What's the difference between buying ETFs via a brokerage and a robo advisor?

Buying via a brokerage:

You will need to navigate the brokerage app on your own

You will need to execute the trades

You will have full control over what to buy and sell

You pay trading fees, which are minimal if you choose a competent brokerage. e.g. Interactive Brokers.

You pay an ETF fee which is anywhere from 0.03-2%, depending on which fund you have bought.

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Buying via a roboadvisor

You entrust your investments to finance professionals who developed their own investment strategies. It is not a robot or artificial intelligence that decide your investment. It is still a group of finance people plus models plus some math.

You don't have any say in what the roboadvisor chooses to invest. You can adjust your allocation, perhaps, but you cannot customize.

You pay the roboadvisor a management fee, which is much cheaper than paying a human advisor. But you pay this fee on top of any fund and ETF fees.

You still pay trading fees, but like wholesale, the fund seller, the roboadvisory firm, and brokerage have a favorable fee strucutre worked out that will save you some money.

Brokerage:

• Require more effort
• More choices
• More customisability (can choose which ETFs you want)
• Tends to be cheaper if you choose the right broker

Roboadvisors

• Kind of removes your emotions from investing
• Tends to cost more
• No need to think