Vanguard Digital Advisor Review (2026)
Vanguard Digital Advisor manages a portfolio of Vanguard index ETFs for investors who start with as little as $100 and do not need a human advisor. The one thing to know: the 0.20% fee Vanguard quotes is a gross fee; a credit from Vanguard fund revenue brings the net fee on the standard index portfolio to about 0.16%, or no more than $20 per $10,000 a year. New clients pay no advisory fee for the first 90 days.
By Wealthy Pot Editorial · Facts checked October 19, 2026
Facts checked October 19, 2026 against Vanguard Digital Advisor's own Form ADV brochures, fee pages and fund documents (8 sources, listed below). We re-check prices about once a month. We do not earn a commission from Vanguard.
Vanguard Digital Advisor at a glance
| Advisory fee (gross) | 0.20% a year for all-index portfolios, 0.25% for the active/index mix [1] |
|---|---|
| Advisory fee (net) | About 0.16% for the standard index portfolio, 0.11% to 0.12% for the ESG index option, 0.12% to 0.21% for the active/index mix, after a credit of Vanguard fund revenue (brochure estimates); Vanguard says no more than $20 per $10,000 on index portfolios [1] |
| Introductory waiver | No net advisory fee for the first 90 days for new Digital Advisor clients, one time; fund expenses still apply [1] |
| Minimum | $100 in each enrolled Vanguard Brokerage Account; $5 for eligible 401(k) participant accounts [1] |
| Fund costs | Usually four ETFs: VTI 0.03%, VXUS 0.05%, BND 0.03%, BNDX 0.07% a year [3] |
| Cash | Settlement fund is the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund or a bank sweep; the brochure discloses no required cash allocation [1] |
| Tax-loss harvesting | Optional for taxable individual, joint and eligible revocable trust accounts; included in the fee; no balance threshold stated [2] |
| Cost basis rule | You must elect the minimum tax (MinTax) cost basis method to enroll [1] |
| Human advice | None; Digital Advisor is all-digital. Human advisors are in Vanguard Personal Advisor: 0.35% gross on index portfolios (about 0.31% net), $50,000 minimum [1] |
| Account types | Individual, joint, revocable living trust; Traditional, Roth, SEP and Rollover IRA; inherited Traditional and Roth IRA; some employer plan accounts where the employer allows it [1] |
| Rebalancing | Algorithmic rebalancing to the target allocation, including when raising cash for fees [1] |
| Fee changes | Vanguard may raise the gross fee on 30 days' written notice [1] |
| Custody and SIPC | Vanguard Brokerage Services, a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation, member FINRA and SIPC [2] |
| Company | Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (CRD 106715, SEC 801-49601), owned by Goliath, Inc., which The Vanguard Group, Inc. owns; Digital Advisor launched in 2019; brochure dated September 24, 2026 [1] |
What a year with Vanguard Digital Advisor costs
| Balance | Advisory fee | Fund expenses | Total a year | As % of balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $10 | $1.50 to $3.50 | $11.50 to $13.50 | 0.23% to 0.27% |
| $25,000 | $50 | $7.50 to $17.50 | $57.50 to $67.50 | 0.23% to 0.27% |
| $100,000 | $200 | $30 to $70 | $230 to $270 | 0.23% to 0.27% |
Hypothetical, our arithmetic from Vanguard Digital Advisor's published fee rules and 0.03% to 0.07% a year in fund expenses, as The Vanguard Group states them, read on October 19, 2026, assuming the balance stays the same all year. Vanguard credits back part of its fund revenue, so the net advisory fee on index portfolios is no more than $20 per $10,000 (the table uses the 0.20% gross ceiling). No advisory fee for the first billing period, generally 90 days. Fund range covers the four core ETFs (VTI, VXUS, BND, BNDX).
How Vanguard Digital Advisor works
You link or open a Vanguard Brokerage Account, answer questions about goals and risk, and Vanguard Advisers, Inc. sets a target mix and manages it. The standard index portfolio usually combines four ETFs: a total US stock market ETF (VTI), the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX), with expense ratios of 0.03% to 0.07% a year. You can instead pick an ESG index option or an active/index mix that uses six Vanguard active funds. Since July 2026 you can elect to keep certain securities you already hold when you enroll, and since August 2026 you can prefer certain Vanguard funds over the lead recommended ones.
Vanguard quotes a gross fee: 0.20% a year for index portfolios and 0.25% for the active/index mix. It then credits back part of what it earns from the Vanguard funds in your account. A hypothetical $40,000 standard index portfolio is charged 0.20% gross, or $80 a year; the brochure puts the credit at about 0.04%, or $16, so the net fee is about $64 (0.16%). The cost block below uses the 0.20% gross figure, so it shows the ceiling, not the net. New clients pay no net advisory fee for the first 90 days, and Vanguard can raise the gross fee on 30 days' written notice.
Tax-loss harvesting means selling a fund at a loss to offset gains elsewhere. It is an optional election for taxable individual, joint and eligible revocable trust accounts, included in the advisory fee, with no balance threshold in the brochure; it does not guarantee tax savings. To enroll you must use the minimum tax (MinTax) cost basis method. Vanguard also offers planning tools inside the service: a goal optimizer, a debt payoff calculator, an emergency fund tool and retirement forecasts.
There is no human advisor in this service. Since September 2026 a beta generative AI chat assistant has limited access and cannot trade or rebalance. If you want a person, Vanguard Personal Advisor charges 0.35% gross on index portfolios with a $50,000 minimum. Uninvested cash sits in the settlement fund, the Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund or a bank sweep. For the Vanguard brokerage account and its fees, see our Vanguard review, and for how ETFs and index funds differ, our ETF vs index fund guide.
Pros
- Net fee of no more than $20 per $10,000 a year on index portfolios
- Core ETFs at 0.03% to 0.07% a year
- $100 minimum per account, $5 for eligible 401(k) accounts
- No net advisory fee for the first 90 days
- Tax-loss harvesting with no stated balance threshold, included in the fee
- No required cash allocation disclosed
Cons
- No human advice in this service
- Recommends only Vanguard funds
- MinTax cost basis method required to enroll
- No custodial, 529 or HSA accounts listed
- Vanguard can raise the gross fee on 30 days' notice
Who Vanguard Digital Advisor fits, and who should skip it
A good fit if
- You want a managed portfolio of Vanguard index ETFs from $100.
- You want tax-loss harvesting with no balance threshold stated, included in the fee.
- You want a revocable trust or inherited IRA managed.
- You do not need to talk to an advisor.
Look elsewhere if
- You have under $25,000 and want no advisory fee: Fidelity Go charges $0 below that line.
- You want a human planner: Vanguard Personal Advisor, or Betterment Premium with CFP access from $100,000 at 0.65%.
- You need a custodial account for a child: the Digital Advisor brochure lists none; Schwab Intelligent Portfolios takes custodial accounts.
Limitations to know
- The net fee is an estimate in the brochure and depends on the fund revenue credit, which can change. [1]
- The 90-day waiver is one time and does not apply to accounts enrolled through a plan fiduciary or to former retail clients of Vanguard Advisers. [1]
- The AI chat assistant is a limited beta and cannot trade or rebalance. [1]
- Accounts may be removed from the service if the balance falls below $100. [1]
- We could not confirm from Vanguard which mobile apps support Digital Advisor, so platforms are not listed. [2]
Vanguard Digital Advisor compared with alternatives
| Robo | Advisory fee | Minimum | Tax-loss harvesting | Year cost on $25,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Digital Advisor | 0.20%/yr index or 0.25% active (gross; less after fund credits); first 90 days free | $100 | Yes | $57.50 to $67.50 |
| Fidelity Go | $0 under $25k, then 0.35%/yr on the whole balance | $0 ($10 to start investing) | Yes | $87.50 |
| Schwab Intelligent Portfolios | $0 advisory fee; 6% to 30% held in cash at Schwab Bank | $5,000 | Yes | $5 to $37.50 |
| Betterment | $5/mo under $24k (unless $200+/mo deposits), else 0.25%/yr; Premium 0.65% | $0 ($10 first deposit) | Yes | $75 to $95 |
| Wealthfront | 0.25%/yr (Bond Ladder 0.15%, S&P 500 Direct 0.09%) | $500 | Yes | $62.50 + funds |
- Pick Fidelity Go if your account is under $25,000 and you want no advisory fee, with investing from $10.
- Pick Schwab Intelligent Portfolios if you have $5,000 or more and want no advisory fee at any balance, accepting 6% to 30% in cash.
- Pick Betterment if you want CFP access, available on Betterment Premium from $100,000 at 0.65% a year.
- Pick Wealthfront if you want US direct indexing, which Wealthfront offers from $100,000.
Security and privacy
- Vanguard Brokerage Services, a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation, is a member of FINRA and SIPC. SIPC covers missing assets if a member firm fails, not market losses. [2]
- In August 2025 the SEC censured Vanguard Advisers, Inc. and ordered a $19.5 million penalty over undisclosed conflicts in advisor incentives in Vanguard Personal Advisor Services from August 2020 to December 2023. The order concerned Personal Advisor, not Digital Advisor. [7]
- In January 2025 the parent, The Vanguard Group, Inc., settled SEC charges over target-date fund capital gains disclosures for $106.41 million in total. That case did not involve Vanguard Advisers or Digital Advisor. [8]
- We did not read Vanguard's security pages for this review, so two-factor options are not listed here. [2]
Recent changes
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | Beta generative AI chat assistant added to Digital Advisor; Personal Advisor participant-account minimum lowered to $50,000. [1] |
| Aug 2026 | Clients can prefer certain Vanguard funds over the lead recommended funds. [1] |
| Jul 2026 | Clients can elect to keep certain securities when enrolling a brokerage account. [1] |
Vanguard Digital Advisor FAQ
How much does Vanguard Digital Advisor cost?
The gross advisory fee is 0.20% a year for index portfolios and 0.25% for the active/index mix. After Vanguard's fund revenue credit, the standard index portfolio nets about 0.16%, and Vanguard says no more than $20 per $10,000. The four core ETFs cost 0.03% to 0.07% a year, and new clients pay no advisory fee for 90 days.
Is Vanguard Digital Advisor safe?
Assets are held in a Vanguard Brokerage Account at Vanguard Marketing Corporation, a FINRA member and SIPC member. SIPC does not cover market losses. The adviser, Vanguard Advisers, Inc., was fined $19.5 million by the SEC in 2025 over its Personal Advisor service, not Digital Advisor.
Does Vanguard Digital Advisor do tax-loss harvesting?
Yes, as an option for taxable individual, joint and eligible revocable trust accounts, included in the fee, with no balance threshold stated in the brochure. You must use the MinTax cost basis method. It does not guarantee tax savings.
What is the minimum for Vanguard Digital Advisor?
$100 in each enrolled Vanguard Brokerage Account, or $5 for an eligible 401(k) participant account.
Vanguard Digital Advisor vs Fidelity Go?
<a href="/robo-advisors/fidelity-go/">Fidelity Go</a> charges no advisory fee under $25,000 and 0.35% on the whole balance from $25,000; Vanguard charges about 0.16% net on index portfolios at any balance. Hypothetically, at $100,000 that is about $160 a year at Vanguard against $350 at Fidelity Go; at $20,000 it is about $32 against $0. Fidelity Go uses Flex funds that are sold if you move the account; Vanguard uses ETFs.
Is Vanguard Digital Advisor worth it?
On a hypothetical $50,000 index portfolio, the net fee is about $80 a year and fund expenses about $15 to $35, roughly $95 to $115 in total. Whether that is worth it depends on whether you would otherwise buy and rebalance the same four ETFs yourself. See our <a href="/robo-advisors/">robo-advisor comparison</a>.
How we researched this review
We did not get paid or receive a free account for this page. We read Vanguard Digital Advisor's own pricing page, help center, security and privacy pages and app-store listing on October 19, 2026, quoted each fact from those pages, and link every one below. We did not run a long-term hands-on test, so we do not score the app; where a point rests on what the company says rather than something we can check, we attribute it to Vanguard Digital Advisor. Cost figures are our own arithmetic. We re-check prices and plans about once a month and log changes in the table above.
Sources
- Vanguard Advisers, Inc., Vanguard Digital Advisor and Vanguard Personal Advisor Brochure, Form ADV Part 2A (September 24, 2026), checked October 19, 2026.
- Vanguard, Vanguard Digital Advisor overview and pricing, checked October 19, 2026.
- SEC EDGAR, Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) summary prospectus, April 28, 2026, checked October 19, 2026.
- SEC EDGAR, Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) summary prospectus, February 27, 2026, checked October 19, 2026.
- SEC EDGAR, Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) summary prospectus, April 28, 2026, checked October 19, 2026.
- SEC EDGAR, Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX) summary prospectus, February 27, 2026, checked October 19, 2026.
- SEC, In the Matter of Vanguard Advisers, Inc., order IA-6912 (August 29, 2025), checked October 19, 2026.
- SEC, Vanguard to pay $106 million over target date fund disclosures (press release 2025-21), checked October 19, 2026.
Head-to-head comparisons
This review is general information, not investment advice. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal; past performance does not predict future results. Fees change; check the firm's Form ADV brochure and pricing page before you enroll.