Betterment vs Vanguard

Betterment is a great robo-advisor for beginners with low fees, good tools, and tax strategies. How does it compare to Vanguard? Read our comparison chart below.

Betterment offers automatic investing starting at $4/month for accounts with less than $20,000. There is no fee to open an account and no minimum deposit required. All balances get automatic rebalancing, tax loss harvesting, and access to financial experts.

While Vanguard offers $0 commission on stock and ETF online trades, $0 commission on Vanguard mutual funds, and no minimum deposit.

Compare Betterment with Vanguard, side-by-side.

	Betterment	Vanguard
	SPECIAL OFFER Compare Pricing - Learn More Read Betterment Review	Norton Internet Security 60-day free subscription - Learn More
	Benefits and Features
Savings	Betterment Cash Reserve - Earn 3.25% APY**
Stock Trading		$0
Options Trading		$0 + $1-per-contract fee. Discounts available if you have more than $1 million assets invested in Vanguard ETFs and mutual funds
Annual Fee	Digital: 0.25% annual fee for accounts with $20,000 or more or with monthly recurring deposits of $250 or more, $4/month for accounts with less than $20,000 Premium: 0.65% for accounts $100,000 or more	$25
Minimum Deposit	$0	$0
Checking	No-Fee Checking
Mutual Fund Trading		$0 for Vanguard mutual funds
Commission Free ETFs		Around 1,800 ETFs from about 100 other companies
Phone Support	Yes
Live Chat Support	No
Email Support	Yes
Human Advisors	Yes ($100k minimum)
Robo Advisor	Yes
Assets Under Management	$50+ Billion
Minimum Investment	$0
Tax Loss Harvesting	Yes
Goal Tracker	Yes
Automatic Deposits	Yes
Broker Assisted Trades		$25.00
Inactivity Fee		$0
Maintenance Fee		$25/year. Waived if account owner signs up for e-delivery service, OR has an organization or a trust account registered under an EIN, OR enrolls in an advisory program, OR has at least $5 million in qualifying Vanguard assets
Online Platform	Yes
iPhone App	Yes
Android App	Yes
Banking	Offers checking account with a free debit card, and a high-yield cash account	No
Mobile App	iOS & Android	Yes
Desktop App		Yes
Forex Trading		Yes
Futures Trading		No
Customer Service		Monday-Friday 8am -10pm ET
Locations		No
Online Community		No
Seminars		Yes
Virtual Trading		No
Single Stock Diversification	No
Fractional Shares	Yes
Taxable Accounts	Yes
401k Plans	Yes
IRA Accounts	Yes
Roth IRA Accounts	Yes
SEP IRA Accounts	Yes
Trust Accounts	Yes
529 Plans	No
	CreditDonkey® Reviews
Annual Fee
Minimum Deposit
Human Advisors
Customer Service
Pros & Cons	Pros: No minimum investment Customized portfolios Automatically invest extra funds Cons: Limited investment options High fees for large investors
Bottom Line	Great robo-advisor for beginners with low fees, good tools, and tax strategies... Read full review
	Compare Pricing Betterment Cash Reserve - Earn 3.25% APY** Invest with Automated Portfolios
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Betterment: Pricing information from published website as of 02/20/2026. Vanguard: Pricing information from published websites as of 10/17/2023.

Still need help deciding which investing is better? Read the in-depth reviews below. You may also be interested in comparing Betterment or Acorns.