The Advice-Only Network and Wellspent cost the same, $89 a month, and both reject the lead-selling model. The difference is what you get and who can join. The Advice-Only Network is a directory, community and compliance home for planners who never manage investments or charge on assets. Wellspent is a verified record in the public graph that AI assistants and search read, open to any fee-only advisor, including firms that charge a percentage of assets. If you’re advice-only, you qualify for both, and they don’t overlap much.
The short version
| Advice-Only Network | Wellspent | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A directory and member community for advice-only planners | A verified record in the public graph that AI assistants and search read |
| Price | $89 a month; annual billing saves two months; 30-day money-back | $89 a month ($890 billed yearly) |
| Who can join | Advice-only: no investment management, no commissions, no referral pay for investment management | Any fee-only advisor, checked against SEC data; no credential required |
| Asset-based fees | Not allowed | Allowed |
| How prospects arrive | They search the directory and contact you | They find your record through AI assistants, search or the public graph and write to you |
| Extras | Community, compliance webinars, group E&O policy, tool discounts, automatic Fee-Only Network approval | Monthly AI visibility report, quarterly press placement with media partners |
| Lead fees or fee share | None | None |
Prices are from each provider’s site as of October 31, 2026.
Who can join each
The Advice-Only Network sets a strict bar. Its criteria say you don’t directly manage client investments “or charge for investment management in any way,” you have no referral arrangement that pays you for investment management, you take no commissions and sell no products, and on Form ADV Item 5E boxes 1, 5, 6 and 7 are unchecked. Box 1 is a percentage of assets under management. If the network finds you no longer meet the criteria, it cancels the membership and refunds fees for the period you weren’t receiving benefits.
That rule excludes most fee-only firms. Of 2,574 fee-only firms whose websites say how they charge, 62% charge a percentage of assets (Wellspent fee report). Many of those also sell flat-fee or hourly planning, but the asset fee alone keeps them out.
Wellspent’s rule is fee-only by SEC data: no commissions, no broker registration, no insurance agency. A planner who charges hourly, a firm that charges 1% on assets and a firm that does both all qualify. There’s no credential requirement.
What the Advice-Only Network includes
From its membership page, Standard Membership includes:
- A custom listing in the Advice-Only Network directory, showing who you serve and how you charge.
- Automatic approval for a listing on Fee-Only Network. That’s worth something: in Wellspent’s study of 600 AI answers, ChatGPT cited Fee-Only Network in 57% of its answers (study).
- A group E&O policy built for advice-only planners, with annual premiums of $275 to $575 depending on coverage. The premium is separate from membership.
- Monthly compliance webinars with Just Compliance, with live Q&A, plus monthly best-practice sessions.
- A private community on Discord, weekly coworking sessions and an introductory call with the Chief Community Officer.
- Tool discounts, including RightCapital, 10% off Wealthbox for the first year and 20% off Wealthtender. The network estimates members can save about $4,808 a year across these, depending on which they use.
- A chance to appear on the Advice-Only Network podcast.
For planners starting a firm, the $3,500 Launch Package covers state registration through Just Compliance, a templated compliance manual and code of ethics, and six months of membership.
What Wellspent includes
- A verified record of your fees, specialties, the clients you serve, credentials and SEC registration, with sources, published in the public graph at find.wellspent.co. ChatGPT cited the public graph in 37% of its answers in our study.
- Introductions from prospects who write to you directly. They’re never sold, shared or charged for, and ranking is by fit to the question, never by payment (methodology).
- A monthly AI visibility report on which advisors AI assistants recommend when your ideal clients ask.
- Quarterly press placement with media partners.
Wellspent has no community, compliance program or insurance. That’s the Advice-Only Network’s ground, and it’s the main reason the two don’t compete.
What a year costs
| Option | One year |
|---|---|
| Advice-Only Network, 12 monthly payments | $1,068 |
| Advice-Only Network, billed yearly (saves two months) | about $890 |
| Wellspent, 12 monthly payments | $1,068 |
| Wellspent, billed yearly | $890 |
| Both, billed yearly | about $1,780 |
The Advice-Only Network’s page doesn’t print the annual total; the $890 figure is ten months at $89. The optional E&O premium isn’t included.
For context, Kitces’ 2026 study of 506 advisors found online directories were the cheapest source of new revenue of any tactic, at $0.28 per $1 of new yearly revenue, yet only 18% of firms used them. A flat membership is cheap next to even one planning client: the median ongoing planning fee among fee-only firms is $4,500 a year.
Where the Advice-Only Network is the better choice
- You want peers who work the way you do. Advice-only practice raises its own questions about pricing, scope and compliance. A community of planners answering them is hard to get anywhere else.
- You need compliance help or E&O coverage. Monthly compliance sessions and a group policy written for advice-only work are practical value a record doesn’t offer.
- You’re launching a firm. The Launch Package handles registration and documents, and includes membership.
- The label matters to your clients. Prospects looking specifically for advice-only planning find you in a directory where every planner meets that standard.
Where Wellspent is the better choice
- You charge on assets, even partly. The Advice-Only Network excludes you. Wellspent doesn’t.
- You want to be found where people ask first. More prospects now describe their situation to an AI assistant before they visit any directory. Your record states your fees and specialties in a form those assistants read, and the monthly report shows whether they’re recommending you.
- You want reach beyond one niche. A record answers questions about a divorce, a pension decision or RSUs, whether or not the prospect knows the term “advice-only.”
- You want press. Quarterly placement with media partners is included.
Using both
For an advice-only planner, the two stack well: the network for community, compliance and the advice-only label, with automatic approval on Fee-Only Network, and a Wellspent record for AI assistants and search. Together they cost about $1,780 a year billed yearly, less than one median planning client pays in a year ($4,500).
Bottom line
At the same $89 a month, the choice turns on how you charge and what you need. If you’re advice-only and want a community and compliance support, join the Advice-Only Network. If you want a verified record that AI assistants and search read, introductions with no lead fees and press, add Wellspent, and if you charge on assets, Wellspent is the one that will take you. For other flat options, see the best financial advisor directories and Wellspent vs NAPFA.