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Charles Schwab vs Wealthfront

Charles Schwab logo

Charles Schwab

Software

Investing made simple

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Wealthfront logo

Wealthfront

Software

Automated investing for your money

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Charles Schwab broker-assisted trades cost $25 and automated phone trades cost $5 in addition to the standard $0 online commission, per the App Store listing for Schwab Mobile; Wealthfront the Automated Investing Account carries a 0.25% annual advisory fee on top of the underlying fund expenses
  • They diverge on capability: Charles Schwab covers Commission-free trading, Wealthfront covers Automated portfolio management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Charles Schwab and Wealthfront actually diverge.

Attributes where Charles Schwab and Wealthfront differ
AttributeCharles SchwabWealthfront
Founded19712011

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (transaction), free tier (No), platforms (Web, IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Charles Schwab

  • Commission-free trading
  • Retirement planning
  • Wealth management
  • Research tools

Only in Wealthfront

  • Automated portfolio management
  • Tax-loss harvesting
  • Financial planning
  • Index fund investing

Both cover

  • Bank accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • Web support
  • IOS support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Charles Schwab

  • Budget Managementnot Wealthfront
  • Expense Trackingnot Wealthfront
  • Investment Trackingnot Wealthfront

Wealthfront

  • Automated index fund investing with periodic rebalancingnot Charles Schwab
  • Tax loss harvesting in a taxable brokerage accountnot Charles Schwab
  • Buying fractional shares of individual stocks with no commissionnot Charles Schwab

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Charles Schwab

  • Broker-assisted trades cost $25 and automated phone trades cost $5 in addition to the standard $0 online commission, per the App Store listing for Schwab Mobile
  • Options trades carry a $0.65 per-contract fee on top of the $0 online commission, per the App Store listing for Schwab Mobile

Wealthfront

  • The Automated Investing Account carries a 0.25% annual advisory fee on top of the underlying fund expenses
  • Tax-Loss Harvesting and automated rebalancing apply to the Automated Investing Account, not the self-directed Stock Investing Account
  • It is a US brokerage product and is not offered to investors outside the United States

Pricing, plan by plan

Charles Schwab

On request
  • Individual BrokerageFree
    • Commission-free trading
    • Research tools
  • Schwab Advisor Services$undefined/month
    • All Brokerage features
    • Wealth management
    • Personal advisors

Wealthfront

On request
  • BasicFree
    • Automated investing
    • Tax-loss harvesting
    • Rebalancing
  • Premium Plus$50/month
    • All Basic features
    • Financial planning
    • Human advisor access

Which should you pick?

Choose Charles Schwab if

  • You need commission-free trading.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want retirement planning.
Charles Schwab review

Choose Wealthfront if

  • You need automated portfolio management.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want tax-loss harvesting.
Wealthfront review

Questions people ask

Is Charles Schwab or Wealthfront better?
Neither clearly leads. Charles Schwab starts at On request and Wealthfront at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Charles Schwab or Wealthfront?
Charles Schwab starts at On request and Wealthfront at On request.
Does Charles Schwab or Wealthfront run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Charles Schwab best used for?
Charles Schwab is most often used for budget management, expense tracking, investment tracking. Of those, budget management and expense tracking are not what Wealthfront is typically brought in for.
What can Charles Schwab do that Wealthfront cannot?
Charles Schwab covers Commission-free trading, Retirement planning, Wealth management, Research tools. Wealthfront covers Automated portfolio management, Tax-loss harvesting, Financial planning, Index fund investing. Both handle Bank accounts, Investment accounts, Web support, IOS support.
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