MJH, to answer you're question, no I don't have any experience with a robo advisor, but I do believe they are a good start for someone starting out. Wealth simple appears to be following the Canadian Couch Potato methods, if you can get a asset allocation that is simple from them.
Looking at their funds, a mix of XIC, VTI and IEFA and maybe ZCS to balance things out would be similar to a 2014 Couch Potato. (See option 4 -
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2015/01/09/couch-potato-portfolio-returns-for-2014/ ). (Full disclosure, that's pretty much my asset allocation)
You could buy these same funds for no commission with a minimum $1000 Questtrade account, but would need to learn to manage your own future ( hey, doesn't that sound like a great idea?). You could also open self directed accounts at your bank and pay $9.95 per trade to buy the exact same funds ( although some of the Wealthsimple funds are in USD, which will also cost exchange fees).
So, for someone starting out, $8/ month fee on $25,000 is reasonable if you contribute small amounts every two weeks. To buy 4 ETFs per month would cost you $40/ month and $100/ year small account fee with a typical big bank self directed account, but $0 with Questtrade.
Now, let's say you save up $100,000. Now WS is charging you $40/ month on your balance. Big bank is still charging $10/ trade, but no account fee. Questtrade is still $0 per buy unless you want to sell. At this point in your life, you might save up $2500 at a time and invest into ETFs with no monthly fee instead of much smaller contributions you're doing now. $40/ month going to Wealthsimple is pretty steep at this point in life.
Now, let's look at you the millionaire. $290/ month for WS is chump change, right? Wrong. That's when the big banks are clamouring to make you happy. You're still paying $40/ month maximum trading fees to manage 4 ETFs with your self directed account at a big bank, and account admin fees are long gone a thing of the past. Questtrade has now started charging you fees to sell your ETFs