Personal Finance · head to head
Wealthfront vs Acorns
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Wealthfront the Automated Investing Account carries a 0.25% annual advisory fee on top of the underlying fund expenses; Acorns a flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account
- They diverge on capability: Wealthfront covers Automated portfolio management, Acorns covers Round-up investing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Wealthfront and Acorns actually diverge.
| Attribute | Wealthfront | Acorns |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | transaction | subscription |
| Founded | 2011 | 2012 |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), platforms (Web, IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).
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 Wealthfront
- Automated portfolio management
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Financial planning
- Index fund investing
- Investment accounts
Only in Acorns
- Round-up investing
- Automated investing
- Portfolio management
- Recurring investments
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
Both cover
- Bank accounts
- Web support
- IOS support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Wealthfront
- Automated index fund investing with periodic rebalancingnot Acorns
- Tax loss harvesting in a taxable brokerage accountnot Acorns
- Buying fractional shares of individual stocks with no commissionnot Acorns
Acorns
- Automated investing of spare change from everyday purchasesnot Wealthfront
- Retirement saving through Acorns Later IRA accountsnot Wealthfront
- Checking and high-yield savings alongside investingnot Wealthfront
- Custodial investing and debit cards for children through Acorns Earlynot Wealthfront
- Earning cashback that is invested rather than bankednot Wealthfront
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Acorns
- A flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account
- The emergency savings account and the 1 percent IRA match need Silver at $6 a month
- Custom portfolios, Acorns Early for children and Money Manager are Gold tier only at $12 a month
- There is no free tier
Pricing, plan by plan
Wealthfront
On request- BasicFree
- Automated investing
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Rebalancing
- Premium Plus$50/month
- All Basic features
- Financial planning
- Human advisor access
Acorns
On request- Lite$4.99/month
- Round-up investing
- Automated portfolio
- Plus$9.99/month
- All Lite features
- Checking account
- Dollar-based investing
- Premier$19.99/month
- All Plus features
- Premium investing
Which should you pick?
Choose Wealthfront if
- You need automated portfolio management.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want tax-loss harvesting.
Choose Acorns if
- You need round-up investing.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want automated investing.
Questions people ask
- Is Wealthfront or Acorns better?
- Neither clearly leads. Wealthfront starts at On request and Acorns at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Wealthfront or Acorns?
- Wealthfront starts at On request and Acorns at On request.
- Does Wealthfront or Acorns run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Wealthfront best used for?
- Wealthfront is most often used for automated index fund investing with periodic rebalancing, tax loss harvesting in a taxable brokerage account, buying fractional shares of individual stocks with no commission. Of those, automated index fund investing with periodic rebalancing and tax loss harvesting in a taxable brokerage account are not what Acorns is typically brought in for.
- What can Wealthfront do that Acorns cannot?
- Wealthfront covers Automated portfolio management, Tax-loss harvesting, Financial planning, Index fund investing. Acorns covers Round-up investing, Automated investing, Portfolio management, Recurring investments. Both handle Bank accounts, Web support, IOS support, Android support.