Wealthfront Reviews
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About Wealthfront
This profile has not been claimed by the company. See reviews below to learn more or submit your own review.
Wealthfront builds a personalized portfolio for each client, and then it lets its automated system take over, making trades and diversifying and rebalancing investments as the market moves. It also offers a tax-loss harvesting (TLH) program to boost after-tax returns, cash accounts for banking services and lines of credit for qualifying borrowers.
- Low 0.25% annual advisory fee
- 1.8% average TLH benefit
- Cash accounts are FDIC-insured
- Need $25,000+ invested to borrow
- No support for custodial accounts
Helpful Reviews
What is Wealthfront?
Wealthfront is an investment advisory firm that also offers banking and lending services. To be more specific, Wealthfront is commonly categorized as a robo-advisor because much of its investment advice is automated.
It’s also worth pointing out that, even though it offers banking services, Wealthfront is not technically a bank. Its Cash Accounts are possible because of its partnership with Green Dot Bank and other banks.
Wealthfront products
Wealthfront’s products mostly fall into the following main categories:
Investing
- Taxable brokerage accounts: Individual, joint and trust accounts for general long-term investing
- Retirement accounts: Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP (simplified employee pension) IRAs and 401(k) rollovers
- College savings accounts: 529 college savings plan accounts
Wealthfront also has a tax-loss harvesting program, where you receive a tax deduction by selling losing investments after dips in the market. This program does the following:
- Automatically identifies tax-loss opportunities daily
- Reinvests and rebalances your portfolio
- Adds an average 1.8% extra to your after-tax return
- Can lower your ordinary income tax up to $3,000 annually
Banking
- The ability to pay bills, deposit checks and get direct deposits
- No account fees, overdraft fees or transfer fees
- Access to over 19,000 free ATMs
- Instant transfers to your investment portfolio
Borrowing
How does Wealthfront work?
To get started with Wealthfront, you’ll open either a cash or investment account.
If you’re investing, you’ll be asked to fill out a short questionnaire so that Wealthfront can build your recommended portfolio and determine your risk score.
Wealthfront then chooses ETFs (exchange-traded funds) for your recommended portfolio, and the ETF information is presented on your investment plan page. You can continue with that initial investment plan or edit your portfolio to match your interests. Some popular investment categories Wealthfront offers include:
- Cryptocurrency trusts: Invest in digital currency using your brokerage or retirement account.
- Tech/innovation ETFs: Invest in companies leading tech industry advancements.
- Socially responsible ETFs: Invest in sustainability-focused companies.
- U.S. stock ETFs: Invest in companies based in the U.S.
- Bond ETFs: Invest in fixed-income investments, such as treasury bills and municipal bonds.
- Foreign/emerging market ETFs: Invest in developing stocks and bonds outside of the U.S.
- Sector ETFs: Invest in specific industries, such as tech or health care.
- Investing strategy ETFs: Invest using common strategies, such as dividend or value investing.
- Commodity ETFs: Invest in specific assets, like metals or oil.
- Global stock ETFs: Invest in assets spanning beyond the U.S.
Once you’ve determined your investment plan, you can fund your account with ACH (automated clearing house) bank transfers, rollovers or wire transfers. A 529 savings plan can also be funded by checks. Wealthfront requires a minimum of $500 for an investment account.
With the account funded, Wealthfront automatically trades and rebalances your investments as necessary.
You can also open a Wealthfront cash account to use the company’s banking services, such as depositing your paycheck and paying bills, and you can set up automated savings to fund goals like a vacation or a down payment. Additional cash can roll over into your investment account.
Wealthfront fees
Wealthfront charges an annual fee of 0.25% for its advisory services. That means if Wealthfront manages $25,000 worth of your investments, you’ll pay $62.50 per year or roughly $5.31 each month, according to Wealthfront’s cost calculator.
There are no fees to get a Wealthfront cash account, but there are possible transaction fees, including:
- Out-of-network ATM fees of $2.50 plus the ATM owner’s fee
- Bank teller fees of $2.50 plus the teller’s fee
- International transaction fees of 2.75%
- Fees for cash deposits at retailers up to $5.95
Wealthfront FAQ
Does Wealthfront have account minimums?
Wealthfront account minimums vary depending on the type of account and service in question:
- Wealthfront cash accounts have a $1 minimum.
- Investment accounts have a minimum of $500.
- If you want to use Wealthfront’s stock-level tax-loss harvesting service, you need a minimum of $100,000 in your account.
What are Wealthfront’s eligibility requirements?
Wealthfront is open to anyone 18 years old or older with a U.S. Social Security number, a permanent U.S. address and a U.S. phone number.
What should my Wealthfront risk tolerance be?
Investment risk tolerance is largely a personal decision that depends on your goals and other facets of your financial situation. A tolerable risk level for a young investor with few assets may not be right for someone nearing retirement.
For context, Wealthfront can build portfolios personalized to your risk tolerance, which is scored between 0.5 and 10.0. You can use the example portfolio on Wealthfront’s website to get an idea of what your portfolio would look like with different risk scores.
Is Wealthfront safe?
It depends on what you mean:
- Wealthfront claims over 470,000 people have used its platform, and it manages over $27 billion in assets, so it’s fairly established as an investment firm.
- Wealthfront cash accounts are FDIC-insured up to $1 million, and they come with security features like active fraud monitoring, two-factor verification, app-specific passwords and the ability to lock your debit card.
- Wealthfront has bank-level security to keep linked bank or brokerage accounts safe.
However, all investments have risk, and Wealthfront’s portfolios are no exception.
Is Wealthfront FDIC-insured?
Wealthfront’s Cash Accounts are insured for up to $1 million by the FDIC because it works with multiple partner banks. Wealthfront itself is not a member of the FDIC, though.
Still have questions?
Is Wealthfront worth it?
Wealthfront is a good option if you’re looking for a hands-off investing platform, and its 0.25% advisory fee is lower than what you’ll pay with many traditional investment firms and even some robo-advisors. However, whether an investment platform is ultimately worth it depends on what returns you get. All investments have risk, so it’s impossible to say for sure whether you’ll come out ahead with any advisor.
To decide if Wealthfront is right for you, evaluate your options, learn about the market and make an educated decision about where and how you want to invest.
Wealthfront Reviews
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Reviewed May 2, 2026
This company is just awful. I opened an account, transferred funds from a savings account to set it up, 20k, with the intention of an automated account for an heir. One day in I didn't really like what they were doing, so I transferred 5000 back to my original account. They wanted I.D. verification and it seems a drivers license and passport are not enough. They didn't like my I.D. so they closed my account with no explanation given, locked me out of the website, and put me on a real petty do not call list so I could only communicate via e-mail.
Then they just took another 5000 out of my savings account. So while they said they would refund the 15000 remaining in my Wealthfront account back to the original account they just took more out. So as of today, they have 20,000 dollars of my money, I cannot access anything, I cannot call them unless I call my main bank first and have them call wealthfront. What a rotten experience. Hopefully I eventually get my money back. One star because you cannot give zero.
Reviewed March 20, 2026
On 03/14, I opened a Cash Account to move some of my money so it could earn interest instead of just sitting in my checking account and (hopefully) beat inflation. I was trying to be financially responsible (unlike most American adults) by putting my money away in a savings account where it can sit and accrue interest. I was also interested in adding some of Wealthfront’s stock investment options to my portfolio. Well after this nightmare, I’m honestly RELIEVED I never went through with it, because on 03/18, I was unexpectedly locked out of my account despite having never changed my password.
I attempted multiple password resets with no success. On 03/19, once their phone lines opened, I called Wealthfront at 844‑995‑8437. I spoke with someone who identified himself as “Bobby” (clearly not his real name, and likely an overseas representative given his very heavy accent). He told me that Wealthfront could no longer service me, that my account had been closed, the decision is final and he cannot provide any additional details regarding why it was closed in the first place or what had happened.
I was completely confused. Because by then the money had been deposited into my Cash Account for two days straight, and already I was earning interest, so what was the problem? Well I don't know. I’ll never know apparently, because when I tried to get further information about what this was all about, the rep hung up. I never even got an email notification telling me that this was going to happen, or a phone call - absolutely NOTHING! Had I not realized that I’d been locked out of my account, I would be none the wiser.
Since then, I’ve repeatedly called the customer “service” number (if you can even call it that, definitely no service to be had) and emailed support@wealthfront.com, asking them politely mind you (even though I feel after all this jerking around I am entitled to be a little ticked off at this point) to confirm how my funds will be returned back to me (ACH, check, etc.) and what the expected timeline is. And of course, I have received absolutely ZERO responses. They have now blocked my number entirely; when I call, the system immediately disconnects. As a workaround, I tried calling from my work phone and surprise, I got through, but by then it was “after hours,” and the automated system told me to call back the next day.
At this point, I’ve already disputed this with my primary bank, hoping that somebody from the baking side of things can reach out to them to see if they can get a hold of one of their higher ups at Wealthfront and get my money back, since I still have ZERO clarity on when or how I will receive my own money back, and Wealthfront is adamant on ignoring me even though they are holding MY MONEY hostage. If no recourse is to be had through this dispute process, and if they refuse to respond to my primary bank’s inquiry, then I will be forced to file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. This experience has been BEYOND unacceptable, and it is a disgrace to call themselves a "financial institution", when they are nothing but con artists and thieves.
Based on other reviews I’ve read online, I am not alone here, but like i said, I was too busy focusing on the high interest rate Wealthfront boosts about, to see all of their complaints. Now I wish I would have read them first before opening an account here, it definitely would have saved me the aggravation. For anyone else reading, please I beg you, do NOT put your money into this so-called "financial institution” unless you want your accounts to be shut down without notice, your money held hostage, and piss poor so called “customer service”. I don't care how good the interest rates are, don't bother with online "financial institutions" like Wealthfront, Ally etc. because if you have a problem and can't reach anybody on the phone or by email, there's no branch to walk into to fix anything. Go somewhere else with a real building you can actually walk into and talk to a human being, none of this AI automated crap!
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Reviewed Dec. 8, 2025
Wealthfront will scam and con you every chance they get..was promised a $50 bonus after months never received it. Customer rep Peter was very rude when I called and even had the audacity to hang up on me. They literally stole my money. STAY AWAY.
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2025
Our son tragically died after a long bout with cancer. He had several Wealthfront accounts where my wife was the beneficiary. She has had a horrible time getting customer service at Wealthfront to assist her. They will ask for a form, she completes it, then she has to wait for a secure link, then sends it, only to be told the next day that they need more. This has been going on for a long time and the person at Wealthfront is very non communicative, and it appears they are trying to not send her the money. Do not do business with Wealthfront as this could happen to you.
Reviewed May 27, 2025
Be very careful investing with this company. Customer service is horrible. Fidelity Investments is a better recommendation. They provide superior service to their customers and provide excellent options for your money.
Reviewed April 13, 2025
I opened an account in September 2024. I have been trying to access my account since I opened it. I have emailed and even called but no response to me. They keep telling me thanks for calling support and someone with get back with me but they never do. I called the phone number but an automation comes on and tells me to email through support my question(s). I realize that I have opened my account with the wrong email address and I wanted them to know because even if I used the correct email, I get an error. I even told them in my email that if they didn't contact me that I was going to take the necessary means to get this account resolved. It's my money and not theirs.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2025
One day when I was on my way to work, I just checked my account saw from my cash account 1000$ being taken (in couple of hours in 5-6 transactions) from the other side of the town. I was on the way to NJ and money seemed like being withdrawn from a Duane Reade uptown in Manhattan and upstate NY. I called them and cancelled my card and I expected a refund of this amount since the money stolen was not the result of a lost debit card, it was because of their flaw in their security system.
To cut the story short after hours and hours of phone calls, emails, mails, back and forth for months they didn't take the responsibility of their wrongdoing. So to get that high yield cash account: after years of using it life time gain: around 350$. Money lost 1000$. Plus whenever you use their debit card to withdraw money (they don't have atms) the atms that their map shows me were random empty lots which I had to use another bank's atm with crazy amount of fee. So you can make the calculcations. Couple of hundred of dollars gained but thousands are lost. DON'T USE THIS BANK!
Reviewed Jan. 1, 2025
We've been with Wealthfront for two months now. We had a chunk of cash from selling & buying a new home and wanted a HYSA. The interest rate has gone down once, but Wealthfront was the most competitive HYSA we could find. Their decrease of interest rate is directly due to the feds' decreased interest rates. If you read the legal info they are not a bank, they work with banks that are FDIC insured. I've been very pleased with the streamlined & straightforward website.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2024
They went from 5% to 4.5% to 4.25% to 4% APY all in less than a year, Super annoying and frustrating. Also logs me out of my account if I don’t check it every day. I’ve been looking at other banks but I already barely trust this one so it’s hard to commit to another one.
Reviewed Nov. 19, 2024
This company is a scam. I don't know if they are fishing for very high net worth clients or what their angle is, but after providing your information and linking your fund transfer bank account, most people will receive the response via email. "Your request to open a Cash Account was not approved. Our partner Green Dot Bank had trouble verifying your identity based on the information you provided." I have lived in the same location for decades and have good credit. Two family members had the same response, as did several coworkers. Chat boards are filled with similar posts. This isn't a serious company.
Wealthfront Company Information
- Company Name:
- Wealthfront
- Year Founded:
- 2011
- Address:
- 203 Forest Ave.
- City:
- Palo Alto
- State/Province:
- CA
- Postal Code:
- 94301
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.wealthfront.com