A flat-fee financial advisor charges a set dollar price for advice instead of a percentage of your assets. It comes as an hourly rate, a one-time plan fee or a yearly retainer. Before you pay one, check two things: what you get in year two and beyond, and whether the fee stays flat as your balance grows.
Is a flat-fee advisor the same as a fee-only advisor?
No. Fee-only says who pays the advisor: only you, with no commissions. Flat-fee says how the fee is figured. A fee-only advisor may be paid hourly, by retainer, as a percentage of assets or as a flat fee, and most pick assets: in Kitces Research’s 2024 study, 78% of fee-only advisors surveyed charged a percentage of the assets they manage.
“Fee-based” is looser still. The CFP Board said in 2018 that the term doesn’t have a universally accepted meaning, so ask what it means for the advisor in front of you. And the fee shape doesn’t make anyone a fiduciary. Under federal law, an investment adviser is a fiduciary that owes its clients a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. We’re an SEC-registered investment adviser, so we owe you both.
How do flat-fee advisors charge?
In three shapes: by the hour, once for a plan, or every year as a retainer. Here’s what each cost on average in Envestnet’s 2026 State of Financial Planning Fees study, a survey of 491 advisors in early 2026, next to how we charge for Rothology®.
| How the fee works | What it costs | After the first year |
|---|---|---|
| Rothology® from Q3 Advisors: one consulting fee for your Roth conversion and retirement tax plan | $11,000 once through December 31, 2026, and $9,000 from January 1, 2027, at every age | Annual reviews included for the life of the plan |
| By the hour | $307 an hour on average | Another hour when you need one |
| One fee for a plan (a project fee) | $2,926 on average | Yearly reviews not listed on the 4 plan-fee pages we read |
| A yearly retainer | $6,815 a year on average | Meetings during the year, billed every year |
What is a reasonable flat fee for a financial advisor?
Price it over the whole job, not the first invoice. Of 8 flat-fee planning firms with prices online in November 2026, four list a one-time plan fee, from $3,200 to about $6,000. Six publish a yearly retainer or membership: starting prices run from $2,600 to $12,000 a year, the median is $8,250, higher tiers cost more, and several of those yearly fees also cover managing your investments.
Published flat-fee prices at 8 planning firms, November 2026
And “flat” doesn’t always stay flat. WSJ Buy Side says it’s “especially common for flat-fee advisors to use tiered models, in which each increasing tier offers more services at a higher price point.” One firm says your level “depends primarily on income, assets, and overall financial complexity.” When an ongoing flat fee includes investment management, it “can actually be based on the size of the investments,” as an Advisor Perspectives column put it in September 2026. Envestnet found the average yearly retainer rose 52% between its 2023 and 2026 surveys.
Does a one-time flat fee cover a multi-year Roth conversion plan?
None of the plan-fee pages we read lists yearly reviews, so it’s the question to ask before you pay. A Roth conversion plan isn’t one decision. Across 918 active Rothology plans started in 2026 (as of November 12, 2026), the median plan converts over 6 years, and the middle half run 5 to 8. Each year’s right amount moves with your tax bracket, your Medicare premiums, the RMDs coming in your 70s and what your spouse would owe filing single after you pass away.
Kiplinger put it well: “A one-time financial plan is a snapshot, whereas your life is a movie.” A retainer keeps the plan current, but you pay it every year. Over six years, a $2,600 retainer comes to $15,600, an $8,250 retainer to $49,500 and a $12,000 retainer to $72,000, against $11,000 once for Rothology.
Six years of a reviewed Roth conversion plan: what each flat-fee shape costs
Rothology is built for that whole job. You pay one consulting fee, and annual reviews are included for the life of the plan. The fee is a set amount that doesn’t change with your balance or with how much you convert. If your estimated lifetime tax avoidance, plus the tax your heirs are projected to avoid, comes to less than $500,000, we refund the full consulting fee. You must be pre-qualified by one of our Roth conversion advisors. Here’s how the Rothology process works.
The bigger the balance, the more a flat fee matters. Of the 918 plans started in 2026, 93% began with $1 million or more in pre-tax accounts. At 1% a year, the median fee Kitces Research found at $1 million, a percentage-of-assets fee is $10,000 in the first year alone, and it reaches $11,000 at $1.1 million. Our comparison page shows six years of each way to pay for a conversion plan on a typical balance.
What should you ask a flat-fee advisor before you pay?
Start with the fee schedule. Every SEC-registered adviser has to describe how it’s paid, give its fee schedule and say whether fees are negotiable in Item 5 of its Form ADV Part 2A brochure. Read it next to the firm’s relationship summary. Then ask:
- Does the fee change with my assets, income or net worth?
- What happens after the first year, and what does it cost?
- Do I have to move my portfolio to you to get the plan?
- Will you work with my CPA and my current advisor?
Don’t skip the third question. One Reddit poster said they emailed “the 8 top-rated advisors in my area (medium city) that claimed to offer flat fee based services,” and all of them said they only take clients whose portfolios they manage directly.
For Rothology, you don’t have to move your portfolio. We don’t charge a percentage of your assets, you keep the advisor you have, and we work alongside them and your CPA. See what a Rothology plan includes.
Frequently asked questions
Does Fidelity offer flat fee financial advisors?
Not on its pricing page. Fidelity lists its planning and advice fees as percentages of assets: Fidelity Wealth Management charges a gross advisory fee of 0.50% to 1.50%, for clients with $500,000 managed through Fidelity Wealth Services.
Can I work with a flat-fee advisor who isn’t near me?
Yes. Our headquarters is in Arvada, Colorado, and most of our team works remotely from homes across the country, so where you live doesn’t decide who builds your plan.
