Clear Money Guide
What this guide covers
A quick view of the questions and evidence developed below.
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Updated July 6, 2026. Quick answer: compare financial advisor rates by converting every quote into annual dollars, then matching the price to the written scope. A 1.00% advisor rate costs $10,000 per year on $1,000,000 and $25,000 per year on $2,500,000 before fund, platform, tax, legal, or implementation costs.
This guide helps you compare financial advisor rates across AUM percentages, flat annual fees, hourly planning, project fees, retainers, robo or hybrid digital advice, and commission/blended models. The point is not to memorize one “normal” rate. The point is to ask whether the fee is fair for the portfolio size, planning complexity, fiduciary scope, and deliverables you are actually receiving.
Financial advisor rate chart: 2026 benchmarks
| Rate or model | Common quote shape | Best use case | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUM percentage | Often 0.50%-1.25% depending on balance and scope | Ongoing portfolio management plus planning | Whether tax, retirement-income, estate, and implementation work are included |
| Flat annual fee | Set annual dollar amount | Planning-heavy households that want the fee separated from assets | Meeting cadence, included topics, and whether investment management is included |
| Hourly planning | Hourly rate times estimated hours | Focused questions, second opinions, or one-time planning | Not-to-exceed cap, expected hours, and implementation help |
| Project fee | Fixed price for a defined plan | Retirement review, equity-compensation plan, tax window, or plan refresh | Deliverables, revision window, and follow-up support |
| Retainer | Monthly, quarterly, or annual planning fee | Ongoing advice without full AUM billing | Asset minimums, planning cadence, and investment implementation |
| Robo or hybrid advisor | Lower percentage, subscription, or hybrid tier | Portfolio automation or limited human planning access | Fund costs, cash drag, advisor access, and planning limits |
Compare financial advisor rates at $500k, $1M, $2M, and $3M
The fastest way to compare advisor rates is to convert percentages into dollars. The table below uses annual advisory fees only, before fund expense ratios, platform costs, trading costs, tax preparation, attorney fees, or planning work billed separately.
| Portfolio | 0.50% | 0.75% | 1.00% | 1.25% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $500,000 | $2,500/yr | $3,750/yr | $5,000/yr | $6,250/yr |
| $1,000,000 | $5,000/yr | $7,500/yr | $10,000/yr | $12,500/yr |
| $2,000,000 | $10,000/yr | $15,000/yr | $20,000/yr | $25,000/yr |
| $3,000,000 | $15,000/yr | $22,500/yr | $30,000/yr | $37,500/yr |
For a broader model-by-model view, use the financial advisor fee comparison chart. To run your own portfolio size, use the financial advisor fee calculator. To model the long-term drag, use the 10-year advisor fee comparison.
Which advisor rate should you challenge first?
Challenge the part of the fee that is least connected to actual work. A higher rate can be reasonable when the planning scope is deep. A lower rate can still be expensive if the work is mostly portfolio allocation.
- Challenge a 1.00%+ AUM fee if the written scope does not include tax-aware withdrawals, retirement-income planning, estate coordination, employer-equity planning, or ongoing implementation.
- Challenge a flat annual fee if the deliverables are vague, the meeting cadence is unclear, or portfolio implementation is excluded.
- Challenge hourly quotes when there is no estimated hour range, no not-to-exceed cap, or no written list of deliverables.
- Challenge a retainer if it duplicates AUM billing without adding planning access or clear ongoing value.
- Challenge robo or hybrid fees when human planning access, fund costs, cash allocation, and platform limitations are not clear.
Apples-to-apples advisor rate checklist
Before accepting any rate, put every quote into the same comparison format.
- Portfolio balance used for the quote.
- First-year advisory fee in dollars.
- Ongoing annual advisory fee in dollars.
- Fund expense ratios, platform fees, and custody costs.
- Planning topics included in writing.
- Meeting cadence and response standard.
- Fiduciary status and compensation conflicts.
- Separate tax, legal, insurance, or implementation fees.
Rate routes by question
- How much does a financial advisor cost? for the broad fee guide.
- Average wealth management fees for private wealth and wealth-management fee structure checks.
- Financial advisor fee structures for AUM, flat, retainer, hourly, project, and commission models.
- RIA fee schedule for tiered schedules, breakpoints, minimums, and blended-rate examples.
- AUM fees by balance for portfolio-size and UMA/platform fee questions.
- Financial planning hourly rate for hourly advisor and CFP rate checks.
- Robo advisor fees for digital and hybrid advisor cost comparisons.
Rates only compare if the scope behind them is the same.
One rate, 1.00%, is $10,000 a year on $1,000,000 and $25,000 a year on $2,500,000, and neither number tells you what work is inside it. Ask each adviser to price an identical list of deliverables, in dollars per year. Any rate comparison without that is comparing different things. It is free to you, and it is not the only way to find an adviser.
Before you start, what actually happens. 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.
The Kapitalwise form opens here — you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions — age, investable assets, location — then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Questions to ask before accepting a financial advisor rate
- What is the total first-year cost in dollars, including advisory, fund, platform, and separate planning charges?
- What is the ongoing annual cost in dollars at my current portfolio size?
- What planning work is included, and what is specifically excluded?
- Are you acting as a fiduciary for planning, investment recommendations, and implementation?
- How does the fee change if my balance grows, falls, or moves to another custodian?
- Can you show the same quote as AUM percentage, flat annual dollars, hourly/project equivalent, and 10-year cost?
When a higher advisor rate may be worth it
A higher advisor rate may be worth comparing when the service includes substantial planning judgment, not just portfolio maintenance. Examples include retirement-income sequencing, Roth conversion windows, concentrated stock, employer equity, charitable giving, estate coordination, business-owner planning, and household decision support.
A higher rate is harder to justify when the proposal is mainly asset allocation, model portfolios, rebalancing, and occasional check-ins. In that case, compare lower-cost AUM tiers, flat annual planning, hourly/project planning, robo-advisor fees, or self-directed investing with occasional advice.
Wealth management fee route
For private wealth, standard wealth management, or AUM-plus-planning quotes, use the average wealth management fees guide to compare annual dollars, fee structures, breakpoints, platform layers, and planning scope.
Fee structure route
Before deciding whether a rate is fair, use the financial advisor fee structures guide to identify whether the quote is AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, commission, blended, robo, or platform-based.
Average fee benchmark route
Before deciding whether a quote is high or low, use the average financial advisor fees guide to compare the rate against common AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, robo, commission, and blended models.
Rate schedule route
If the rate is tiered, use the financial advisor fee schedule guide to compare breakpoints, minimums, blended effective rates, and separate platform costs before judging the quote.
Advisor-rate calculator route
Use the financial advisor fee calculator tools hub when you need to move from rate charts into AUM, flat-fee, hourly, retainer, fee-schedule, break-even, and local advisor-cost calculations.
Advisor cost guide route
If a rate chart is not enough, use how much does a financial advisor cost? to compare rates, all-in costs, hidden fees, and scope before a second call.
Methodology
This guide compares financial advisor rates by converting percentages and fee models into annual dollars, then checking those dollars against written scope. It is educational, not individualized financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. See our editorial policy, corrections policy, and disclaimer.
This page was materially reviewed on July 6, 2026.
Negotiate after comparing advisor rates
After converting each proposal into annual dollars, use the financial advisor fee negotiation guide and fee negotiation scripts to ask for a lower tier, cap, flat fee, or reduced scope.