How much does it cost to follow a portfolio? Autopilot's subscription in dollars, the two layers, and the math at your balance

I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. Investing app subscription costs are hard to compare because every app quotes a different unit: a monthly fee, a percentage of assets, a per-trade cost. Here's ours in dollars, as of the date on our Form CRS, the two layers it comes in, what a full year adds up to, and the one conversion that lets you compare it to anything else.

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.

The two layers

Layer one is the platform subscription, a cash fee called the Base Advisory and Licensing Fee, billed quarterly or yearly. It isn't a percentage of assets, and it doesn't go up with how many Pilots you follow. Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee; on it, a Portfolio's initial holdings are placed once and no further trades follow. 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. Premium Tier is what turns on the following: when the Portfolio changes, we send the orders and your broker fills them.

Layer two is Pilot subscriptions. Some Pilots' Portfolios carry their own subscription, set by the Pilot, listed on the fact sheets site's pricing page and on each fact sheet; one Pilot subscription covers every Portfolio that Pilot publishes. The Autopilot-run Portfolios are bundled into Premium Tier. I don't quote Pilot subscription amounts here because Pilots set and change them; the sheet is the source.

What a full year costs

Add the Premium Tier amount that applies to you to any Pilot subscriptions you take on, and that's the Autopilot side for a year. There are no per-trade charges from us. Your brokerage's own costs are separate, set and disclosed by your brokerage, and they apply whether or not you use Autopilot. If you want the whole picture with every add-on explained, it's in What does Autopilot cost? Every fee, what adds on, and how to figure out if it's worth it for you.

Flat fee versus percentage of assets

A percentage-of-assets fee, the traditional adviser model, charges a slice of what you have every year, so the dollars grow with your balance and never stop. A flat subscription charges the same dollars whether your account is small or large. That makes a flat fee cheap on a big account and expensive on a small one, and a percentage fee the reverse. Neither is better in the abstract; the crossover depends on your balance, and the honest comparison is to convert everything to dollars a year and divide by what you're actually investing. I did that arithmetic, including where the crossover lands, in What a flat investing fee means at your balance: the small-account math, what Premium Tier is for, and how to leave.

Is it worth it

Only you can answer that, but here's the question to ask: is following this specific Pilot's decisions worth this many dollars a year, as a share of what I'm allocating? If you're allocating a small amount, the share is high and Basic Tier's one-time snapshot, or nothing, may be the right answer. If you're allocating a meaningful amount and you've read the Pilot's fact sheet and would hold through its drawdown, the share is small. What you're paying for is the following, and the following is only worth paying for if the Pilot is.

Frequently asked questions

investing app subscription cost

Autopilot's is a flat cash subscription in two layers. The platform fee: Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee and places a Portfolio's holdings once; Premium Tier, which turns on ongoing following, runs from $29.99 to $199.99 a quarter or $99.99 to $699.99 a year per Form CRS dated February 2026, with your exact fee in your agreement. Pilot subscriptions, set by each Pilot, are separate and listed on the fact sheets. No per-trade charges from Autopilot; your brokerage's costs are its own.

What's the total cost of using Autopilot for a full year including subscription and any per-trade costs?

Your Premium Tier fee, which per Form CRS dated February 2026 is between $99.99 and $699.99 a year depending on the tier that applies to you, plus any Pilot subscriptions you take on, which one subscription per Pilot covers. Autopilot charges nothing per trade. Your brokerage's own costs, if any, are separate and apply regardless. Basic Tier has no platform fee but doesn't follow the Portfolio after the initial holdings.

Is it worth paying a monthly subscription for a copy trading app?

Convert the subscription to dollars a year and divide by what you're actually allocating; that share is the real price. It's high on a small account and low on a large one. Then ask whether following that specific Pilot is worth that share, based on their fact sheet's record and drawdown. If the share is high or you haven't read the record, the answer is no for now.

What's the difference between a flat subscription fee and a percentage-of-assets fee?

A percentage-of-assets fee charges a slice of your balance every year, so the dollars grow with your account and never stop. A flat subscription charges the same dollars regardless of balance, so it's cheap on a large account and expensive on a small one. Autopilot charges a flat subscription and no percentage of assets; the crossover point depends on your balance.

How do subscription fees for copy trading apps compare to a traditional advisor's fee?

A traditional adviser typically charges a percentage of the assets they manage each year, so the fee scales with your balance. A subscription like Autopilot's is a fixed dollar amount per quarter or year, which is a larger share of a small account and a smaller share of a large one. The fair comparison is dollars a year divided by dollars invested, and it can favor either model depending on your balance.

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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 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.

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 are structural and name no firm. Nothing here is a performance claim or a recommendation.