assetbest 
If you want to grow your wealth with automated investing, Wealthfront and M1 Finance are two strong options. Both offer low-cost, hands-off approaches, but they serve different types of investors. This guide compares their features, fees, and best use cases to help you decide.
Wealthfront started as a classic robo-advisor for people who want a fully managed experience. After a short questionnaire, it recommends a diversified portfolio tailored to your goals, timeline, and risk tolerance. Wealthfront handles rebalancing, dividend reinvestment, and tax-loss harvesting to help optimize returns. It also offers individual stocks, ETFs, and themed portfolios for added choice.
M1 Finance focuses on flexibility. It provides thousands of ETFs and stocks plus screeners to help you build a custom portfolio. You can also choose from M1’s expert model portfolios, which cover retirement, stock-and-bond mixes, income, global exposure, socially responsible options, and varying risk levels. The platform will rebalance your portfolio to your chosen allocation when you request it. M1’s basic investing is commission-free with a $10,000 balance or a margin loan; otherwise, there’s a $3 monthly fee.
Choose Wealthfront if you want a hands-off, tax-efficient portfolio with minimal effort. Choose M1 Finance if you prefer more control—building your own portfolio or selecting a model—and still want automated rebalancing. Both platforms provide cash management and socially responsible investing choices.
Both companies take security seriously. Wealthfront uses bank-level protections, offers FDIC coverage on cash held through partner banks, and provides SIPC protection for brokerage assets. M1 is a registered broker-dealer, uses similar partner-bank FDIC coverage for cash, and relies on SIPC to protect investment assets. Remember that while these safeguards protect against certain failures, all investing carries market risk and potential volatility.
