Most after-tax interest
dependsThis depends entirely on which Fidelity core position you hold, which is why both are shown.
SwitchWize decision guide
Fidelity Cash Management Account vs Wealthfront Cash Account: which fits your cash?
Most comparisons of these two ask the wrong question first. Inside a Fidelity Cash Management Account you choose a core position, and the gap between an FDIC bank sweep and a money market fund is usually larger than the gap between Fidelity and Wealthfront. It also changes what stands behind your money, from bank deposit insurance to broker protection that has never covered market loss.
What you can expect
- No login required
- No credit pull
- Assumptions shown
- Sources included
Quick answer
Find out which Fidelity core position you hold before comparing anything. Then decide whether you want a bank deposit or a security, because no yield difference converts one into the other.
If fidelity cma
Better when you want the choice: a money market fund for yield, or the bank sweep for deposit insurance, in one account you also spend from.
If wealthfront
Better when you want one rate, no core-position decision, and a high FDIC ceiling through partner banks without thinking about it.
Key number to watch
On $100,000 the two Fidelity core positions differ by $0 a year after tax, against $2,343 between the providers. Check which one you hold before comparing anything else.
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.
$
The amount actually sitting in the account.
Your Fidelity core position
If you are not sure, pick that. This choice moves the answer more than the provider does.
%
Applied to interest and ordinary fund income alike.
%
Decides how much a Treasury exemption is worth. In a no-income-tax state it is worth nothing.
Your answer so far
Start by finding out which core position your Fidelity account holds. On this balance the two differ by $0 a year after tax, which is more than the difference between the providers. Both outcomes are shown below.
See the full breakdownStart by finding out which core position your Fidelity account holds. On this balance the two differ by $0 a year after tax, which is more than the difference between the providers. Both outcomes are shown below.
Fidelity Cash Management Account
$0
after-tax interest over 365 days
Wealthfront Cash Account
$2,343
after-tax interest over 365 days
$2,343 vs. baseline
Try a scenario
What could change this
On $100,000 the two Fidelity core positions differ by $0 a year after tax, against $2,343 between the providers. Check which one you hold before comparing anything else.
How certain: moderate
A bank sweep places the balance in FDIC-covered deposits, subject to the per-depositor per-bank limit at each program bank.
How certain: high
Check these assumptions
- • You have not said which Fidelity core position you hold, so both are shown below. This choice moves the result more than the choice between the two providers does, and it is worth checking rather than assuming.
What matters most
Protection and insurance
dependsThese are different promises rather than different grades. FDIC covers deposits at a failed bank; SIPC covers a broker failing to return securities and never covers market loss. Choose the one you actually want rather than the one attached to the higher number.
Everyday access and spending
dependsBoth work as spending accounts. If you need cheques, international withdrawals or same-day availability, compare those directly rather than by yield.
Side-by-side comparison
What backs the balance
These are different promises, not different grades of safety.
- Fidelity CMA
- FDIC through partner banks, or SIPC if you hold a fund
- Wealthfront
- FDIC through partner banks
Do you choose the yield?
- Fidelity CMA
- Yes, through the core position
- Wealthfront
- No, one published rate
State tax treatment
Worth real money in a high-tax state and nothing in a no-tax one.
- Fidelity CMA
- A Treasury-heavy fund can be partly exempt from state tax
- Wealthfront
- Bank interest, fully taxable
Spending features
- Fidelity CMA
- Cheques, debit, ATM reimbursement
- Wealthfront
- Debit and transfers
Effort required
- Fidelity CMA
- You have to know and manage the core position
- Wealthfront
- None
What could go wrong
Fidelity Cash Management Account
- What needs to work
- You know which core position you hold and it is the one you actually want.
- Common problem
- Assuming the money market fund is FDIC insured because the account it sits in offers an FDIC option.
- What it could cost
- Believing a balance is deposit-insured when it is a security. The yield difference does not buy insurance.
- How to prepare
- The core position can be changed. Check it rather than assuming.
Wealthfront Cash Account
- What needs to work
- You understand this is a brokerage account sweeping to partner banks rather than a bank account.
- Common problem
- Taking the headline insurance figure at face value while already holding deposits at a partner bank.
- What it could cost
- An uninsured balance you believed was covered.
- How to prepare
- Reversible, but only if you check the partner bank list against where you already bank.
A simple backup plan
Decide the protection first, then the yield
Yield is easy to compare and protection is not, which is why people compare the yield and inherit whatever protection comes with it.
- 1Log in and find out what your Fidelity core position actually is.
- 2Decide whether you want the balance held as a bank deposit or as a security. That is a preference, not a calculation.
- 3Only then compare the after-tax yields of the options that satisfy it.
- 4If you are claiming a state-tax exemption on Treasury income, take the share from the fund disclosure rather than an article.
- 5Check the partner bank list against banks where you already hold deposits.
Educational illustration only. The right amount depends on your needs and timing.
What to do next
Question 1
Do you know your Fidelity core position?
Yes: Good. Compare the after-tax yields.
No: Find out first. It moves the answer more than the provider choice does.
Question 2
Do you need the balance to be an insured bank deposit?
Yes: Rule out the money market fund, whatever it yields.
No: A money market fund is worth comparing on yield.
Question 3
Do you spend from this account?
Yes: Compare cheques, debit and ATM terms directly.
No: Judge on after-tax yield and protection alone.
Plain-text decision tree. Do you know your Fidelity core position? If yes, Good. Compare the after-tax yields. If no, Find out first. It moves the answer more than the provider choice does. Do you need the balance to be an insured bank deposit? If yes, Rule out the money market fund, whatever it yields. If no, A money market fund is worth comparing on yield. Do you spend from this account? If yes, Compare cheques, debit and ATM terms directly. If no, Judge on after-tax yield and protection alone.
When to check again
- Fidelity changes its default core position or its sweep rate.
- The fund publishes a new Treasury income share, which happens annually.
- You open an account at a bank that turns out to be a sweep partner.
- Your balance crosses a coverage limit.
Methodology
Interest is earned daily on the balance entered, then taxed. Bank interest and ordinary fund income are taxed federally and by your state. Income attributable to US Treasury obligations is exempted from state tax, but only when you confirm the qualifying share came from the fund disclosure. Where the core position is unknown, both outcomes are shown rather than averaged.
Yields and rates come from our own observations and carry an expiry. Where either is stale the guide declines to compare rather than using a figure it cannot stand behind.
- • Protection is reported as a constraint and never scored. FDIC, SIPC and in-transit are different promises, and averaging them would let yield buy past a protection you specifically wanted.
- • A seven-day yield is a snapshot. Money market yields move daily.
- • FDIC coverage assumes you hold no other deposits at the programme partner banks.
- • Account fees and ATM reimbursement terms are not modelled and differ between the two.
- • A money market fund can lose value. SIPC has never protected against that.
Yields re-checked on every page build; the guide reviewed monthly. Editorial conclusions do not depend on affiliate availability.
Sources
Fidelity Cash Management AccountChecked August 15, 2026 · high confidence
Core position options, the bank sweep programme and spending features.
Wealthfront Cash AccountChecked August 15, 2026 · high confidence
Sweep programme, partner banks and the disclosed coverage ceiling.
SIPC: what it protectsChecked August 15, 2026 · high confidence
Confirms SIPC does not protect against market loss.
FDIC: deposit insurance coverageChecked August 15, 2026 · high confidence
Per-depositor, per-bank limits and pass-through conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Is SPAXX FDIC insured?
No. SPAXX is a money market fund, which is a security. SIPC protects you if the broker fails to return it, and has never protected against the fund itself losing value. The FDIC option inside a Fidelity Cash Management Account is the bank sweep, which is a different core position.
What is a core position?
It is where uninvested cash in the account actually sits: either swept to partner banks as a deposit, or held in a money market fund. It sets both what you earn and what protects the balance, and many people have never looked at theirs.
Which pays more, Fidelity or Wealthfront?
It depends far more on your Fidelity core position than on the provider. On a six-figure balance the two core positions can differ by several times the gap between the two companies, which is why the calculator asks that first.
Is the Wealthfront Cash Account FDIC insured?
It sweeps deposits to partner banks where FDIC insurance applies, which is what lets it advertise a ceiling far above one bank's limit. That figure assumes you hold nothing at those partner banks already.
Can I avoid state tax on a money market fund?
Partly, on the share of income attributable to US Treasury obligations, which the fund publishes annually. This guide only applies it when you confirm you took the figure from that disclosure, because claiming it from memory overstates your after-tax yield by exactly the amount you cannot verify.
What happens to money while it is being transferred?
It is briefly in neither settled state: not yet an FDIC-covered deposit, and no longer simply a brokerage balance. What applies during that window is whatever the program agreement discloses, which is worth reading if you move large sums.
Which is safer?
That question has no single answer, which is why this guide refuses to produce a safety score. FDIC covers a bank failing to return a deposit; SIPC covers a broker failing to return securities. Decide which promise you want, then compare yields among the options that provide it.