks, etfs and forex and derivatives are available, so shares, forex, crypto and futures sit in a single account.

   Cons

   • Withdrawal costs $5 flat fee each time, which makes small, regular transfers expensive next to the $0 stock trade fee.
   • Client asset protection of EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 sits well below deposit protection of EU DGS up to EUR 100,000, so a large share portfolio can outrun the cover.
   • Taker fee 1% sits above the 0.25% median, which matters for anyone trading crypto often rather than holding.
   • Support runs through help centre, so phone and chat are not part of the offering.

2. 2. Empower Personal Dashboard

   Empower enters this ranking on support, which is its strongest point: email, phone and help centre reaches email, phone and a help centre, and no other member in this ranking opens all three. The managed dashboard charges a 0% management fee, and $0 is the minimum investment, so nothing stands between you and the account. Portfolios run to ETFs and cash through etf and cash, and ira covers an IRA, aimed squarely at US retirement saving. The named entity is Empower Advisory Group, LLC, running since 2014. PiggyVest, ranked next in this ranking, sits in a different market and reaches you by fewer routes.

   • Management fee: 0%
   • Minimum investment: $0
   • Account types: IRA

   Pros

   • Support runs on email, phone and help centre, so help is a phone call or an email away.
   • The cash side sits under FDIC up to USD 250,000.
   • Access suits everyday money: deposits and withdrawals run through the dashboard itself.
   • A headline rate of 3.5% pays you for leaving the balance there.

   Cons

   • The rate type is variable, so the 3.5% headline can move rather than being fixed for a term.
   • Markets are limited to stocks, etfs and funds, with no foreign exchange, crypto or bond trading listed.
   • Investing money carries risk: the share of retail accounts that lose money is 70.15%.

3. 4. Smavesto: best for Smavesto

   German robo-advisor and subsidiary of Sparkasse Bremen that builds ETF savings plans from 50 euro a month, with optional gold and crypto exposure.

   • Portfolio types: ETF

   Pros

   • Algorithm adjusts holdings on risk and opportunity signals each month or more
   • Choice of commodity linked and crypto linked building blocks inside portfolio
   • Broad selection of exchange traded funds, commodities and notes for spread
   • Savings plan setup that runs automatically once arranged

   Cons

   • Restricted to exchange traded funds, commodities and notes without other asset types
   • Small basket of positions may feel narrow for investors seeking wider spread

4. 7. Betterment

   Betterment is in this ranking for its retirement account range and its breadth. ira and roth ira covers an IRA and a Roth IRA, and etf, esg and cash spans ETFs, ESG, cash and crypto, the widest mix among the members here. MTG LLC is the named entity, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registered investment adviser, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Betterment Securities broker dealer member and SIPC lists the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a registered investment adviser, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) through its broker-dealer membership and SIPC, with SIPC up to USD 500,000 in place. The trade-off is cost, a 0.25% management fee above the 0% lower quartile here, against a $10 minimum. Support, phone, email and chat, is the broadest available. Quirion closes the ranking with a lower fee and a different regulator.

   • Management fee: 0.25%
   • Minimum investment: $10
   • Regulators: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - registered investment adviser, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) - Betterment Securities broker-dealer member, SIPC

   Pros

   • A single app holds a managed portfolio and a cash sweep paying a variable 3.5%.
   • The management fee of 0.25% sits under the site median management fee of 0.35%.
   • The monthly fee is $0 and the minimum deposit is $10, so an account that is opened and left alone carries no standing charge.
   • The minimum investment of $10 is below the site minimum investment median of €25.
   • Support runs on phone, email and chat, giving phone, email, chat and a help centre.

   Cons

   • Cash pays a variable rate of 3.5%, so the income from the sweep can be cut without warning.
   • Betterment ranks 18 of 49 on management fee, so cheaper robo-advice sits on the same list.
   • Account types cover ira and roth ira, which rules out a UK ISA or workplace pension wrapper for most UK readers.
   • Markets move in both directions, and across the brands compared here 70.15% of retail investor accounts lose money.

What to look for

What you pay each year

The median management fee in this ranking is 0.35%, the lower quartile is 0% and the upper quartile is 0.6%. A fee is the one cost that keeps taking from you while your money stays invested, so it usually deserves more attention than anything else on this page.

How much to open the account

The median minimum investment here is €60.06, with a lower quartile of €1.16 and an upper quartile of €560.82. A free platform is only useful if the entry point fits what you can actually set aside, so read the minimum next to the fee.

Who regulates it and what is covered

Protection differs sharply between members of this ranking, from EU ICS up to EUR 20,000 through SIPC up to USD 500,000. A compensation scheme covers you if the firm fails, not if markets fall, so check both the ceiling and the regulator named on the brand.

What you can actually invest in

ETF portfolios are the norm at 86.4% and cash holdings at 55.5%, with ESG at 47.3% and crypto at 25.5%. More choice means you can adjust as your priorities change, from a cautious mix to a longer term tilt.

Which account wrapper fits

Joint accounts appear in 48% of the brands here and corporate accounts in 44%, with tax-sheltered options at 29.3% and 22.7%. Whether you want a pension, a joint pot or something for a business changes which of these makes sense.

How you get help

A help centre is the most common route, covering 88.1% of brands, with phone support at 70.4% and chat at 34.1%. If you would rather speak to someone, the narrow options in this ranking limit you to writing in and waiting.

Frequently asked questions

Top robo-advisors compared by country

• Australia
• Austria
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV