Best Robo-Advisors in Canada for 2026

Best Robo Advisor Canada 2026: Ranking at a Glance

This table lists the four ranked robo-advisors in score order. Scores are out of 5 and shown to one decimal. The yearly cost is the management fee from each published schedule plus the highest published fund cost (MER) for that robo’s core portfolios, on a $50,000 balance, before sales tax.

To see the yearly fee on your own balance, use the calculator below. Enter the amount you plan to invest, and it adds the management fee and fund costs at each ranked robo-advisor and sorts them from cheapest to most expensive.

Master Comparison Table: Four Robo-Advisors in Canada

This is the full side-by-side view. You can search and sort it. Every figure comes from each provider’s published pricing and account pages on October 22, 2026. “Not published” means we could not confirm the item on the provider’s own pages, so we leave it blank rather than guess.

Fund costs are management expense ratios (MERs) charged inside the ETFs, on top of the robo’s management fee. Each figure is the highest MER the robo publishes for its core portfolios; responsible, income and private portfolios can cost more and are covered in section 4.

The Four Robo-Advisors Ranked

Each card shows the score, a bar out of 5, why the robo-advisor sits where it does, what it costs, and the accounts and portfolios it offers. Sub-scores are out of 5 for fees, accounts, portfolios, minimum and advice.

Also Available: Five Robo-Advisors We Do Not Rank

Our rule is simple: a robo-advisor is ranked only when both its management fee schedule and its fund costs are published in text we can verify. The five services below did not meet that rule, or we could not confirm they accept new clients, when we checked on October 22, 2026. Each paragraph gives the exact reason first, then what we could confirm. If a provider publishes the missing figures, we will score it at the next update.

BMO SmartFolio. Why it is not ranked: advisory fee of 0.4% to 0.7% with breakpoints not published, and fund costs not published. BMO describes a fee that falls as assets grow, charged quarterly, but without the breakpoints or fund costs a yearly cost cannot be calculated. It offers TFSA, RRSP, RESP, RRIF, individual and joint accounts, and dedicated advisors manage the portfolios. Transfers in must arrive as cash, so securities you hold elsewhere would be sold before the move.

Justwealth. Why it is not ranked: fee tiers are published only as an image; minimum fee $4.99 a month ($2.50 for RESP, FHSA and RDSP); $5,000 minimum except RESP and FHSA. Justwealth has the broadest lineup of the unranked group: more than 80 portfolios, including Target Date portfolios for RESPs and an ESG suite. Every client gets a Personal Portfolio Advisor by phone or email, tax-loss harvesting is available on non-registered accounts, and accounts include RDSP, LIF and USD accounts. Its custodian is CI Investment Services Inc. It reimburses up to $150 of transfer fees on accounts of $25,000 or more and charges $50 for a partial transfer out or $150 for a full one.

TD Automated Investing. Why it is not ranked: not listed among TD’s current investing services; could not confirm it accepts new clients. TD’s investing hub lists Direct Investing, TD Easy Trade, TD Wealth and investing with a personal banker. Until TD confirms the service is open to new clients, we do not describe it as available. If you already hold one of these accounts, confirm its current fee on your latest statement.

Nest Wealth. Why it is not ranked: its site shows it is temporarily unavailable; could not confirm it accepts retail clients. Nest Wealth is a portfolio manager and is not itself on CIPF’s member list, and its custodian was not confirmed.

Qtrade Guided Portfolios. Why it is not ranked: no longer shown on Qtrade’s site; could not confirm it is offered. Qtrade’s investor pages now show a Portfolio Creator tool for building ETF portfolios yourself rather than a managed service. For Qtrade’s self-directed account, see our Qtrade Direct Investing review.

1. How We Ranked These Robo-Advisors

Five factors, fixed weights. Every robo-advisor gets a sub-score from 0 to 5 on five factors. We multiply each sub-score by its weight and add them up. Fees carry almost half the weight because a fee is a certain cost every year, while most other features are a matter of taste. The weights are the same for every provider, and no provider can pay to change them. The full rules for all our ratings are on how we rate brokers and robo-advisors, and the way WealthScale earns money is set out in our advertiser disclosure.

How the fee score works. Questwealth’s total cost on $50,000 is 0.37% (0.25% fee plus 0.12% fund cost), so its fee score is 5 minus (0.37 minus 0.35) x 5 = 4.9. Wealthsimple’s total is 0.65%, which gives 5 minus 0.30 x 5 = 3.5. RBC InvestEase at 0.70% scores 3.25, and CI Direct Investing at 0.83% scores 2.6.

A worked total. Wealthsimple: fees 3.5 x 0.45 = 1.575; accounts 4.5 x 0.15 = 0.675; portfolios 5.0 x 0.15 = 0.75; minimum 5.0 x 0.10 = 0.50; advice 4.5 x 0.15 = 0.675. The total is 4.175, shown as 4.2. Questwealth: 2.205 + 0.675 + 0.45 + 0.45 + 0.30 = 4.08, shown as 4.1. The gap is narrow, and it comes from portfolios and advice, not cost.

Why we use the highest fund cost. Most robo-advisors publish a range of fund costs across their risk levels. Using the top of that range for the core portfolios keeps the comparison fair and conservative: your cost may be a little lower, but it should not be higher for a core portfolio. Responsible, income and private portfolios are priced separately in section 4.

What the score leaves out. Performance is not scored, because past returns depend on each portfolio’s mix and say little about the next ten years. App design, speed of account opening and promotions are not scored either. Our rules for sourcing and dating every figure are in our editorial standards.

2. Robo Advisor Canada Fees at $10,000, $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000

What you pay. A robo-advisor charges two layers of cost. The management fee goes to the robo-advisor and is usually deducted from your account monthly or quarterly. The fund cost (MER) is charged inside each ETF and comes out of the fund’s returns, so it never appears as a line on your statement. To compare robo advisor Canada fees honestly, you have to add both.

How each figure is built. At $100,000, Questwealth charges 0.20% ($200) plus 0.12% in fund costs ($120), for $320. Wealthsimple moves to the Premium fee of 0.4% ($400) plus up to 0.15% in fund costs ($150), for $550. RBC InvestEase stays at 0.50% ($500) plus up to 0.20% ($200), for $700. CI Direct Investing charges 0.60% on the whole $100,000 ($600) plus up to 0.23% ($230), for $830.

CI’s tiered fee in detail. CI charges each tier only on the dollars inside it. On $250,000 that is $150,000 x 0.60% = $900, plus $100,000 x 0.40% = $400, for $1,300, which is a blended 0.52%. The blend keeps falling as you add money: on $500,000 the fee is $900 + ($350,000 x 0.40% = $1,400) = $2,300, or 0.46%.

Sales tax comes on top. Robo management fees are subject to sales tax, and RBC InvestEase states its 0.50% “plus tax”. The tax rate depends on your province, so the tables above show costs before tax. Add your province’s rate to the management fee part when you budget.

Other costs to watch. RBC InvestEase charges $150 plus tax to move your account to another institution. CI says product fund costs and transfer-out or closure fees are not included in its management fee. Read each fee schedule for these extras before you open an account, not when you leave.

3. The Cheapest Robo-Advisor in Canada at Each Balance

The short answer. Questwealth Portfolios is the cheapest ranked robo-advisor at every balance in our tables, from $10,000 to $250,000. The order behind it never changes either: Wealthsimple second, RBC InvestEase third and CI Direct Investing most expensive. On $50,000, the gap between first and last is $230 a year ($415 minus $185).

Breakpoints can reward one extra dollar. Wealthsimple and Questwealth both price the whole balance at the lower rate once you reach $100,000. At Wealthsimple, $99,999 costs about $649.99 a year (0.65%), but $100,000 costs $550.00 (0.55%), so crossing the line saves about $100 a year. At Questwealth, the management fee on $99,999 is about $250.00, against $200.00 on $100,000. If you are near a breakpoint, adding a small amount can lower your total bill.

Household and account totals. Wealthsimple sets its tier on the total of almost all your Wealthsimple accounts, and two or more clients at the same address can form a household so their combined assets count toward Premium. CI blends its tiered fee across all of a client’s accounts. Spreading money across several robo-advisors can push each balance below a breakpoint, which raises your blended fee.

Responsible portfolios cost more. Choosing a socially responsible version changes the ranking of costs on $50,000. Questwealth SRI at up to 0.24% in fund costs totals $245 ($125 + $120). Wealthsimple’s Socially Responsible portfolio, at up to 0.23%, totals $365 ($250 + $115). RBC InvestEase Responsible Investing, at up to 0.25%, totals $375 ($250 + $125). Questwealth stays cheapest, but its own cost rises by $60 a year over its standard portfolios.

Very small balances. Percentage fees are tiny on small accounts: on $1,000, Questwealth costs about $3.70 a year and Wealthsimple about $6.50. A flat minimum fee changes that. Justwealth, which we do not rank, has a minimum fee of $4.99 a month, or $59.88 a year, which is 5.99% of a $1,000 account ($59.88 / $1,000). A minimum fee matters more than the percentage until your balance is large.

Cheapest is not always best. Questwealth does not describe client advice. If you want someone to talk to about your plan, the extra $140 to $230 a year on $50,000 at Wealthsimple, RBC InvestEase or CI buys access to advisors or planners. Decide what you need first, then pay as little as possible for it.

4. Portfolio Types: Core, Responsible, Income and Private Markets

Core ETF portfolios. Every ranked robo-advisor builds its main portfolios from low-cost ETFs, set to a risk level you choose after a questionnaire. Wealthsimple’s Classic portfolios hold 8 to 10 ETFs and rebalance automatically when you deposit, withdraw or change your goal, with dividends reinvested into underweight ETFs. RBC InvestEase offers six risk levels, from Short-Term Bond to Aggressive Growth. Questwealth and CI publish fund-cost ranges for their ETF portfolios rather than a count of risk levels.

Responsible investing. Questwealth SRI, CI’s ESG and Impact portfolios and RBC InvestEase Responsible Investing are named on their own product pages. Wealthsimple’s Socially Responsible portfolio is confirmed in its help centre, with fund costs of 0.21% to 0.23%, but it is not in the managed investing product menu. Expect to pay slightly more in fund costs for any responsible version.

Halal portfolios. Wealthsimple’s help centre still describes a halal portfolio, while its product pages no longer show one, so we treat it as unconfirmed. Questwealth, CI Direct Investing and RBC InvestEase do not mention a halal portfolio. If this matters to you, please confirm it with the provider in writing before you transfer money.

Private markets. Wealthsimple’s Summit portfolios add a private-markets slice of 20% (Balanced), 25% (Growth) or 30% (Aggressive), with a 1.00% management fee on the private portion. Summit needs $10,000 in investable assets, $3,500 to access the private-markets slice and a time horizon of four years or more. CI’s Private Portfolios add private and alternative assets, with fund costs of 0.49% to 2.92% as of April 30, 2024. Private assets can be harder to sell quickly and cost much more than ETFs, so they suit long horizons only.

Direct indexing. Wealthsimple’s Automated Investing product holds US stocks directly instead of through an ETF. It costs 0.25% a year, capped at $250 per account once the balance reaches $100,000, and in non-registered accounts it includes tax-loss harvesting.

5. Account Types at Each Robo-Advisor

Start with the account, then the robo. The right account type often matters more than the robo-advisor, because tax-sheltered growth can be worth more than any fee difference. The 2026 TFSA limit is $7,000, the 2026 RRSP dollar limit is $33,810, the FHSA allows $8,000 a year up to $40,000 over your lifetime, and an RESP has a $50,000 lifetime limit per beneficiary. Our guides to the TFSA, RRSP, FHSA and RESP explain the rules.

Saving for a first home. Wealthsimple and RBC InvestEase both manage an FHSA. Questwealth and CI did not list one on their managed account pages. If an FHSA is your priority, see our ranking of the best FHSA accounts, which covers self-directed options too.

Retirement income. For RRIF and LIF accounts, Questwealth and CI Direct Investing list both. Wealthsimple lists RRIF for managed portfolios and LIF only for Automated Investing. When you convert an RRSP, minimum yearly withdrawals start the next year; our RRIF minimum withdrawal table shows the percentages by age.

Family education savings. Questwealth offers individual and family RESPs, and Wealthsimple and CI offer an RESP. Grants are paid by the government, not the robo, so they are the same at every provider; our best RESP providers page compares where to hold one.

Business owners. Wealthsimple, Questwealth and CI accept corporate or entity accounts, and CI also offers individual and personal pension plans. Wealthsimple charges corporate accounts 0.5%, falling to 0.4% at $100,000.

6. Minimums and How Much You Need to Start

Every ranked robo starts low. None of the four needs more than $250 to begin, so the minimum should not decide your choice unless you want a specialty portfolio.

Small first deposits still get invested. Wealthsimple invests new deposits within 5 business days and keeps about 0.3% to 0.5% of each account in cash. RBC InvestEase waits until you reach $100. A recurring monthly deposit is often more useful than a large first deposit, because it builds the habit and every deposit buys at that day’s prices.

Minimum fees bite on small accounts. A percentage fee scales with your balance, but a flat monthly minimum does not. At Justwealth, a $2,000 RESP pays at least $2.50 a month, or $30 a year, which is 1.5% of the balance ($30 / $2,000). None of the four ranked robo-advisors publishes a minimum dollar fee.

Starting with a TFSA. If you are opening your first account, a TFSA is often the simplest choice: withdrawals are tax-free and the room comes back the next January 1. The 2026 limit is $7,000, and someone who has been eligible since 2009 and never contributed has $109,000 of room in 2026. Our best TFSA accounts page compares robo and self-directed TFSAs.

7. Human Advice: What Each Service Includes

Advice is the biggest difference after cost. All four ranked services choose and rebalance your portfolio for you. What differs is whether a person will talk to you about your plan.

What robo advice usually covers. Expect help choosing a risk level, picking the right account type, setting a savings target and understanding your statements. Robo advice usually centres on your portfolio at that firm rather than a tax return, an estate plan or a review of your workplace pension. If you need those, ask what is included before you sign up.

When advice is worth paying for. On $50,000, CI’s planners cost $230 a year more than Questwealth ($415 against $185), and RBC InvestEase’s advisors $165 more ($350 against $185). If a conversation stops you from selling in a market drop, or puts your savings in the right account, that can be worth far more than the fee gap. If you will never call, the cheaper option is the better deal.

Unranked services with advisors. Justwealth assigns every client a Personal Portfolio Advisor by phone or email. BMO SmartFolio says dedicated advisors manage its portfolios, with phone and chat support on weekdays. Neither is ranked because their full fees are not published in text we can verify.

8. Tax Features: Tax-Loss Harvesting and Registered Accounts

What tax-loss harvesting does. When an ETF in a non-registered account falls below what you paid, the robo-advisor sells it to realize a capital loss and buys a similar, but not identical, ETF so you stay invested. The loss can offset capital gains this year. A net capital loss you cannot use can be carried back three years or forward indefinitely, and it only offsets taxable capital gains.

The superficial loss rule. A loss is denied if you, or a person affiliated with you such as your spouse or common-law partner, buy identical property within 30 calendar days before or after the sale and still hold it 30 days after. The denied loss is usually added to the cost of the replacement property, so it is deferred rather than lost. This is why harvesting services switch to a similar ETF, and why you should not buy the same ETF yourself in another account during that window.

Harvesting only helps outside registered accounts. Gains and losses inside a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA or RESP are not taxed year by year, so there is nothing to harvest there. If most of your money is in registered accounts, tax-loss harvesting is worth little to you and should not drive your choice. Our TFSA vs RRSP comparison helps you decide where new money goes first.

Asset location. Wealthsimple’s Generation tier offers asset location, which places different holdings in different account types to reduce tax across your household. Below Generation, each account holds its own complete portfolio.

Working out tax on a gain. When you sell a non-registered robo portfolio, the gain is the proceeds minus your adjusted cost base. Your robo-advisor’s tax slips report the sales, and our capital gains tax calculator estimates the tax on a gain in your province.

9. Robo-Advisor vs DIY Investing vs a Human Advisor

Three ways to invest the same money. With a self-directed account, you choose and buy ETFs yourself at a broker. With a robo-advisor, software and a portfolio team choose, buy and rebalance for you. With a human advisor, a person manages your money and gives wider advice, usually at a higher fee.

What the robo fee buys. Strip out the fund cost and the robo’s own price on $50,000 is the management fee: $125 at Questwealth, $250 at Wealthsimple and RBC InvestEase, and $300 at CI Direct Investing. A DIY investor holding ETFs with the same 0.12% fund cost as Questwealth’s core portfolios would pay $60 a year in fund costs and no management fee, if the broker charges no commission on ETF trades.

DIY has hidden costs too. Several brokers now charge $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs, but others still charge for each trade: $9.99 at TD Direct Investing and Scotia iTRADE, $9.95 at RBC Direct Investing and $6.95 at CIBC Investor’s Edge. Our commission-free brokers page shows where trades cost $0, and our guide to CIPF vs CDIC explains how money held at a broker or a robo-advisor is protected. If you are new to investing, our step-by-step guide to investing in Canada covers the basics first.

Behaviour is the real difference. A robo-advisor rebalances on schedule and makes it slightly harder to sell everything in a panic. If you know you will skip rebalancing or chase what went up last year, the robo fee is cheap insurance. If you enjoy the process and will stick to a plan, DIY usually costs less.

The calculator below shows what a fee gap costs over time. Enter a starting amount, a monthly contribution, a number of years, an assumed return and two fees, for example a robo’s total cost against a higher-fee option, and it shows the difference in ending value.

When a human advisor makes sense. Complex situations, such as a business sale, an estate, a large pension decision or cross-border tax, often need a person who sees your whole picture. If you go that route, ask for the total yearly cost in dollars, including fund costs, and compare it with the robo figures on this page using the calculator above. Our best investing apps page covers self-directed apps if you want to try investing on your own first.

10. Safety and Regulation: CIRO, CIPF and Custody

Who regulates robo-advisors. The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is the national self-regulatory body that oversees all investment dealers and mutual fund dealers in Canada. Firms that belong to the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) are CIRO members. The ETFs in your managed portfolio are client property held at the dealer or custodian, and client property is what CIPF protects if a member firm fails.

What CIPF covers and what it does not. CIPF covers missing securities and cash if a member firm becomes insolvent. It does not cover a drop in market value, unsuitable advice, the failure of a company whose shares you own, or crypto assets. CDIC deposit insurance does not cover ETFs, stocks, bonds or mutual funds, so a robo portfolio relies on CIPF, not CDIC.

The firms behind each robo. Wealthsimple Managed Investing is offered by Wealthsimple Investments Inc., a CIRO dealer member on CIPF’s member list. CI Direct Investing’s firm, CI Investment Services Inc., is on CIPF’s list, and it is also the custodian for Justwealth. Questwealth Portfolios is offered by Questrade Wealth Management Inc., and Questrade, Inc. is on CIPF’s list. We did not confirm the legal entity behind RBC InvestEase in this update, so check your account agreement for the name of the member firm that holds your assets.

Account security. Wealthsimple says clients who use passkeys are reimbursed for all direct losses from unauthorized activity on their account. Whatever robo you choose, turn on two-step verification, use a unique password, and never share a one-time code. Our Is Wealthsimple safe? page explains its CIPF and CDIC coverage in detail.

Firms that change or close. Three robo services in our unranked list either no longer appear among their firm’s current services or could not confirm they accept clients. If a robo service closes, you may have to move your account, and fees or portfolios can change along the way. A firm with clear, current published pricing reduces that risk.

11. How to Choose the Best Robo Advisor in Canada

Work through these steps in order. Each one narrows the list, and most people end up with one or two clear options.

1. Pick the account first. Decide whether the money belongs in a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP or non-registered account. If you need an RESP, RRIF or LIRA, RBC InvestEase drops out. If you need a managed FHSA, Wealthsimple and RBC InvestEase are the two ranked options.
2. Decide how much advice you want. If you want a planner, CI Direct Investing scores highest. If occasional phone or email help is enough, Wealthsimple and RBC InvestEase fit. If you want none, Questwealth costs the least.
3. Price your own balance. Use the robo fee calculator with the amount you will invest in year one and in five years. Check whether you are near the $100,000 breakpoint at Wealthsimple or Questwealth.
4. Choose the portfolio style. Core, responsible, income or private markets. Price the exact portfolio, since responsible and private versions cost more in fund fees.
5. Check the extras. Tax-loss harvesting matters only if you have a large non-registered account. Transfer-fee coverage matters if you are moving $15,000 or more from another institution.
6. Confirm the firm and protection. Read the account agreement for the member firm that holds your assets and its CIPF status.
7. Set up automatic deposits. A monthly pre-authorized deposit does more for your results than a small fee difference.

12. How to Switch to a Robo-Advisor

Always use a direct transfer. Open the new account first, then ask the robo-advisor to request the transfer from your current institution. For a TFSA, a direct transfer does not affect your contribution room. If you withdraw and redeposit it yourself, the redeposit counts as a new contribution and the withdrawal is only added back to your room on January 1 of the next year, which can cause an over-contribution taxed at 1% a month. Our guide to transferring an investment account walks through the forms.

In kind or in cash. A robo-advisor builds its own portfolio, so it will usually sell what you transfer and buy its ETFs. Selling inside a TFSA or RRSP has no tax effect. Selling in a non-registered account can trigger a capital gain, so check your cost base first. BMO SmartFolio states that transfers in must be in cash.

Timing and cash drag. Transfers between institutions are not instant, and your money is out of the market for part of that time if it moves as cash. Avoid starting a transfer days before you need the money, and keep an eye on the transfer until it lands.

Watch the 90-day rules. Wealthsimple’s transfer-fee coverage requires the account to stay funded for 90 days. Pulling money out early can cost you the reimbursement. Read the conditions for any transfer offer before you move money.

13. Common Robo-Advisor Mistakes

Comparing the headline fee only. A 0.25% fee and a 0.50% fee look far apart, but fund costs narrow or widen the gap. Always compare the management fee plus fund costs, as in section 2.

Splitting money across too many robos. Breakpoints at $100,000 at Wealthsimple and Questwealth, and blended tiers at CI, reward keeping assets together. Three $40,000 accounts at three robos can each pay the top rate.

Choosing an aggressive portfolio for short-term money. A down payment you need in two years does not belong in a growth portfolio. Robos offer lower-risk choices too, such as RBC InvestEase’s Short-Term Bond portfolio; match the risk level to when you need the money.

Paying for advice you never use. If you never call or book a planning session, you are paying for a service you do not use. Either use the advice or move to the cheaper option.

Withdrawing to switch. Taking money out of a TFSA or RRSP to move it yourself can cost tax or contribution room. Use a direct transfer every time.

Over-contributing. A robo-advisor does not track contribution room you have used elsewhere. Please check your room on your latest notice of assessment before a large deposit, since TFSA and FHSA excess amounts are taxed at 1% a month.

What You Need and What You Get

10 Strategies to Pay Less at a Robo-Advisor

Illustrative Example: $30,000 at Four Robo-Advisors

Meet the Experts Behind WealthScale

Sharad Gondaliya, CPAWriter and tax reviewerCPA Ontario No. 61040184

Sharad is a CPA Ontario member (No. 61040184) and a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Washington and Montana, with more than 15 years in accounting and tax, a Diploma in Banking and Finance and a Certificate in Small Business Finance. He checks WealthScale content against primary sources. WealthScale is independent of his firm, Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation, and provides general information only, not personal financial, investment, tax or legal advice.

• Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA Ontario
• Certified Public Accountant, Washington (No. 57629) and Montana (No. PAC-CPAP-LIC-033176)
• Writing on tax and registered accounts since 2021
• Reader’s Choice Award 2025 Winner, Best Accountant (Toronto)

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Neha Gupta, CFAFinancial ReviewerCFA charterholder

Neha Gupta is a CFA charterholder based in Winnipeg who has worked in financial markets since December 2005. She has published more than 2,600 investment articles and is Head of Operations and Finance at Whiteland Real Estate. She reviews WealthScale’s investing pages for accuracy.

• CFA charter, CFA Institute (awarded 2023)
• Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Finance), 2008
• In financial markets since December 2005
• More than 2,600 published investment articles

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