Guides › Financial Advisor Fees
Updated September 19, 2026. Quick answer: At Charles Schwab, a $500,000 account runs $4,000 a year under its own current fee schedule. Three comparable options we track: Vanguard Personal Advisor ($1,750 a year), a flat-fee or hourly advisor ($2,500-$10,000+/year (flat annual planning), or $150-$500/hour, priced by scope rather than assets), and SoFi Invest ($1,250 a year, robo/hybrid). Charles Schwab is dual registrant (fiduciary only when acting as adviser); its minimum to open an account is $500,000.
Charles Schwab vs. three comparable options
| Option | Fee at $500,000 | Minimum | Fiduciary status | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Schwab (this firm) | $4,000 | $500,000 | Dual registrant (fiduciary only when acting as adviser) | Charles Schwab fees |
| Vanguard Personal Advisor (lower-fee full-service) | $1,750 | $50,000 | Registered investment adviser (fiduciary) | Vanguard Personal Advisor fees |
| Flat-fee or hourly advisor | $2,500-$10,000+/year (flat annual planning), or $150-$500/hour | No AUM minimum; scope-based (project or hourly) | Varies by advisor; many fee-only planners in this category are also registered investment advisers acting in a fiduciary capacity, but confirm each one’s own Form ADV/CRS individually | Compare flat-fee ranges |
| SoFi Invest (robo/hybrid) | $1,250 | No minimum account size | Registered investment adviser (fiduciary) | SoFi Invest fees |
This site’s own already-published flat-fee guide aggregates common 2026 flat-fee and hourly comparison anchors (see the guide’s own “Flat fee financial advisor cost table”); a flat or hourly quote does not scale with account size the way an AUM percentage does, so no single figure is comparable across all account sizes.
Full detail on Charles Schwab’s own numbers: fee schedule, fiduciary status, and minimum to open an account.
What each alternative actually is
Vanguard Personal Advisor is the cheapest full-service (human-advisor) firm in our fee+fiduciary+minimum universe: $1,750 a year on a $500,000 account, per its own current fee schedule. See its full fee breakdown and fiduciary status.
Flat-fee or hourly advisors charge a stated dollar amount for an agreed scope instead of a percentage of assets: $2,500-$10,000+/year (flat annual planning), or $150-$500/hour. Because the price does not scale with account size, it can be relatively cheaper at higher balances and relatively more expensive at lower ones. See the full flat-fee cost-range table.
SoFi Invest is a robo/hybrid option at $1,250 a year on a $500,000 account, per its own current fee schedule. It is not the cheapest robo/hybrid firm in our fee+fiduciary+minimum universe: as of September 28, 2026, three firms there cost less at $500,000, led by Acorns at $48 a year on its lowest plan for new customers, then M1 Finance (up to $1,000) and Interactive Advisors ($1,000 on its in-house portfolios), so SoFi Invest ranks fourth. See its full fee breakdown and fiduciary status.
Compare Charles Schwab head-to-head against other firms
- Charles Schwab vs. Cambridge Investment Research
- Charles Schwab vs. Cetera
- Charles Schwab vs. Carson Wealth
- Charles Schwab vs. Commonwealth Financial Network
- Charles Schwab vs. Equitable Advisors
- Charles Schwab vs. Kestra (Kestra Private Wealth Services / Kestra Advisory Services)
Run your own numbers
Price any percentage fee in dollars over time with the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator, or see the full published-fee landscape on the financial advisor fee comparison.
Already a Charles Schwab client and weighing whether to move? See our full Charles Schwab review and what it costs to leave Charles Schwab.
Compare your next step
Just comparing fees? Keep reading the fee guide.Optional next step
Explore an adviser match
Compare the services and the full fee before deciding whether to hire anyone.
- No fee to request a match
- No obligation to hire
Expect questions about your situation, your name, email and phone, and phone verification by text. A match is not guaranteed.
The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide is paid when you submit the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
Opens here. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
How our partner relationships workCompare an adviser match before you decide
Ask about the full fee, what it covers and how the adviser is paid. A match is an introduction, not a recommendation from Clear Money Guide.
- Free matching service
- No obligation to hire
The matching service is run by WiserAdvisor, an independent advisor-matching company. It opens on their site, asks for your ZIP code and a few questions, and matches you with 2 to 3 vetted advisors. It is free to you. WiserAdvisor states the service is built for portfolios of $250,000 and above. By submitting, you consent to emails, phone calls and text messages from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisors, so expect to be contacted. Advisers pay for the introduction. Clear Money Guide is paid when you complete the form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. There is no obligation to hire anyone.
Continue to WiserAdvisorOpens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Source: WiserAdvisor’s service descriptionSources
- Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Disclosure Brochure for the Schwab Wealth Advisory Wrap Fee Program (June 30, 2026 (Standard SWA Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2024)): https://www.schwab.com/transparency
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (CRD #5393): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/5393
- Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., SEC Form ADV filing: https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/5393/PDF/5393.pdf
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (CRD #106715): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/106715
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, SoFi Wealth LLC (CRD #167958): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/167958
- Clear Money Guide, “Flat Fee Financial Advisor” cost-range table: /flat-fee-financial-advisor/
Methodology. This page was built September 19, 2026, drawing on Charles Schwab’s own current fee brochure (linked above) and this site’s own already-published, already independently sourced fee, fiduciary, and minimum-investment pages for the comparable firms named here. Vanguard Personal Advisor is the cheapest firm in our tracked full-service category by its own published $500,000 fee figure; SoFi Invest is a robo/hybrid comparable but not the cheapest in its category (see above). Neither is a ranked or personalized recommendation. Any distinction we could not independently confirm this session is named as an honest gap rather than presented as verified. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. We have not used Charles Schwab as a client. Charles Schwab did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.