Autopilot and WhaleWisdom: what each one is, and what to compare

I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. These two come up together constantly and they're not the same kind of product, so comparing them on features misses the point. Here's what each one actually does.

One thing first, because we're an SEC-registered investment adviser and I have to say it. Autopilot is the app. The actual investment advice comes from Autopilot Advisers, LLC. If you want the full legal version of anything in here, it's on our disclaimer page.

What it is

WhaleWisdom describes itself as a service that tracks and analyzes hedge fund filings, covering 13F, 13D and insider transactions, with tools to backtest and clone investor portfolios. It's a research database. You go there to read filings and study them, and it's a serious tool for that.

What Autopilot is

Autopilot is an app where you follow a Portfolio inside the brokerage account you already have. Autopilot Advisers, LLC is the registered investment adviser that manages the Portfolios. You give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to the account you already have. When the Portfolio changes, we send them and your broker fills them. The money stays put.

We're not a filings database. We publish a limited set of tracker Portfolios built on public filings, alongside Portfolios from independent Pilots and Portfolios driven by AI models.

Where they actually differ

Research versus execution, mostly. A database gives you coverage and depth across thousands of filers, which we don't have and don't try to have. What it doesn't do is hold positions in your account; you still place every trade yourself and redo it each quarter.

So they're complements more than substitutes. Read filings there, follow a Portfolio here, or do neither. What the filings themselves can and can't tell you is in What's a 13F, and can you actually see what Warren Buffett bought last quarter?.

What to compare

Four questions sort this whole category.

One. Can you hold it, or only look at it? A table on a website is research. Positions in your own account is following.

Two. Where does your money live? An app that custodies your assets is a different structure with different risks from one that sends orders to the brokerage account you already have.

Three. What's the stated source, and is it written down? A filings tracker, a commentary tracker and a model-driven Portfolio have different failure modes.

Four. What does it cost at your balance? A flat subscription and a percentage of assets cross over somewhere, and where they cross is arithmetic you can do in two minutes with What Autopilot's fee actually means at your balance.

What it costs

A flat cash subscription, not a percentage of your balance. Per our Form CRS dated February 2026, Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee, and Premium Tier is $29.99 to $199.99 a quarter or $99.99 to $699.99 a year. Pilot subscriptions are separate and add on if you follow more than one Portfolio. Because it's a flat dollar amount, it's a bigger share of a small account than a big one, so do the math at your balance.

Frequently asked questions

Autopilot vs WhaleWisdom

Different products. WhaleWisdom is a filings research database covering thousands of filers. Autopilot follows a smaller set of Portfolios in the brokerage account you already have.

WhaleWisdom vs Autopilot

If you want to research filings across many managers, that's a database's job. If you want disclosed positions held and updated in your own account, that's a Portfolio's job.

Is Autopilot or WhaleWisdom better for following hedge funds?

Depends what following means to you. Reading is one activity, holding positions is another. Check whether you actually want to place the trades yourself every quarter.

WhaleWisdom alternative

For research across filers, other filings databases exist. For holding disclosed positions in your own brokerage account without placing the trades yourself, that's a different category.

Start Investing

Since Autopilot Advisers is an SEC-registered investment adviser, we have to put disclaimers on stuff like this. They're below, and the full version is on our disclaimer page.

Disclosures

© Autopilot Holdings Corporation 2026 — All rights reserved. “Autopilot” refers to Autopilot Holdings Corporation and its wholly-owned, and separately managed subsidiaries, including Autopilot Advisers, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. All investing is subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested, and past performance is not indicative of future results. View our Customer Relationship Summary and other important information at joinautopilot.com/disclaimer.

This information is provided by Autopilot for educational and illustrative purposes only and is not a recommendation, an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy any security. Autopilot relies on information from various sources believed to be reliable, including information from Clients, Pilots and other third parties, but cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information. Autopilot does not provide tax or legal advice and you are encouraged to consult with professionals before making investment decisions.

Autopilot is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by the companies listed, described, or featured on its site. Company logos or trademarks used do not imply endorsement and are the property of their respective owners.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. You should carefully consider your investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon before investing through Autopilot.

Autopilot Advisers, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Additional information about Autopilot is available in our Form ADV Part 2A, available at adviserinfo.sec.gov or joinautopilot.com/adv.

Autopilot provides limited investment advisory services focused on Portfolio selection and suitability assessment. Our services are not intended to replace comprehensive financial planning. We recommend consulting with a qualified financial advisor regarding your complete financial situation.

This content is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. You should consult with qualified professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult with qualified tax and legal professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not hold client assets. All investments are held at the brokerage firm you select and connect to Autopilot. Your brokerage firm is responsible for trade execution, custody, and reporting. Autopilot is not responsible for your broker-dealer’s services, fees, or execution quality.

Autopilot’s services depend on technology systems, third-party APIs, and internet connectivity. System outages, API disruptions, or connectivity issues may temporarily affect service availability or trade execution timing.

Client account holdings are designed to track the Portfolio you’ve selected, but your actual holdings and performance may differ from the Portfolio due to execution timing, market conditions, brokerage capacity constraints, fractional share availability, and other factors outside Autopilot’s control.

For Portfolios inspired by publicly disclosed trading activity, there may be a delay between when a Pilot executes a trade and when that trade becomes publicly available and is incorporated into the Portfolio. This timing delay may affect the suitability or performance of trades when executed in client accounts.

WhaleWisdom is not affiliated with Autopilot and has not endorsed it. Descriptions of third-party services are based on those services' own public descriptions as of September 16, 2026 and may change. Nothing here is a claim that any product is best. Fee amounts are quoted from Form CRS dated February 2026 and may change.