Updated July 3, 2026. Use this financial advisor fee calculator, financial advisor cost calculator, and financial advisor fees calculator to compare AUM, flat fee, monthly retainer, hourly, project, and blended advisor quotes in annual dollars before you book an intro call. Enter the portfolio size and quote details once, then compare first-year cost, monthly cost, 10-year cumulative cost, and written scope. Use it with the financial advisor fee comparison when you need to compare financial advisor rates across the same deliverables.
This is a financial advisor fees comparison tool, not a directory or ranking of advisors. The useful next step is to compare written scope, fiduciary status, and all-in cost in dollars. If you still need to find a financial advisor, start with Find a Financial Advisor, fee-only financial advisor near me, or fiduciary financial advisor near me after you calculate the quote.
Financial advisor fee calculator and cost calculator
Enter 0 or a positive number in every field. AUM and fund/platform percentages must be from 0% to 100%, and estimated hours must be a whole number.
Quick read: At $1,000,000, a 1.00% AUM quote is $10,000/year before fund or platform costs.
Compare the quote with a fiduciary before you decide
Use the calculator output to ask for the same written scope, then compare the advisor’s total first-year cost, fiduciary status, deliverables, and what becomes hourly or out-of-scope.
How to compare apples-to-apples
- Convert every quote into annual dollars. A 1% AUM quote on $1,000,000 is $10,000/year before fund, platform, overlay, or trading costs.
- Compare written scope before price. A lower fee can be expensive if tax planning, retirement-income work, investment implementation, or follow-up support is excluded.
- Ask for the billing rule. Confirm whether percentage fees are billed on beginning balance, ending balance, average balance, or marginal tiers.
- Separate advice from products. Ask whether the advisor receives commissions, referral fees, insurance compensation, or third-party platform payments.
Worked examples
| Quote type | Example quote | Annual dollars | Question to ask before an intro call |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUM | 1.00% on $1,000,000 | $10,000/year | Are planning, tax coordination, fund costs, and implementation included? |
| Flat annual | $7,500/year | $7,500/year | What is in scope, what renews, and what becomes hourly? |
| Monthly retainer | $500/month | $6,000/year | What service calendar, response time, and cancellation rules apply? |
| Hourly/project | $350/hour for 10 hours | $3,500 total | Is there a written not-to-exceed cap and recap deliverable? |
Portfolio-size fee routes
After you calculate the quote, compare the same fee at the portfolio balance closest to yours.
You have the number. Now find out who will quote against it.
A calculator gives you the arithmetic; only an adviser gives you a price. The advisers below pay to be introduced to you, so open with the figure you just produced and ask what they would charge on the same balance. 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. It asks about nine questions — age, investable assets, location — then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text.
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. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Compare fees, scope, conflicts, credentials and fiduciary duty before you hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here — you stay on this page.
Related tools
- How much does a financial advisor cost? - compare AUM, flat, retainer, hourly, and project costs before using the calculator result.
- Flat Fee vs AUM Break-Even Calculator - find the portfolio balance where a flat quote starts to beat a percentage quote.
- Fee-only financial advisor near me, flat-fee financial advisor near me, and flat fee retirement planner near me - compare advisor-search routes after you calculate the quote.
- Fee-for-service financial planner near me - compare advice-only, hourly, flat-fee, and project pricing routes after the calculator gives you the annual cost.
- Hourly financial advisor, hourly financial planner near me, and financial advisor hourly rate - compare rates, not-to-exceed caps, scope, and local vs virtual fit.
- AUM Fee Calculator - model percentage fees and tiered schedules.
- AUM fees by balance, wealth management fees, and $1 million portfolio fees - compare portfolio-size advisor costs before choosing AUM, flat, retainer, hourly, or project pricing.
- 10-Year Advisor Fee Comparison - compare long-term fee drag.
- Negotiate financial advisor fees - ask for AUM breakpoints, fee caps, flat-fee alternatives, or hourly caps after you run the quote.
- Average retainer fee for financial advisor - compare monthly retainers in annual dollars; use fixed fee project pricing for one-time planning scope, deliverables, and not-to-exceed caps.
- Average financial advisor fees - see typical AUM, flat, retainer, hourly, and project fee benchmarks.
- Financial advisor fees comparison - compare financial advisor rates, fee models, conflicts, and written scope.
Local fee guide routes
Use the closest local guide when the advisor quote depends on taxes, employer equity, home equity, business income, relocation, or retirement-income planning context.
- Seattle, Eastside, and Washington.
- Austin, Dallas, and Texas.
- New York City, New York, and Western New York.
- San Francisco, Bay Area, Los Angeles, and California.
- Denver, Denver Metro, and Colorado.
Copy/paste questions for advisor quotes
- What is my total first-year cost in dollars, including planning, investment management, platform, fund, hourly, referral, and product costs?
- Are you acting as a fiduciary at all times for this relationship? Please answer yes or no in writing.
- What written deliverables will I receive, and what becomes out-of-scope or hourly?
- How is the fee billed: beginning balance, ending balance, average balance, marginal tiers, fixed annual fee, retainer, hourly, or project?
- How would your recommendation change if I used a flat annual, hourly/project, retainer, or AUM arrangement?
FAQs
How much is 1% of assets under management?
1% of $1,000,000 is $10,000/year. 1% of $2,000,000 is $20,000/year. Always ask whether fund, platform, overlay, trading, tax, and planning costs are included.
Is a flat fee always cheaper than AUM?
No. A flat fee can be cheaper, more expensive, or simply scoped differently. The right comparison is annual dollars plus written scope.
What is a reasonable hourly financial advisor rate?
Many hourly or project quotes cluster around a few hundred dollars per hour, but the not-to-exceed cap and written deliverable matter more than the hourly label.
Choose the right tool: Use the financial advisor fee calculators hub for AUM, flat-fee, retainer, hourly, portfolio-size, and 10-year comparisons; use the financial advisor cost guide for baseline fee ranges, the financial advisor fee structure guide for model definitions, and robo advisor fees vs human advisor costs when a platform quote is in the mix.
Compare financial advisor rates after the calculator
Once you have the fee calculator result, use the Compare Financial Advisor Rates chart to check AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, and robo/platform quotes against the written scope.
Fee comparison chart route
If you want a static table before using calculator inputs, start with the financial advisor fee comparison chart, then use this calculator to test exact AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, and project quotes.
Hourly-rate input guide
Before entering an hourly quote, use the financial planning hourly rate guide to estimate role-based rates, expected hours, not-to-exceed caps, and comparable project or flat-fee pricing.
UMA and platform fee inputs
For AUM proposals with platform, overlay, model, or implementation layers, first use the cost of UMA platforms and AUM fees by balance guide, then enter the combined annual-dollar cost here.
Robo advisor cost input
Before entering a digital-advice percentage, use the robo advisor fees guide to account for advisory fees, fund expenses, hybrid access, and any planning work sold separately.
Compare advisor rates after the calculator
After estimating the annual-dollar cost, use the compare financial advisor rates guide to check AUM percentages, flat annual fees, hourly/project quotes, retainers, robo fees, and 10-year cost before a call.
Choose the fee structure first
Before entering a quote, use the financial advisor fee structures guide to identify whether the fee is AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, commission, blended, robo, or platform-based.
Average advisor fee route
After using the calculator, compare the result with the average financial advisor fees guide to check AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, robo, commission, and blended fee models.
All advisor-fee tools route
For a broader tool menu, use the updated financial advisor fee calculator tools hub, then compare the fee comparison chart, advisor rates guide, AUM calculators, hourly-rate guide, fee schedule, and local advisor-fee routes.
Find an advisor after calculating fees
After converting the quote into annual dollars, use find a financial advisor near me to compare fiduciary status, compensation, written scope, local fit, and whether a fee-only, flat-fee, hourly, retainer, AUM, or virtual advisor path fits the decision.
Advisor cost guide route
After calculating a quote, use how much does a financial advisor cost? to compare AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, robo, and all-in costs before booking an intro call.
10-year fee comparison route
After converting a quote into annual dollars, use the 10-year financial advisor fee comparison to see how AUM, flat annual, retainer, hourly, project, and robo costs compound over time.
Flat-fee advisor route
After calculating the quote, use the refreshed flat fee financial advisor guide to compare flat annual, fixed-fee, retainer, hourly, project, and AUM options for the same planning scope.
Portfolio-size fee route
After calculating a quote, compare the same proposal against financial advisor fees by portfolio size, including $500k portfolio fees, $1 million portfolio fees, $2 million portfolio fees, and $3 million portfolio fees.
Service-model near-me calculator route
After calculating a quote, compare service models through hourly financial planner near me, fee-for-service financial planner near me, flat-fee-only retirement planner near me, and fiduciary financial advisor near me.
Local advisor-fee guides
After converting a quote into annual dollars, compare the closest financial advisor fees by location guide to pressure-test local planning scope, fiduciary status, and fee model differences.
Methodology
- We convert AUM percentages, flat annual fees, retainers, hourly rates, and project quotes into annual dollars for side-by-side comparison.
- The calculator uses simple annual math and does not model market returns, taxes, fund performance, account-specific billing dates, or personalized investment recommendations.
- This page was materially reviewed on June 28, 2026. It is educational and does not rank, review, endorse, or list advisors.
Editorial standards: Editorial Policy - Corrections - Disclaimer
Rate comparison: Compare financial advisor rates side by side before choosing calculator inputs.
Hourly and fee-for-service advisor route
For smaller-scope advice, compare hourly financial planner near me and fee-for-service financial planner near me options by annual dollars, written scope, fiduciary status, and not-to-exceed caps before booking.
Major metro fee-only planner routes
For fee-only planner searches in major metros, compare the Dallas fee-only financial advisor guide, Denver fee-only financial planner guide, and Seattle fee-only financial planner guide before a call. Use the same annual-dollar scope, fiduciary-status, and compensation questions across each city.
Austin and Texas fee-only advisor route
For fee only financial advisor Austin, fee only financial planner Austin TX, or Austin fee-only financial planner searches, start with Austin fee-only financial advisor fees, then compare Austin Metro and Texas fee-only advisor fees before choosing between flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
New York, NYC, and Manhattan advisor-fee route
For NYC fiduciary financial advisor, fee only financial advisor NYC, Manhattan retirement planner, or New York financial advisor fees searches, start with NYC fiduciary financial advisor fees, Manhattan retirement planner fees, NYC Metro advisor fees, and New York financial advisor fees before comparing flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
Colorado, Denver Metro, and Aurora advisor-fee route
For fee-only financial planner Denver, retirement planning cost Denver area, Colorado financial advisor fees, or retirement planner Aurora CO searches, compare Denver fee-only financial planner fees, Denver Metro retirement planner fees, Colorado financial advisor fees, and Aurora CO retirement planner fees before choosing between flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
California, Bay Area, San Francisco, and Marin advisor-fee route
For California financial advisor fees, San Francisco retirement planner, Marin County financial planner, or Bay Area retirement-planner searches, compare California financial advisor fees, Bay Area financial advisor fees, San Francisco retirement planner fees, Marin County financial planner fees, and Los Angeles retirement planner fees before choosing between flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
Half Moon Bay, Portola Valley, Menlo Park, and Redwood Shores route
For Peninsula retirement-planner searches, compare Half Moon Bay retirement planner fees, Portola Valley retirement planner fees, Menlo Park retirement planner fees, and Redwood Shores retirement planner fees with SF Peninsula, San Mateo County, and the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator before choosing between flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
Western New York, Rochester, Pittsford, and Buffalo route
For Western New York retirement-planner searches, compare Western New York financial advisor fees, Rochester retirement planner fees, Pittsford retirement planner fees, and Buffalo retirement planner fees with nearby Cheektowaga, Buffalo Northtowns, and Buffalo Southtowns guides before comparing flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
Washington, Issaquah, and Redmond advisor-fee route
For Washington retirement-planner searches, compare Washington financial advisor fees, Issaquah retirement planner fees, and Redmond retirement planner fees with Eastside WA, Greater Seattle, Renton, Edmonds, and Shoreline before choosing between flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
Leander, Austin, and Texas retirement-planner route
For Leander retirement planner or northwest Austin advisor-fee searches, compare Leander retirement planner fees, Austin fee-only financial advisor fees, Austin Metro fee-only planner costs, Texas fee-only financial advisor fees, and the Financial Advisor Fee Calculator before choosing between flat annual, retainer, hourly/project, and AUM proposals.
Check the flat-fee result against a benchmark
After calculating annual dollars, compare the result with the average flat fee for a financial advisor and verify the promised services with the flat-fee advisor scope guide.
Check the retainer result against a benchmark
After converting the monthly quote into annual dollars, compare it with the average financial advisor retainer fee and verify the promised service calendar in the advisor fee schedule guide.