XY Planning Network and Wellspent are rarely a choice between two things. XYPN, at $544 a month for its Emerald membership, is the support system behind a fee-only firm: compliance help, a full tech stack, education, community and NAPFA membership, plus a Find an Advisor search. Wellspent, at $89 a month, does one job well: it keeps a verified record of how you practice where AI assistants and search look, and sends introductions straight to you. Many XYPN members are good candidates for both.
The short version
| XY Planning Network (Emerald) | Wellspent | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A network that helps you run a fee-only firm, with a consumer search | A verified record in the public graph AI assistants and search read |
| Price | $544 a month (about $6,528 a year) | $89 a month ($890 billed yearly) |
| Who can join | Fee-only advisors who offer planning with no asset minimum | Fee-only advisors by SEC data, any fee model, no credential required |
| Consumer search | Find an Advisor, for CFP members | Your record on every specialty, region and list page you fit |
| Prospects | Consumers browse and contact members directly | Introductions straight to you, never sold or shared |
| Compliance and tech | Yes, the core of membership | No |
| Community and education | Yes, plus NAPFA membership | No |
| AI visibility reporting | Not in the published plan | Monthly report on what AI recommends when your ideal clients ask |
| Press | Not in the published plan | Quarterly press placement with partners such as Forbes, CNBC and Kiplinger |
| Size | 2,401 members (October 2026) | 24,501 fee-only advisors in the public graph |
What XYPN membership includes
XYPN’s Emerald plan lists:
- Compliance support
- A full tech stack
- Community and networking, including NAPFA membership
- Webinars, workshops and CE courses
- Drop-in office hours on business coaching, compliance and operations
- An E&O insurance discount and discounts on tech and outside services
Extra advisors at the same firm can join at a discount, and add-ons such as bookkeeping and investment management are priced separately. Sapphire, XYPN’s affiliation model, charges one monthly fee plus a percentage of revenue; the amounts aren’t on the pricing page.
The standards are clear: members are fee-only, offer planning without an asset minimum and sign a fiduciary oath. Advisors leaving commissions sign a transition agreement: no new product sales, and all trails gone within 12 months. A regulatory fine, arbitration or settlement over $10,000 on BrokerCheck rules a member out.
Who XYPN is for
XYPN built its name on new firms, and it still does that work: about 110 new firms were working toward RIA registration through its compliance team in October 2026, according to The Wealth Advisor. But it’s no longer only a launch pad. More than two-thirds of members are past the startup phase, and membership has doubled since 2020 to 2,401.
The no-minimum planning rule suits flat-fee, subscription and hourly planners, and firms that serve younger clients who don’t have large portfolios yet.
How leads come through XYPN
XYPN’s Find an Advisor lets consumers search by niche, specialty or keyword, locally or for virtual advice, and browse by state, city and specialty. The site says plainly that “XYPN does not match individuals with specific advisors.” A prospect finds your profile and gets in touch. Listing requires the CFP.
XYPN doesn’t publish how many inquiries the search sends. Members who’ve talked about it tend to value the membership for other reasons. “The value really is in the discounted tech stack and membership more than the find an advisor tool,” one wrote (comment). Another: “Never got a single lead. I still think XYPN is worth the membership, however.” (comment) Those comments date from 2022.
The included NAPFA membership may do more for prospecting than XYPN’s own search. Kitces’ 2026 study named both NAPFA’s and XYPN’s directories among the most cost-effective, and one XYPN member on r/CFP wrote, “I get napfa free because I’m on XYPN. I get a lead per month from napfa.” (comment) In our study of 600 AI answers, ChatGPT cited napfa.org in 61% of answers and xyplanningnetwork.com in 17%.
What each costs in a year
The two aren’t priced for the same job, so the useful question is what one client is worth. The median ongoing planning fee among fee-only advisors who publish prices is $4,500 a year (fee report), about five times a year of Wellspent.
Where XYPN is the better choice
- You need a back office. If you’re registering an RIA, choosing software and building compliance from scratch, XYPN does work Wellspent doesn’t attempt.
- You want peers. A community of advisors building similar firms, with office hours and CE, is hard to replace.
- You’d join NAPFA anyway. Emerald includes it, which covers $695 a year of the cost.
- You’re moving from commissions. XYPN’s transition agreement gives you 12 months to wind down trails. Wellspent’s SEC data check applies from the day you join.
Where Wellspent is the better choice
- You already have compliance and tech. If your firm runs well and the gap is being found, $89 a month is a narrower, cheaper fix than $544.
- You don’t hold the CFP. XYPN’s Find an Advisor requires it. A fee-only CFA, CPA or EA can have a full Wellspent record.
- You charge on assets with a minimum. XYPN requires planning with no asset minimum. Wellspent accepts any fee-only model, including AUM.
- You want to be found where clients ask now. Your record carries your fees, specialties, the clients you serve, credentials and SEC registration, with sources, in formats AI assistants read directly. Lists rank on fit, with no paid boosts.
- You want proof and press. A monthly report shows whether AI assistants name you for your ideal clients’ questions, and each quarter members are matched to stories by specialty with partners such as Forbes, Financial Times, CNBC, Kiplinger and Yahoo Finance.
Using both
For an XYPN member, a Wellspent record is the outward-facing piece. Put the same firm name, fees, specialties and service area on your XYPN profile, your NAPFA listing and your record. People check more than one place, and so do AI assistants; when the facts match, both trust them more. Lead with the client you serve best, publish your fees, and answer inquiries the same day.
Bottom line
Choose XYPN for running your firm: compliance, technology, community and NAPFA, for $544 a month. Choose Wellspent for being found: a verified record AI assistants and search read, with introductions, a monthly AI report and press, for $89 a month. Most XYPN members don’t have to choose. See also NAPFA membership cost, Wellspent vs NAPFA and the best financial advisor directories.