Financial advisor vs financial planner: what's the difference?

What’s the difference?  Those titles by themselves mean nothing.  Titles including   Financial Analyst, Financial Adviser (Advisor), Financial Consultant, Financial Planner, Investment Consultant or Wealth Manager are generic terms or job titles, and may be used by investment professionals who may not hold any specific credential, education, or experience.  

If you are interested in comparing financial professionals, there are designations and certifications that you should look for instead of just a title.  There are a lot of designations (163 are listed at www.finra.org​), some are serious and require significant study while others are just a simple application.  A couple of the more recognized and respected designations include Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).  There are several more that are beneficial, but many are just alphabet soup designed to give the impression of knowledge without actually having real substance.

I don't believe there is any difference at all. Where there are differences is in the compensation model of various financial advisors. As an example, I am a fee-only advisor and do not get involved in the sale of products nor do I accept referral fees or commissions. Then there are fee and commission planners who work for some level of fixed fee and hopefully, tell you that they also sell product. If in fact the product is required, they will share with you not only the product but the cost of the product and the commission that they earn. And finally, there are commission only planners who work strictly on the sale of products. Hope this helps a little and good luck