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Betterment at Work vs. Guideline

Compare 401(k) providers across fees, investments, employee experience and service & support. 

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Betterment at Work Guideline
Fees
Ongoing Administrative (Paid by employer)
Essential:
$100/month + $5/participant/month 
 

Pro:
$150/month + $7/participant/month

Core:
$89/month + $8/participant/month

Enterprise:
$149/month + active participant fee
Estimated fund fees (Paid by employee)

0.04%1

0.07%2
Investment management (Paid by employee)

0.25% on assets annually
0.15 - 0.35% on assets annually
Pricing flexibility

checkmarkchiccory  Flexible plan eligibility (exclude seasonal or part-time workers, etc.)

checkmarkchiccory  Automatic force outs (remove former employees from plan)

checkmarkchiccory  Transfer recordkeeping expenses to former employees 

checkmarkchiccory  Only pay for active, funded 401(k) participants 

Only for Enterprise pricing tier
Investments
Funds

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

Indexed Mutual Funds
Portfolios

8 strategies with customizable risk levels, plus the Flexible Portfolio Strategy

1 strategy, plus customized participant strategies
Customizable risk

101 risk levels

6 levels
Automatic allocation adjustments (Glidepath feature)

Yes, for most portfolios

Yes, with usage of their model portfolios
Flexibility

Participants may choose their own allocation
Participants may choose their own allocation
Socially responsible investments

3 managed portfolio strategies:

Broad Impact,
Social Impact,
Climate Impact

1 equity mutual fund
Qualified default investment

Core - globally diversified managed ETF portfolio
A managed mutual fund portfolio
Additional investment strategies
With an advisor, create a specific fund-lineup based on your employees’ needs using nearly 10,000 ETFs and mutual funds.
Employee Experience
Platform scope

401(k)-first experience with additional financial products:

checkmarkchiccory  529 Education Savings,

checkmarkchiccory  Financial Coaching,

checkmarkchiccory  Retail Investing Platform: Automated investing, High-yield cash savings, IRAs

Focus exclusively on retirement

401(k) ,
SEP IRA,
Personal IRA
External account syncing
Personalized retirement planning tools
Tax coordination strategies
Access to human advisors
For financial advisory services, additional fees apply for use in the Pro plan. Services not available in the Essential plan.
Service and support
3(38) Investment Fiduciary
3(16) Administrative Fiduciary
Automated compliance support
Dedicated onboarding specialist

Only for Enterprise pricing tier
Payroll integrations

350+

20+

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