Most left after fees
not applicableRequired fact is missing: betterment_annual_rate
SwitchWize decision guide
Betterment or Fidelity Go: which robo-advisor leaves you with more after fees?
Both invest you in diversified index funds, so the portfolios are close enough that the return does not decide this. The advisory fee does. One charges a flat monthly fee at small balances and a percentage above them; the other charges nothing until a threshold and more once you pass it. Your balance crosses those thresholds partway through, which is why a single rate applied to a final balance gets the answer wrong.
What you can expect
- No login required
- No credit pull
- Assumptions shown
- Sources included
Quick answer
A provider that charges nothing below a threshold wins at small balances, and a flat monthly fee is punishing there because it is a large percentage of a small account. Above the threshold the ranking can reverse. Find where your balance sits relative to both thresholds before anything else.
If betterment
Better once the balance is large enough that its percentage fee undercuts the alternative, and where you would genuinely use the goal and harvesting tools.
If fidelity go
Better at small balances, where it charges no advisory fee at all and a flat monthly fee elsewhere would be a large percentage of the account.
Key number to watch
Required fact is missing: betterment_annual_rate
Test your situation
See your result in dollars
Change any number below to match your situation. No login is required, and your entries stay in this browser.
What kind of account?
Tax-loss harvesting is worth nothing inside an IRA, so this changes what counts.
$
Where you are relative to each pricing threshold decides most of this.
$
A recurring deposit can itself qualify you for different pricing.
yrs
Longer horizons let a small fee difference compound.
Your answer so far
This is a fee comparison, so a stale fee schedule makes it meaningless. We are not publishing one.
See the full breakdownThis is a fee comparison, so a stale fee schedule makes it meaningless. We are not publishing one.
We are not showing a winner for this one
- • Required fact is missing: betterment_annual_rate
- • Required fact is missing: betterment_flat_monthly_fee
- • Required fact is missing: fidelity_go_annual_rate
- • Required fact is missing: fidelity_go_threshold
betterment
Not modeled
modeled after-tax interest
fidelity-go
Not modeled
modeled after-tax interest
Try a scenario
What could change this
Required fact is missing: betterment_annual_rate
How certain: scenario dependent
What matters most
Side-by-side comparison
Advisory fee below the threshold
- Betterment
- A flat monthly fee unless a recurring deposit qualifies you
- Fidelity Go
- None
Advisory fee above the threshold
- Betterment
- A percentage of the balance a year
- Fidelity Go
- A higher percentage of the balance a year
Tax-loss harvesting
Real, not guaranteed, and worth nothing inside an IRA.
- Betterment
- Offered on taxable accounts
- Fidelity Go
- Not offered
Underlying funds
- Betterment
- Third-party index ETFs with their own expense ratios
- Fidelity Go
- Fidelity funds
Account minimum
- Betterment
- None to open
- Fidelity Go
- None to open, with a minimum before investing begins
What could go wrong
Betterment
- What needs to work
- Your balance is large enough, or your recurring deposit high enough, that you are not paying a flat fee on a small account.
- Common problem
- Paying a flat monthly fee on a few thousand dollars, where it works out as a very high percentage.
- What it could cost
- Years of percentage fees on a large balance, charged against a balance that keeps growing.
- How to prepare
- Reversible, but a taxable account has to be sold to move it.
Fidelity Go
- What needs to work
- You are comfortable with a narrower fund range and no harvesting.
- Common problem
- Assuming the fee stays at zero after the balance passes the threshold.
- What it could cost
- A higher percentage fee once you are above the threshold, for many years.
- How to prepare
- Reversible, with the same tax cost on a taxable account.
A simple backup plan
Find your threshold before comparing anything else
Both price in tiers, so the answer depends on where you sit and when you cross.
- 1Work out what a flat monthly fee is as a percentage of your actual balance. On a small account it is often far higher than any advisory rate.
- 2Check whether a recurring deposit alone qualifies you for percentage pricing, since that can be cheaper than the flat fee.
- 3Find the month your balance crosses each threshold, and price the years either side separately.
- 4Treat tax-loss harvesting as zero unless you have a reason not to, and never count it in an IRA.
- 5If you are moving an existing taxable portfolio, get the tax cost of selling it before comparing fees at all.
Educational illustration only. The right amount depends on your needs and timing.
What to do next
Question 1
Is your balance below the no-fee threshold?
Yes: The provider charging nothing is ahead, often by a wide margin.
No: Both charge a percentage, so compare the percentages.
Question 2
Does a recurring deposit qualify you for percentage pricing?
Yes: Compare that percentage against the flat fee on your balance.
No: The flat fee applies, so work out what percentage it really is.
Question 3
Is this a taxable account?
Yes: Harvesting can matter, though it is not guaranteed.
No: Harvesting is worth nothing here, so ignore it entirely.
Plain-text decision tree. Is your balance below the no-fee threshold? If yes, The provider charging nothing is ahead, often by a wide margin. If no, Both charge a percentage, so compare the percentages. Does a recurring deposit qualify you for percentage pricing? If yes, Compare that percentage against the flat fee on your balance. If no, The flat fee applies, so work out what percentage it really is. Is this a taxable account? If yes, Harvesting can matter, though it is not guaranteed. If no, Harvesting is worth nothing here, so ignore it entirely.
When to check again
- Either provider changes its advisory fee or its threshold.
- Your balance approaches a pricing threshold.
- Your monthly contribution changes enough to cross a deposit threshold.
- You open or close a taxable account, which is what makes harvesting relevant at all.
Methodology
Both are assumed to hold broadly similar diversified portfolios earning the same return, so return cancels out and this is a fee comparison. Advisory fees are charged monthly against that month’s balance, which is how the providers bill and why a threshold crossed partway through changes pricing from that month rather than retroactively. Underlying fund expenses are deducted from the return on both sides. A fee can never take the balance below zero. Tax-loss harvesting defaults to zero, is treated as the reader’s assumption when supplied, and is never applied to a tax-advantaged account. Tax on selling an existing portfolio to move it is charged once.
Fee schedules and thresholds are reported facts with an expiry. If a schedule is stale the guide abstains rather than pricing from it, because a fee comparison built on an old fee schedule is worthless.
- • Portfolio construction differs between the two, and this guide treats the returns as equivalent rather than forecasting a difference.
- • Tax-loss harvesting value is not projected. Provider figures describe their own client base over particular market periods, and presenting them as your outcome would be a projection we cannot support.
- • Cash management, banking features and human advice tiers are not priced here.
- • Underlying fund expense ratios are entered as a single figure rather than modelled per fund.
- • This is education, not investment advice, and neither service is recommended as an investment.
Fee schedules re-checked on every page build; the guide reviewed monthly. Editorial conclusions do not depend on affiliate availability.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Is Betterment or Fidelity Go cheaper?
It depends entirely on your balance. Below the no-fee threshold Fidelity Go charges no advisory fee and a flat monthly fee elsewhere is a large percentage of a small account. Above the threshold both charge a percentage and the percentages differ, so the ranking can reverse. The calculator finds the month your balance crosses and prices the years either side separately.
How much is a flat monthly fee really costing me?
Divide it by your balance. Five dollars a month on three thousand dollars is two percent a year, which is many times any advisory rate on this page. That is why a flat fee looks small and is not, and why the recurring-deposit route into percentage pricing is worth checking.
Is tax-loss harvesting worth counting?
It is real and it is not guaranteed. It needs markets to fall at the right time and needs you to have gains to offset, so this guide defaults it to zero and treats any figure you enter as your assumption rather than a projection. Inside an IRA it is worth nothing at all, because there are no taxable gains to offset.
Does tax-loss harvesting work in an IRA?
No. An IRA is already tax-advantaged, so there is nothing to offset. This guide sets the benefit to zero for IRAs rather than quietly applying it, because carrying it across would credit a benefit that cannot exist.
What does it cost to move an existing taxable account?
Moving a taxable portfolio usually means selling it, and that realises gains you then owe tax on. That cost is charged once here, not every year, and it often outweighs several years of fee difference. Ask for the figure before you compare fees.
Do the underlying fund expense ratios matter?
Yes. The advisory fee is not the only fee. The funds inside the portfolio charge their own expense ratio, and it comes out of the return before the advisory fee is even applied. This guide deducts it from both sides.
Which robo-advisor has better returns?
Neither, in any way worth planning around. Both hold diversified index portfolios, and the difference between them is fees rather than returns. Any comparison showing one robo-advisor with materially better returns is comparing particular past periods, not the services.