Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: Betterment Premium is less expensive at $500,000: $3,250 a year, versus $11,250 a year for Commonwealth Financial Network, computed from each firm’s own SEC-filed fee disclosure. See the full side-by-side table below for $250,000, $1 million and $2 million.
What each firm charges, side by side
| Account balance | Betterment Premium (annual fee) | Commonwealth Financial Network (annual fee) |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 | $1,625 | $5,625 |
| $500,000 | $3,250 | $11,250 |
| $1,000,000 | $6,500 | $17,500 |
| $2,000,000 | $5,000 | $30,000 |
Betterment Premium discloses a tiered schedule starting at 0.65% (Form ADV Part 2A – Betterment Client Brochure (Betterment LLC), 2026-07-31); Commonwealth Financial Network discloses a tiered schedule starting at 2.25% (Commonwealth Financial Network Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, March 30, 2026).
What the fee includes, in each firm’s own words
Betterment Premium (Form ADV Part 2A – Betterment Client Brochure (Betterment LLC), 2026-07-31): “Retail Clients who receive Betterment Premium Services pay a wrap fee of 0.65% of their account balance in annualized fees, which includes Betterment’s 0.25% annualized wrap fee plus 0.40% for access to Premium Services provided by Betterment’s team of financial consultants (subject to the Discount described in Item 5B. below). Betterment waives the 0.40% fee for Premium Services on account balances above $1 million. … A balance of at least $100,000 is required to be eligible to participate in the Betterment Premium plan.”
Whole-balance (breakpoint) fee, not marginal: the 0.65% combined rate (0.25% base wrap fee + 0.40% Premium access fee) applies to the full balance once the $100,000 Premium minimum is met, up to and including $1,000,000 ($250,000 x 0.0065 = $1,625; $500,000 x 0.0065 = $3,250; $1,000,000 x 0.0065 = $6,500, since the brochure waives the 0.40% Premium fee only on balances ‘above’ $1 million, not at exactly $1 million). Above $1,000,000 the 0.40% Premium fee is waived, leaving only the 0.25% base wrap fee on the entire balance ($2,000,000 x 0.0025 = $5,000). This produces a real fee cliff where a $1,000,000 account pays more in dollar terms than a $2,000,000 account – that is a direct, disclosed consequence of the waiver threshold, not an error.
Commonwealth Financial Network (Commonwealth Financial Network Form ADV Part 2A Brochure, March 30, 2026): “PPS Program Fee Schedules Following are the maximum allowable fee schedules for the various PPS programs. PPS Custom Program (Transactions) The maximum allowable annual management fee schedule for a new PPS Custom Program (Transactions) account is: Account Value Maximum Annual Management Fee Greater than or equal to Less than $0 $750,000 2.25% $750,000 $1,000,000 2.00% $1,000,000 $2,000,000 1.75% $2,000,000 – 1.50%”
This is Commonwealth’s disclosed maximum allowable annual management fee for the PPS Custom Program (Transactions), a whole-balance breakpoint schedule (the single rate for the bracket the account value falls into applies to the entire balance, per the brochure’s own worked breakpoint-schedule example on the preceding page). $250,000 and $500,000 both fall in the $0-<$750,000 bracket -> x2.25% = $5,625 and $11,250. $1,000,000 falls in the >=$1,000,000 and <$2,000,000 bracket -> x1.75% = $17,500. $2,000,000 falls in the >=$2,000,000 bracket -> x1.50% = $30,000. All Commonwealth advisory program management fees are stated to be negotiable between advisor and client, so this is a maximum, not necessarily what every client pays.
How this compares
Our benchmark of published adviser fee schedules puts the weighted median annual cost near $2,000 to $2,500 on $250,000 (the benchmark). At $500,000, Betterment Premium runs $3,250 a year and Commonwealth Financial Network runs $11,250 a year: a difference of $8,000 a year at that balance.
Want the full breakdown for either firm on its own? Read the Betterment Premium fee page or the Commonwealth Financial Network fee page for the complete tier table and source citations.
Thinking about leaving one of these firms instead of pricing what you would pay to stay? See what it costs to leave Betterment Premium or what it costs to leave Commonwealth Financial Network, or read the general mechanics of switching financial advisors.
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Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionSources
- Form ADV Part 2A – Betterment Client Brochure (Betterment LLC) (2026-07-31): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1053566
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Betterment LLC (CRD #149117): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/149117
- Commonwealth Financial Network Form ADV Part 2A Brochure (March 30, 2026): https://files.adviserinfo.sec.gov/IAPD/Content/Common/crd_iapd_Brochure.aspx?BRCHR_VRSN_ID=1032557
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Commonwealth Financial Network (CRD #8032): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/8032
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, re-pairing figures already archived and independently verified for Betterment Premium and Commonwealth Financial Network from each firm’s own SEC-filed disclosure; sources linked above. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.