Betterment is a robo-advisor managing over $70 billion for over 1 million customers. See fees, features, plans, and how it works.
Betterment is an automated investing platform, founded in 2008 by Jon Stein and Eli Broverman and headquartered in New York City. It is widely credited as one of the earliest robo-advisors to bring algorithm-driven portfolio management to everyday retail investors.
Betterment LLC operates as a registered investment advisor with the SEC, and its affiliate Betterment Securities is a FINRA-member broker-dealer, which together provide the regulatory basis for holding and managing customer investment accounts.
As of mid-2026, Betterment manages more than 70 billion dollars in assets for over one million customers, spanning individual taxable accounts, retirement accounts, cash accounts, and employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Betterment builds diversified portfolios out of low-cost ETFs and automatically rebalances them as markets move or a customer's goals change. Tax-loss harvesting and tax-coordinated portfolio placement are available to help reduce the tax drag on taxable accounts.
The platform supports multiple account types, including individual and joint taxable accounts, traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs, a high-yield cash reserve account, and Betterment Checking. Betterment at Work extends the platform to employers offering 401(k) plans to their staff.
Following its acquisition of Makara, Betterment also offers automated cryptocurrency investing portfolios, and the Premium plan adds ongoing access to a team of licensed human financial advisors for more complex financial planning needs.
Betterment's Digital plan charges 0.25 percent of assets under management annually, or a flat 4 dollars per month for accounts under 20,000 dollars that do not have recurring monthly deposits set up, with no minimum balance required to open an account.
The Premium plan charges 0.65 percent of assets annually, requires a 100,000 dollar minimum balance, and adds unlimited access to Betterment's team of certified financial planners for personalized advice.
Betterment at Work and advisor-facing products (Betterment Advisor Solutions) are priced separately and are typically negotiated with employers or advisory firms rather than sold at a fixed consumer rate.
Betterment is a robo-advisor and SEC-registered investment advisor that offers automated investing, retirement accounts, and cash management for individual investors.
The Digital plan charges 0.25 percent of assets annually or 4 dollars per month for smaller balances, while the Premium plan charges 0.65 percent annually and requires a 100,000 dollar minimum.
Betterment LLC is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC, and its affiliate Betterment Securities is a FINRA-member broker-dealer, so customer accounts fall under standard securities industry regulation and SIPC coverage for the brokerage accounts.
The Digital plan has no account minimum. The Premium plan requires a 100,000 dollar minimum balance.
It is an automated strategy where Betterment sells investments at a loss to offset taxable gains elsewhere in a customer's portfolio, potentially lowering their tax bill.
Yes, unlimited access to licensed financial advisors is included with the Premium plan; Digital plan customers can purchase one-off advice packages.
As of mid-2026, Betterment reports managing more than 70 billion dollars in assets for over one million customers.
In January 2026, Betterment disclosed a data breach exposing some customers' names, contact information, and dates of birth, along with related fraudulent crypto scam notifications; this is a publicly reported incident rather than an ongoing feature of the platform.