Schwab Intelligent Portfolios offers two account levels, each with different fees, minimum balance requirements, and account extras. The basic account does not charge an annual management fee or setup fee. The premium account comes with an initial setup fee of $ 300 and a recurring monthly subscription fee of $ 30.

A monthly subscription model is less common among robo-advisers. Most competitors opt for an annual management fee equal to a percentage of your total balance, although Acorns and Ellevest also charge a monthly fee.

The $ 30 / month fee for Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium means your annual costs could be higher or lower than competing platforms, depending on how much you invest.

A premium account with a balance of $ 25,000, for example, would be billed an annual fee of $ 660 for the first year, a setup fee of $ 300, and a management fee of $ 360. This equates to an annual management fee of 2.64%. Over 10 years, the same balance would be charged an annual fee equal to 1.56%. These are considerably higher than the annual management fees for similar high-balance premium accounts at competitors like Betterment (0.40%).

However, the costs look very different for a balance of $ 250,000. In the first year, that amount would cost the equivalent of 0.26% annual management fees, falling to just 0.16% per year over 10 years. This makes Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium a great deal for investors with large balances.

In addition, the minimum investment of $ 25,000 is much lower than that of some competing products. Betterment Premium requires at least $ 100,000, while Vanguard Personal Advisor Services requires $ 50,000. If you want a hybrid robo-advisor experience, with automated management and access to CFPs, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium could be cheaper than purchasing one-on-one sessions with a pay-per-view CFP elsewhere.

Almost all ETFs charge expense ratio fees, to cover their operating costs. You will never receive an invoice for ETF expense ratios, as they are automatically subtracted from your annual returns by each fund. Still, it’s important to keep expense ratio fees in mind, as they can eat away at your returns over time.

ETF expense ratios are reasonable at Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, ranging from 0.04% to 0.18% on average, depending on the composition of your portfolio.