Both Vanguard Digital Advisor and Wealthfront are robo-advisors offering automated investment management at relatively low costs. Vanguard Digital Advisor stands out for its lower minimum investment and slightly lower advisory fees in some cases. Wealthfront offers a broader range of investment options, including cryptocurrency trusts, and provides access to customer service representatives with Series 7 licenses. The best choice depends on individual investment preferences and needs.
| Attribute | Vanguard Digital Advisor | Wealthfront |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum investment amount | $100 for retail brokerage accounts; $5 for eligible 401(k) plan participant accounts. | $500 for automated investment accounts; $1 for cash accounts and the stock investing account. Other minimums apply for advanced features like US Direct Indexing ($100,000), Smart Beta ($500,000), and S&P 500 Direct Portfolio ($20,000). |
| Annual advisory fee | Approximately 0.15% of assets for an all-index portfolio. For ESG or active/index investment options, the fee ranges from 0.11% to 0.20%. The net advisory fee is waived for the first 90 days for new clients. | 0.25% for automated investing, Automated Bond Portfolio, and Automated Bond Ladder. The S&P 500 Direct Portfolio has a 0.09% fee. The Stock Investing Account has no fees. |
| Investment options (e.g., ETFs, mutual funds) | All-Index: Uses low-cost ETFs covering U.S. and international stocks and bonds. Active/Index: Includes ETFs from the all-index portfolio and adds actively managed mutual funds. ESG: Uses low-cost ESG ETFs. | ETFs from up to 12 asset classes, including cryptocurrency trusts (Bitcoin, Ethereum). They also offer socially responsible ETFs. You can add to existing portfolios or create a new one from over 200 ETFs and cryptocurrency funds. |
| Account types supported (e.g., taxable, IRA, Roth IRA) | Individual and joint taxable brokerage accounts, traditional, Roth, rollover, SEP, and inherited IRAs, and 401(k)s for eligible plans on Vanguard's record-keeping platform. | Individual and joint non-retirement accounts, Roth, traditional, rollover, and SEP IRAs, 529 college savings plans, and high-yield cash accounts. They also offer trust accounts. |
| Tax-loss harvesting | Yes, Vanguard Digital Advisor offers automated tax-loss harvesting. It also optimizes for tax efficiency using asset location, placing more tax-efficient investments in taxable accounts and those with a greater tax burden in tax-sheltered retirement accounts. | Offered daily for taxable investment accounts. It is not offered for the Stock Investing Account. |
| Automated rebalancing | Yes, portfolios are monitored daily and rebalanced if any asset class deviates more than 5% from the target allocation. Rebalancing may also occur if the cash balance exceeds $300. | Yes. Wealthfront monitors your portfolio daily and rebalances based on drift, not on a set time-frequency. |
| Financial planning tools and resources | Retirement, 401(k), Roth IRA, investment return, Social Security benefits, and inflation calculators; Also offers tools for goal optimization, debt payoff, and emergency fund planning. | They offer a financial-planning tool called Path. They also have tools for retirement planning, education funding, and home planning. |
| Access to human advisors | No, Vanguard Digital Advisor doesn't provide access to human advisors. For human advisor access, consider Vanguard Personal Advisor, which has a higher minimum and fees. | No. However, customer service representatives have a Series 7 investment license. |
| Mobile app availability and features | Yes, you can sign up and manage your account through Vanguard's website or mobile app. | Yes. |
| Socially responsible investing (SRI) options | Yes, an ESG portfolio option is available. | Yes, they offer a Socially Responsible portfolio built around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. You can customize this portfolio. |
| Goal setting and tracking | Yes, the platform helps clients identify retirement and non-retirement goals. | Yes. |
| Customer support channels and availability | Customer support is available via phone (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET) and email. | Wealthfront primarily uses email (support@wealthfront.com) and an online help center. They also offer phone support at (844) 995-8437 during business hours. |