Honest comparison
PeakWorth vs Betterment
Betterment manages the portfolio. PeakWorth plans the life around it.
The short version
Betterment is the original mass-market robo — auto rebalancing, daily tax-loss harvesting, and goal-based investing for 0.25%/yr (Premium tier 0.65%/yr with CFP access at $100k+). It manages money. It does not run a real multi-decade household plan. The cleanest stack is Betterment for management, PeakWorth for the plan.
Betterment is best for
Investors who want hands-off, goal-based portfolio management with daily tax-loss harvesting and the option to talk to a CFP at the Premium tier.
Digital 0.25%/yr (or $4/mo under $20k with no $250/mo recurring deposit). Premium 0.65%/yr, $100k minimum. Cash Reserve 4.00% APY (variable, partner banks).
PeakWorth is best for
Households who want to know when they can retire, what each major decision changes, and how their full balance sheet projects over 30 years — not just how their Betterment account is allocated.
14-day free trial. Then $9.99/mo Navigator.
Feature by featureHow they compare
| Feature | PeakWorth | Betterment |
|---|---|---|
Automated portfolio management | ||
Daily tax-loss harvesting | ||
Goal-based investing buckets Betterment Goals | Modeled in plan | |
CFP access included | AI advisor on your numbers (Peak plan) | Premium tier (0.65%, $100k min) |
Holds and trades your assets | No — planning only | |
Multi-decade net worth projection | ||
FI age — when work becomes optional | Single-page goal slider | |
Decision Hub Buy vs rent, lease vs buy, kids, job change | Built-in | |
Tax-aware projections Marginal bracket, withdrawal order, household-wide | Within Betterment accounts only | |
Account aggregation (full picture) | Mostly Betterment-held assets | |
Built for dual-income households | ||
Pricing model | $9.99/mo flat | 0.25%/yr Digital · 0.65%/yr Premium |
Cost on $250k portfolio (Digital) | $119.88/yr | $625/yr |
Cost on $1M portfolio (Digital) | $119.88/yr | $2,500/yr |
Cost on $1M portfolio (Premium) | $119.88/yr | $6,500/yr |
Run the math on your own portfolio
Open full calculatorReal, after inflation
Above $100,000
USD per year
Betterment (Digital → Premium) fee structure
Digital 0.25%/yr below $100k, Premium 0.65%/yr at $100k+ ($100k account minimum).
Terminal wealth — flat fee
$4,370,459
Terminal wealth — Betterment (Digital → Premium)
$3,821,209
Foregone wealth from fees
$549,249
after 30 years
Estimates only. Assumes fees come out of returns each year and the flat fee comes out of contributions before they compound. Actual results vary with market returns, tax treatment, and contribution timing.
The real reasonsWhy people switch
- Betterment Goals is a useful bucket UI — but it doesn't tell you when you can retire or score a buy-vs-rent decision.
- Premium's 0.65%/yr buys CFP access; PeakWorth's Peak plan runs an always-on AI advisor on your real numbers for a flat fee.
- Tax-loss harvesting is real, but only on Betterment-held taxable assets. PeakWorth plans the household, not just one account.
- On $1M, Premium costs $6,500/yr forever. PeakWorth costs $119.88/yr and does not scale with your wealth.
Context
Betterment built the modern robo category — Digital at 0.25%/yr handles rebalancing and daily tax-loss harvesting on taxable accounts, and Goals lets you bucket money toward named objectives. Premium at 0.65%/yr ($100k minimum) layers in CFP access for one-off planning questions.
What Betterment does not do is run a real multi-decade household plan. Goals is a slider on a single account. There is no FI age, no buy-vs-rent model, no job-change scenario, no AI that knows your full balance sheet across both spouses, brokerage, retirement, and home equity.
Most PeakWorth users keep Betterment for the management piece (especially the tax-loss harvesting on taxable) and use PeakWorth as the planning layer above it. For the broader category context, see PeakWorth vs Robo-Advisor at /vs/robo-advisor.
See your real FI age in 5 minutes
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Run it through PeakWorthFrequently asked
Is PeakWorth a Betterment alternative?
Only for the planning side. PeakWorth doesn't hold assets or place trades — Betterment does that well. The cleanest setup is to keep Betterment for portfolio management and use PeakWorth for the multi-decade plan, decision modeling, and AI advisor on your real numbers. See the category-level write-up at /vs/robo-advisor.
Should I pay for Betterment Premium or use PeakWorth?
Premium's 0.65%/yr buys CFP access plus the Digital service. On $250k that's $1,625/yr; on $1M it's $6,500/yr. PeakWorth Navigator is $9.99/mo flat ($119.88/yr) and includes the full Decision Hub; the AI advisor is part of the Peak plan ($19.99/mo). Many households keep Betterment Digital for management and PeakWorth for planning — it lands cheaper than Premium and gives you a real long-horizon plan.
Does PeakWorth replace Betterment Goals?
Goals is a per-account bucket UI. PeakWorth models goals at the household level, runs them against your real income, taxes, and accounts, and projects the impact on your FI age. They overlap conceptually but Betterment can't tell you what hitting a goal does to the rest of your life.
What about Betterment's Cash Reserve at 4.00% APY?
Cash Reserve is a competitive high-yield savings product (APY is variable and set by partner banks). It's a fine place to park an emergency fund. PeakWorth treats it as one more account in the plan — it's not a feature we're trying to replace.
PeakWorth provides educational projections, not financial advice. We are not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, tax preparer, or attorney. Consult a licensed professional before making major financial decisions. Read full disclosures