An hourly financial planner charges a median $300 an hour in the US, and the middle half of fee-only firms that publish an hourly rate charge $250 to $350. In Canada the median is C$250. You pay for the time you use and nothing else, which makes hourly the cheapest way to get a specific question answered well.
These figures come from the prices 379 US fee-only firms publish on their own websites, each one checked word for word against the page. The full breakdown is in the Wellspent fee report.
What hourly planners charge
Medians from prices fee-only firms publish on their own websites
Source: Wellspent fee report
Hourly billing is common but not the main way firms charge. Of 2,574 fee-only firms whose websites say how they charge, 27% bill by the hour. Most of those offer it alongside a one-time plan, an ongoing fee or a percentage of assets.
How much hourly rates vary
Most rates sit close to the median. Nearly half of firms (179 of 379) charge between $250 and $349 an hour. About 1 in 8 charge under $200, and about 1 in 6 charge $400 or more.
A higher rate isn’t always a worse deal. A planner who charges $400 and answers your question in two hours costs less than one who charges $250 and takes four. Ask for an estimate of the hours before you start.
Hourly rates by state
Where a planner works barely moves the hourly rate. State medians run from $250 in Texas, North Carolina and Pennsylvania to $325 in Virginia. Compare that with ongoing planning fees, where state medians run from $2,100 a year in Minnesota to $7,450 in New Jersey.
Median and middle half of firms, states with at least 12 firms publishing an hourly rate
Source: Wellspent fee report data
Data
| State | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | $325 | $244 to $406 |
| California | $300 | $250 to $394 |
| Washington | $300 | $250 to $400 |
| Massachusetts | $300 | $250 to $350 |
| New Jersey | $300 | $299 to $350 |
| New York | $300 | $294 to $308 |
| Maryland | $300 | $215 to $324 |
| Florida | $300 | $263 to $300 |
| Colorado | $290 | $188 to $323 |
| Texas | $250 | $200 to $300 |
| North Carolina | $250 | $200 to $274 |
| Pennsylvania | $250 | $193 to $263 |
Many hourly planners meet by video, so you can hire one in another state if their rate or experience suits you better.
What an hour buys
Hourly works best when you know the question. A few examples of the kind of work people pay for by the hour:
- One decision. Whether to take a pension as a lump sum, how to handle a stock vest, or whether you can afford to retire at 60.
- A check-up. A yearly look at a plan you run yourself: savings rate, investment mix, taxes, insurance.
- A second opinion. A review of what another advisor has recommended, before you sign or move money.
To see whether hourly is cheaper for you, compare it with the other ways planners charge. At the median rate of $300:
| If you’d use | Hourly cost | Compared with |
|---|---|---|
| 3 hours | $900 | |
| About 7 hours | $2,000 | The median one-time plan |
| 15 hours a year | $4,500 | The median ongoing planning fee |
If your question takes fewer than about seven hours, hourly usually costs less than a one-time plan. If you’d want more than 15 hours a year, an ongoing or flat fee is usually the better deal, and it comes with someone keeping an eye on things between meetings.
What counts as billable time
The rate is only half the price. The other half is what the clock covers. Ask before you book:
- Do you bill for time spent preparing and researching, or only for meetings?
- Do you bill for emails and short calls between meetings?
- Is there a minimum, such as a two-hour first session?
- Do you bill in full hours or smaller steps, such as 15 minutes?
- Will I get a written summary, and is writing it billed?
- Can you estimate the total hours for my question, and tell me before you go over?
A good hourly planner answers these without fuss and puts the estimate in writing.
Who hourly planning suits
- People who invest on their own and want a professional to check the plan.
- Anyone with one clear decision to make, rather than a need for ongoing help.
- People early in their careers or still building savings, who may not meet a firm’s asset minimum.
- Anyone who wants a second opinion on an advisor they already have. Our guide to telling whether an advisor is fee-only suggests an hourly review for exactly this.
Hourly suits you less if you want someone to manage your investments, or if your life has enough moving parts (a business, equity pay, a move across the border) that you’d be booking hours every month.
Hourly planners in Canada
Fee-only planners in Canada who publish an hourly rate charge a median C$250, with the middle half between C$170 and C$298, across 15 firms. Hourly is more common in Canada than in the US: 48% of Canadian fee-only firms whose websites say how they charge offer it (34 of 71), against 26% in the US (655 of 2,503). Many Canadian hourly planners describe themselves as advice-only.
How to check an hourly planner
In the US, someone paid to advise on investments as part of their business generally has to register as an investment adviser. Look the firm up on the SEC’s free adviser search. In Form ADV Part 1, Item 5E lists how the firm is paid, and “hourly charges” should be checked. If “commissions” is checked too, the planner can earn money from products as well as from you.
Then ask the one question that matters most: “Do you or your firm earn anything other than what I pay you?” A fee-only planner answers no. To compare hourly with every other way of paying, read how much a financial advisor costs, or see what a one-time financial plan costs.