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Personal Finance · head to head

Wealthfront vs YNAB

Wealthfront logo

Wealthfront

Personal Finance

Automated investing for your money

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
YNAB logo

YNAB

Personal Finance

You Need A Budget

From
$14.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; YNAB subscription priced exclusively in US dollars; international customers face unfavourable exchange rates
  • They diverge on capability: Wealthfront covers Automated portfolio management, YNAB covers Zero-based budgeting.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Wealthfront and YNAB actually diverge.

Attributes where Wealthfront and YNAB differ
AttributeWealthfrontYNAB
Starting priceOn request$14.99/month
Pricing modeltransactionsubscription
Founded20112004

Identical on both: 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
  • Bank accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • IOS support

Only in YNAB

  • Zero-based budgeting
  • Bank sync
  • Goal tracking
  • Reports
  • Multi-device sync
  • Bank connections
  • Plaid
  • Bank-level encryption

Both cover

  • Web 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 YNAB
  • Tax loss harvesting in a taxable brokerage accountnot YNAB
  • Buying fractional shares of individual stocks with no commissionnot YNAB

YNAB

  • Individual budget tracking with 34-day free trial before subscription commitmentnot Wealthfront
  • Household budget management with wife-on-plan sharing for up to 6 household membersnot Wealthfront
  • Manual transaction entry for banks outside the supported import listnot 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

YNAB

  • Subscription priced exclusively in US dollars; international customers face unfavourable exchange rates
  • Multi-currency support restricted to one currency per spending plan
  • Bank import limited to select institutions in US, Canada, UK, and EU only
  • Household plan can only be shared with up to 6 people; additional members cannot access shared plan

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

YNAB

$14.99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the YNAB review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Wealthfront if

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

Choose YNAB if

  • You need zero-based budgeting.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want bank sync.
YNAB review

Questions people ask

Is Wealthfront or YNAB better?
Neither clearly leads. Wealthfront starts at On request and YNAB at $14.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Wealthfront or YNAB?
Wealthfront starts at On request and YNAB at $14.99/month.
Does Wealthfront or YNAB run on more platforms?
Wealthfront runs on Web, IOS, Android. YNAB runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 YNAB is typically brought in for.
What can Wealthfront do that YNAB cannot?
Wealthfront covers Automated portfolio management, Tax-loss harvesting, Financial planning, Index fund investing. YNAB covers Zero-based budgeting, Bank sync, Goal tracking, Reports. Both handle Web support, Android support.
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