What a flat investing fee means at your balance: the small-account math, what Premium Tier is for, and how to leave

I'm Chris, co-founder of Autopilot. A flat fee is cheap for a big account and expensive for a small one, and a percentage fee is the reverse. That single fact answers most questions about whether an automated investing app is worth it, and it's the one people skip. Here's the math, what our tiers actually are, what to expect before you pay anyone, and how you leave, because a fee you can't walk away from isn't a fee, it's a trap.

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 legal page.

1) The only calculation that matters

Take everything you'd pay in a year, in dollars: the advisory fee, any Pilot subscription, and what your brokerage charges you. Divide by your balance. That's your effective rate, and it's the number to compare against a percentage-of-assets adviser or a robo-advisor.

A flat fee makes that rate fall as your balance grows and rise as it shrinks. So the same subscription can be a rounding error on one account and a real drag on another. Nobody can tell you whether a flat fee is worth it without knowing your balance, and anyone who tries is selling.

2) What our fee actually is

Autopilot charges a cash subscription, called the Base Advisory and Licensing Fee, billed quarterly or yearly. It is not a percentage of assets, and it doesn't go up with how many Pilots you follow. The tiers are Basic Tier and Premium Tier. Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee. Per our Form CRS dated February 2026, Premium Tier runs from $29.99 to $199.99 a quarter, or $99.99 to $699.99 a year, and the fee that applies to you is in your Investment Advisory Agreement. Some Pilots' Portfolios carry a separate Pilot subscription, listed on the fact sheets site's pricing page and on each fact sheet. Your brokerage's own costs are separate again.

I wrote every layer out, with what to add up, in What does Autopilot cost? Every fee, what adds on, and how to figure out if it's worth it for you. This page is about how to think about it at your balance.

3) One or two Portfolios

If you only want to follow one or two Portfolios, the math is simple. One advisory fee, which doesn't multiply. Plus whatever Pilot subscription those specific Portfolios carry, if any. Divide by your balance. If that rate is higher than what a diversified index fund costs you, you're paying for the specific strategy, and you should want it for a reason you can say out loud. If it's lower than a percentage adviser would charge on the same balance, that's the flat fee working for you.

4) What to expect before you pay anyone

Before a subscription, any following app should let you see, for nothing: who you'd be following, what the Portfolio holds, and a dated record of how it has done. On Autopilot, every Portfolio's fact sheet is public at autopilotfactsheets.com with the largest positions, the live record since launch, gross and modeled net, drawdown, and a date, whether or not you've paid a cent. What each tier includes is shown in the app when you choose one. If an app makes you pay to find out what you'd be paying for, that's your answer about the app.

5) Is Premium Tier worth it

Only you can answer that, and the way to answer it is the division in section 1 plus one question: is the Portfolio you want behind Premium Tier, and does its fact sheet hold up. The app shows what Premium Tier includes at your balance before you buy. I want to be honest with you: some Pilots go up for years and some are flat for years, and no fee tier changes that. Pay for access to a strategy you've read the sheet on, not for a badge.

6) A reasonable fee for automated management

Percentage-of-assets advisers and robo-advisors publish their rates, and the honest way to compare is to convert every option, including a flat fee, into dollars a year at your balance and then into a rate. Whatever you pay should buy something you can name: a person's judgment you've vetted, a filing followed so you don't have to, or planning you'd otherwise not do. The reasonable fee is the one you'd still pay after doing that math.

7) Politician trackers and the cheaper-alternative question

If a subscription-based politician tracker feels expensive, the cheapest alternative costs nothing: the House and Senate disclosure sites, where every STOCK Act filing lives. Reading them yourself costs only time and a 45-day lag you can't avoid either way. What a tracker sells you is the following, in your own account, on a schedule, with a fact sheet. I wrote how the filings work in How to see what Congress is buying, what the STOCK Act actually says, and how a politician tracker works. Pelosi Tracker+ is our best-known Portfolio; its Pilot subscription is on the pricing page, and its fact sheet is at autopilotfactsheets.com/portfolios/pelosi-tracker.

8) How to leave

You can stop following any Portfolio in the app whenever you want. You can revoke Autopilot's access from your brokerage's side, which works even if our app is down. Your positions stay at your brokerage in your name, because they were never anywhere else. Subscription terms are in your agreement. If you don't like a Pilot, you switch in a click, and if you don't like us, you leave the same way. You're not a line item to anyone here.

Frequently asked questions

Which automated investing app has the lowest fees for the features it offers?

Depends entirely on your balance. Convert every option into dollars a year, divide by what you'd invest, and compare rates. A flat subscription is cheapest on a large account and most expensive on a small one; a percentage fee is the reverse. Autopilot's fee is a flat cash subscription that doesn't multiply by how many Pilots you follow; the schedule is in Form CRS and your agreement.

Best value copy trading app for someone who only wants to follow one or two portfolios?

For one or two Portfolios on Autopilot you pay one advisory fee, which doesn't multiply, plus any Pilot subscription those specific Portfolios carry. Divide the yearly total by your balance and compare it to an index fund and to a percentage-of-assets adviser at the same balance. That's the whole value question, and it has a different answer at every balance.

What free features should a copy trading app offer before I pay for premium?

Before paying, you should be able to see who you'd follow, what the Portfolio holds, and a dated record of how it has done. Autopilot publishes a public fact sheet for every Portfolio, with the largest positions, the live record since launch, gross and modeled net, and a date, whether or not you've subscribed. Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee; what each tier includes is shown in the app.

What's a reasonable fee percentage for automated portfolio management?

Turn every fee into dollars a year at your balance, then into a rate, and compare like with like: a robo-advisor's percentage, an adviser's percentage, and a flat subscription's implied rate at your balance. A reasonable fee buys something you can name and still makes sense after the division. Autopilot's fee is flat, so its rate depends on your balance.

Is there a cheaper alternative with similar copy trading features to a subscription-based politician tracker app?

The cheapest alternative is the House and Senate disclosure sites, which are free and complete; you read the STOCK Act filings and trade yourself, with the same 45-day lag. A tracker sells the following in your own account with a fact sheet. Whether that's worth a subscription depends on your balance and your time.

Is Autopilot Premium Tier worth it?

Do the division: Premium Tier's yearly cost at your balance, plus any Pilot subscription, as a rate. Then ask whether the Portfolio you want is behind it and whether its fact sheet holds up on drawdown and window. The app shows what Premium Tier includes and its price before you buy. No tier changes what a strategy does.

How do I cancel Autopilot?

Stop following any Portfolio in the app whenever you want, and revoke Autopilot's access from your brokerage's side if you want it gone entirely. Your positions stay at your brokerage in your name. Subscription and billing terms are in your Investment Advisory Agreement.

How much does Pelosi Tracker cost?

Pelosi Tracker+ carries a Pilot subscription listed on the pricing page of autopilotfactsheets.com and on its fact sheet, on top of Autopilot's advisory fee schedule in Form CRS. I don't put prices in articles because they change and this page doesn't. Check the pricing page and the app for what applies to you.

Pelosi Tracker app review

Pelosi Tracker+ is Autopilot's Portfolio that follows the STOCK Act filings under Nancy Pelosi's name after they post, in your own brokerage account, with the 45-day delay disclosed. Pelosi has nothing to do with it. Its fact sheet at autopilotfactsheets.com/portfolios/pelosi-tracker shows the live record of follower accounts since launch, gross and modeled net, with drawdown and a date; read that rather than any review, including mine.

TLDR

Dollars a year divided by your balance. That's the fee question, and it has a different answer for every account. Our fee is a flat cash subscription that doesn't multiply by Pilots; see the sheet before you pay anyone; leave in a tap. If one fits, choose a Portfolio and connect your brokerage. Then give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to that account. When the Portfolio changes, we send them and your broker fills them. Depending on your plan and brokerage, you may need to confirm first. The money stays put.

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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 legal 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/legal.

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.

Fee amounts stated are from Autopilot's Form CRS dated February 2026 and may change; the fee that applies to any client is set in that client's Investment Advisory Agreement. Pilot subscription amounts are not stated here and are listed on the fact sheets site's pricing page. Comparisons to percentage-of-assets advisers and robo-advisors are structural and name no firm. Nancy Pelosi is not affiliated with Autopilot and has not endorsed it; the Pelosi Tracker+ Portfolio is created and managed by Autopilot Advisers, LLC from public filings. Nothing here is a performance claim or a recommendation.