Insider’s experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). In some cases, we receive a commission from our our partners, however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.
Investing feels more accessible than it’s ever been. Whether you prefer a hands-off approach or love to pore over market research and make trades — or fall somewhere in between — the right investment app can make it that much easier to reach your goals.
Our list skews toward so-called robo-advisors — which use an algorithm to manage your investments — because, in many ways, they feel most accessible to average investors; fees and balance minimums are generally low and your big-picture goals can help create an individualized and diverse portfolio that doesn’t require much ongoing maintenance. But we’ve also included a few online brokerages that offer both active trading for hands-on investors and automated portfolios for passive investors.
Our expert panel for this guide
We consulted financial advisors, investing experts, and our own wealth-building reporter to inform our picks for the best investment apps. You can find the full transcript of our interviews at the bottom of this page.
We’re focusing on the qualities that make an investment app and brokerage account most useful. When comparing apps, it’s wise to consider fees, investment choices, account types, and investment education resources.
Best investment app overall: E*Trade
Best fee-free investment app: SoFi Invest
Best investment app for hands-off investors: Fidelity Go
Best investment app for active traders: Robinhood
Best investment app for portfolio customization: M1 Finance
Best investment app for goal-driven investing: Ellevest
Best investment app for auto-investing large balances: Charles Schwab
Compare the best investment apps
E*TRADE (jump to E*TRADE details »)
Why it stands out: E*TRADE is a one-stop-shop for investing. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or a beginner, you’ll find what you’re looking for. In 2019, E*TRADE eliminated all stock and ETF trading fees and offers over 4,400 no-load, no transaction-fee mutual funds.
If you’re not interested in self-directed investments, E*TRADE’s Core Portfolios are a great option. After you fill out a risk profile to share your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance, you’ll get a recommended tax-sensitive portfolio of ETFs.
You can further customize your portfolio as “socially responsible,” which shifts your allocation to include an ETF with companies that have progressive social, environmental, and corporate practices, or “smart beta,” which favors growth stocks in an attempt to outperform the market. To start investing, you’ll need at least $500.
If you’re investing $25,000 or more, E*TRADE’s Blend, Dedicated, and Fixed Income Portfolios are worth considering. In addition to a more customized portfolio, these plans include one-on-one advising with a financial consultant.
Through E*TRADE’s two mobile apps, you can access your accounts, make trades, view charts and research, and watch Bloomberg TV.
Fees:
For the active trader: $0 stock, ETF, and options tradingFor the passive investor: 0.30% annual AUM fee for a Core Portfolio (minimum balance of $500)For the high net worth investor: 0.65% to 0.90% annual AUM fee for a Blend Portfolio (minimum balance of $25,000); 0.35% to 0.45% annual AUM fee for a Fixed Income Portfolio (minimum balance of $250,000)
Account types: Individual, joint, and custodial brokerage accounts; traditional, Roth, custodial, SEP and inherited IRAs (includes rollovers).
Read our E*TRADE review for more info.
What to look out for: While you’re able to open an account and choose a Core Portfolio with $0 down, you’ll need to fund the account with at least $500 to get started investing. Investors should also note that Morgan Stanley acquired E*TRADE on October 2, 2020.
SoFi Invest (jump to SoFi details »)
Why it stands out: You won’t be charged any advisory fees, stock or ETF trade fees, or subscription fees to invest with SoFi.
For those with a set-it-and-forget-it attitude, SoFi’s automated investing platform will recommend a portfolio made up of ETFs, based on your risk tolerance. Once you decide which portfolio is appropriate, you can get started investing with as little as $1.
You won’t have to bother rebalancing your portfolio since SoFi will do it for you at least once a quarter, but if your goals or overall financial situation changes, you can adjust your portfolio and even set up an appointment with a SoFi financial planner at no extra cost. Keep in mind that you’ll still have to pay fees to the funds you’re invested in within your portfolio.
Active traders don’t pay transaction fees when buying and selling fractional shares, stocks, or ETFs. You can also invest in cryptocurrency, but SoFi charges a markup of 1.25% on those transactions. SoFi offers several different cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and others.
SoFi Money (Member FDIC), a checking/savings account hybrid with a competitive interest rate, a debit card, and unlimited ATM fee reimbursements, can store money you’re not ready to invest yet.
Fees: $0 for automated investing and stock and ETF trades; 1.25% markup on crypto transactions.
Account types: Individual and joint brokerage; Traditional, Roth, SEP IRAs (includes rollovers)
Read our SoFi Invest review for more info.
What to look out for: There are only five portfolio options available for passive investors, ranging from conservative to aggressive. Despite no advisory charges, you’ll still incur fees from the ETFs included in your portfolio.
Fidelity Go (jump to Fidelity Go details»)
Why it stands out: Fidelity Go is an easy-to-understand investment app for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time or incur too many fees building wealth.
After answering a set of questions about your age, risk tolerance, and goals, a team of experts will select an appropriate portfolio made up exclusively of Fidelity Flex mutual funds, none of which charge additional management fees or fund expenses. That means you pay a flat 0.35% advisory fee, regardless of what you invest in.
You only need $10 to get started investing, and the professionals behind Fidelity Go — not an algorithm — will rebalance your portfolio periodically. You can change your investment strategy at any time from seven different allocations ranging from conservative to aggressive.
In August 2020, Fidelity changed up its pricing tiers and added an option for personalized financial planning.
Fees:
$0 for balances under $10,000$3 a month for balances between $10,000 and $49,9990.35% annual AUM fee for balances $50,000 and higher0.50% annual AUM fee (minimum $25,000) for Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice
Account types: Individual and joint brokerage accounts; Traditional and Roth IRAs (includes rollovers)
Read our Fidelity Go review for more info.
What to look out for: There is customer support, but no option to connect with a human adviser one-on-one for financial planning unless you upgrade to the 0.50% AUM fee option. No tax-loss harvesting, which can be especially valuable for higher balances. Investments are limited to Fidelity Flex mutual funds, which may be limiting.
Robinhood (jump to Robinhood details »)
Why it stands out: Robinhood is as simple as a commission-free trading app can be. Investors can buy and sell US-exchange listed stocks and ETFs (and fractional shares of both), options, and cryptocurrency without paying any fees. There isn’t a minimum account size requirement for stock, ETF, and options trades. But you’ll need at least $1 for fractional shares and a minimum of $25,000 in your account to day trade.
For access to larger instant deposits, research reports from Morningstar, and NASDAQ market data, investors can upgrade to Robinhood Gold for a 30-day free trial and then $5 a month after that. The membership includes up to $50,000 in instant deposits, plus $1,000 of margin and a 2.5% interest charge on any excess margin used.
If you’re interested in trading cryptocurrencies, you’ll have access to 11 different assets: bitcoin, bitcoin cash, bitcoin sv, compound, dogecoin, ethereum, ethereum classic, litecoin, polygon, shiba inu, and solana. Robinhood also has a no-fee, high-yield cash management account, which comes with a debit card and up to $1.25 million in FDIC insurance.
Fees: $0 for daily trading of stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto; $5 for Robinhood Gold membership
Account types: Individual brokerage
Read our Robinhood review for more info.
What to look out for: Robinhood faced intensified public scrutiny throughout the coronavirus-induced market chaos. The New York Times reported that the app’s gamelike interface encourages young and inexperienced investors to take too-big risks, often through “behavioral nudges and push notifications.” After the suicide of a 20-year-old user who expressed confusion about the negative six-figure balance in his account after a complex options transaction, Robinhood announced a slew of changes, like adding more educational content around sophisticated options trading and hiring a specialist to assist users.
But in December 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined Robinhood $65 million for misleading customers about its business practices with other trading firms. According to a SEC press release, Robinhood earned the majority of its revenue from trading firms that offered payments in exchange for Robinhood sending customer orders to those firms for execution. The SEC also pointed out that Robinhood failed to accurately disclose this information on its website. Without admitting to or denying the claims, Robinhood agreed to the $65 million settlement.
Earlier in 2021, Robinhood also received tremendous backlash after it prevented users from buying shares of Gamestop (GME), AMC Entertainment (AMC), Nokia (NOK), and other stocks during a Reddit-influenced share price surge.
M1 Finance (jump to M1 Finance details »)
Why it stands out: M1 Finance offers investing, cash management accounts, and lending all under the same roof. On the investing end, you can either trade stocks and ETFs on your own, or choose from among 60 different curated portfolios, thanks to its Pies feature.
As mentioned above its Pies give you two options: build your own investment strategy with stocks and ETFs or choose from pre-built pies (also known as Expert Pies). With M1 Finance’s Expert Pies, you can sift through multiple portfolios to find the Pie that best aligns with your personal goals (like general investing, responsible investing, retirement investing, and more).
But customization and expert portfolios aren’t the only perks M1 Finance offers; it also provides fractional share investing and automated investing features. If you want to leave the maintenance of your portfolio to the professionals, you can utilize its auto-invest settings to schedule portfolio contributions and have M1 Finance automatically rebalance your investments when necessary.
You can also access much more with an M1 Plus subscription. This includes both a morning and afternoon trading window (standard M1 users’ trades only execute during a morning window), custodial accounts, smart transfers, and more.
Fees: No commissions or markups on trades; $125/year for M1 Plus
Account types: Individual accounts, joint accounts, IRAs, trusts, and custodial accounts (only available for M1 Plus users)
Read our M1 Finance review for more info.
What to look out for: You’ll only be able to invest in stocks and ETFs with M1 Finance. If you’re looking to diversify your portfolio outside of these investment types, you may need to consider other investment platforms.
Ellevest (jump to Ellevest details »)
Why it stands out: Ellevest encourages you to build an investment philosophy around your goals, whether that’s starting a business, having kids, splurging on a vacation or other big purchase, buying a home, retiring on time, or simply building wealth. Your access to these goals can vary based on which membership plan you select.
Then, this female-forward online adviser takes it a step further and considers your gender, lifespan, and earning potential to create a custom portfolio of mostly ETFs. You can also opt for a socially responsible allocation, if that’s important to you.
As a fiduciary, Ellevest automatically rebalances and regularly updates your performance forecast, taking into consideration fees, taxes, and the occasional market crisis to show you whether you’re on track to meet each of your goals — and what you can do to make up for it if you’re not. The app also provides learning resources like email courses and live workshops. Financial and career coaching can also be purchased à la carte at a discount. Most recently they also added banking accounts*.
Ellevest recently changed its pricing model and now charges a monthly membership fee ranging from $1 month to $9 a month. There are no additional investment advisory fees on top of the monthly membership, but there are underlying fees charged by the ETFs in your portfolio.
*Banking products and services are provided by Coastal Community Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to license by Mastercard International
Fees:
Ellevest Essential: $1/month for a brokerage account, a no-fee checking account with a debit card, a no-fee savings account, and 20% off financial and career coaching sessions.Ellevest Plus: $5/month for everything included in Ellevest Essential, plus access to retirement planning specialists and help with account rollovers and 30% off coaching sessions.Ellevest Executive: $9/month for everything included in Ellevest Plus, in addition to up to six customized investment accounts for different goals, 50% off coaching sessions.
Investment account types: Individual brokerage; Traditional, Roth, SEP IRAs (includes rollovers); checking and savings accounts.
Read our Ellevest review for more info.
What to look out for: You’ll have to spring for the higher-tier offerings if you want more specific guidance for your goals beyond “build wealth.” Ellevest does not offer automated tax-loss harvesting, which can be valuable for investors with higher balances. As with any investment app that charges monthly fees rather than per-account advisory fees, it’s important to note how much of your balance they represent.
Charles Schwab (jump to Charles Schwab details »)
Why it stands out: You’ll find any type of investment you’re looking for at Charles Schwab. These include (but aren’t limited to) self-directed stock trading, crypto coin trusts and bitcoin futures, mutual funds, and retirement accounts. But it’s the Charles Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, the brokerage’s robo-adviser, that ultimately outshines competitors.
The Premium version requires a minimum investment balance of $25,000, but combines automated investing with ongoing financial planning. Your risk tolerance profile will help experts design a custom portfolio of Schwab ETFs that will be rebalanced regularly. All portfolios include a cash allocation, which is deposited in a Schwab high-yield account. A free add-on feature called Schwab Intelligent Income can help you generate a monthly paycheck from your brokerage or retirement accounts.
You’ll pay an initial planning fee of $300 to meet with a certified financial planner and a flat $30 a month for ongoing guidance whenever you need it, but no asset under management fee. Once your balance reaches $50,000, free tax-loss harvesting is available.
There are also comprehensive online financial planning tools available that let you to link up various accounts to track your progress toward goals and forecast different scenarios on your own.
Fees:
Schwab Intelligent Portfolio: $0 advisory fee, but requires a minimum balance of $5,000 and does not include financial planner access Schwab Intelligent Portfolio Premium: $300 one-time financial planning fee and then $30 a month (minimum balance of $25,000)
Account types: Individual, joint, custodial brokerage accounts; Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, and rollover IRAs; trust accounts.
Read our Charles Schwab review for more info.
Look out for: Minimum balance requirements disable anyone with less than $5,000 from investing in Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. As with any investment, you’re responsible for paying the underlying fees in the ETFs in your portfolio.
Other investing apps we considered that didn’t make the cut
Betterment: Betterment comes up short on financial planning tools available to the average investor and its advisory fee increases for account balances of $100,000 or more.Wealthfront IRA: Wealthfront combines financial planning tools and robo-investing for a flat 0.25% advisory fee, but it also requires a $500 minimum balance to start investing, whereas Fidelity requires $10 and doesn’t charge underlying ETF fees.Acorns Invest: Acorns is one of the most approachable investment apps available. It offers five pre-built portfolios, ranging from conservative to aggressive risk tolerance. Each includes up to seven ETFs from companies like BlackRock and Vanguard and is automatically rebalanced to maintain proper asset allocation. But Acorns isn’t as customizable as some of the other automated investing platforms.Wealthsimple: This investment app may be ideal for passive investors who want to invest in socially responsible companies, but the options are limited to three portfolios and the advisory fee is higher than competitors at 0.50% for balances under $100,000. Note, though, that its products are now only available to Canadian residents.TD Ameritrade investment account: An incredibly research-rich investment app that recently slashed all trading fees, TD Ameritrade has a lot to offer, but AUM fees for its managed accounts are higher than Wealthfront. Charles Schwab also acquired the investment platform in 2020.investment account: Stash bundles a checking account, retirement accounts, and investments accounts together through a subscription model. It does make investing more accessible through fractional shares and customizable portfolios, but there are more cost-effective options for beginners.Ally Invest: This bank offers commission-free trading, but for portfolio investing there’s a 0.30% advisory fee unless you keep at least 30% of your holdings in cash at all times. Vanguard: An undeniable leader in investing, Vanguard is a worthy competitor to E*TRADE and a few other stalwarts, but it doesn’t have as many clear options for passive investors who want to create a portfolio to match their goals, and its investment minimums are relatively high. Stockpile: Stockpile is a fine option if you want to invest in small amounts to start. Trades are also free, but it may not be ideal for traders in search of immediate trade execution. Trades placed after 3 p.m. ET are placed at 4 p.m. ET on the following day.Merrill Edge investment account: A convenient option for Bank of America users, but the lowest tier of managed portfolios command an annual fee between 0.30% and 0.45% on a minimum balance of $5,000. Digit Investing: The Digit app connects with your bank account to analyze your spending, and it automatically transfers money into your Digit savings account when feasible. While Digit also offers savings accounts, goal-based planning, automated investment and retirement management, it’s not primarily focused on investments. Plus, you’ll have to pay a $5 monthly fee after your 30-day free trial expires.
How we determined the winners
People may have varying risk capacities and financial goals they’re working toward, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t prefer a cheaper way to invest. For that reason, cost was a huge factor in determining our list.
To find the best investment apps, we set out to identify the companies that offer platforms that keep fees to a minimum (generally below 0.50% of assets under management, or AUM, for balances under $100,000) and offer a high-quality experience. In some cases, that means access to free financial planning tools — or financial planners themselves — and clear and easy-to-understand investment options.
We compared nearly two dozen brokerages, placing heavy weighting on their advisory and trading fees, investment philosophy, investment options, and types of accounts available. User experience is also important, so we also looked at each brokerage’s accompanying mobile app and scoured reviews on the Apple Store and Google Play to find out what regular users think of the product.
Finally, we cross-referenced our research against popular comparison sites like Bankrate, the Balance, and NerdWallet to make sure we didn’t miss a thing.
Frequently asked questions
Why trust us?
Personal Finance Insider’s mission is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We understand that “best” is often subjective, so in addition to highlighting the clear benefits of a financial product, we outline the limitations, too. We spent hours comparing and contrasting the features and fine print of various products so you don’t have to.
What is the best investment app for beginners?
In most cases, the best investment app for beginners is a robo-adviser that customizes a portfolio for you based on your goals and risk tolerance while keeping costs low, such as Fidelity, Acorns, or Ellevest. If you’re just starting out investing, we don’t recommend trading individual stocks and funds, unless you have guidance from an expert or a high capacity for risk.
The experts’ advice on choosing the best investment app for you
We interviewed the following four investing experts to see what they had to say about investment apps:
Brian Fry, CFP, founder at Safe Landing FinancialCharlotte Geletka, CFP, CRPC, managing partner at Silver Penny Financial PlanningKaysian Gordon, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CPA, wealth manager at Clarus GroupRickie Houston, wealth-building reporter, Personal Finance Insider
What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of using an investment app?
Brian Fry, CFP:
Using an investment app helps you have better awareness of your financial situation. An app can greatly help to track progress towards financial goals and investment performance.
[A disadvantage is that] using an app might lead to more trading instead of focusing on investing towards your financial goals.
Charlotte Geletka, CFP, CRPC:
An investment app can be great for keeping informed and up to date, but it can also allow you to make impulse decisions so proceed with caution.
Kaysian Gordon, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CPA:
It depends on how much guidance you’re looking for. A robo-advisor will be able to create a portfolio based on a series of questions that you have answered. However, we know that as humans, we’re way more complex than what a robo-advisor can provide.
Rickie Houston, Personal Finance Insider:
Investment apps typically offer easy access to the stock market and allow retail investors to trade various securities. The downside is that all apps don’t cater to those who prefer the face-to-face support of a human advisor.
Who should consider using an investment app?
Brian Fry, CFP:
DIY investors should work with an investing app that best suits their situation. Whether that’s the ability to trade investments online, have a robo-advisor, or [get] access to a call center. Every platform offers similar but different resources. The key is finding the one that works best for you.
Rickie Houston, Personal Finance Insider:
Whether you’re a DIY trader or passive investor, there’s probably an investment app out there for you. Consider using a brokerage account if you’re comfortable with handling your investments on your own. If you prefer more guidance, automated investing apps could be a better option.
Any other advice for those interested in investment apps?
Brian Fry, CFP:
Choose the platform that simplifies the investing and rebalancing process and offers the best transparency. Find the app that provides the best user experience and greatest value to your unique financial situation.
Kaysian Gordon, MBA, CFP, CDFA, CPA:
It goes back to doing the research and looking at the things that are important to you.
Rickie Houston, Personal Finance Insider:
When narrowing down your options, pay attention to fees, account types and investment choices, trading tools, and investment education resources.