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Robo-Advisor vs DIY Investing: Fees, Features & Fit
Compare robo-advisors (Betterment, Vanguard Digital) vs self-directed index fund investing.
July 9, 20267 min readBy MyWealthForge
Key Takeaways
- 1Robo-advisors charge 0.25–0.50% on top of fund fees.
- 2DIY with index ETFs costs as little as 0.03% total.
- 3Robos automate rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting, and allocation.
- 4DIY wins on cost if you will rebalance once a year.
Robo-advisors made investing accessible — but low-cost DIY index investing is cheaper for hands-on savers.
Compare fees in our financial advisor fee guide.
When Robo-Advisors Win
You want hands-off management. You value tax-loss harvesting in taxable accounts. You will not rebalance yourself.
When DIY Wins
You can buy 2–3 index funds and rebalance annually. Every 0.25% fee compounds to thousands over decades.
Learn index fund investing.
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