Acorns might be for you if: You're interested in easy, automated investing. Acorns is a robo-advisor that invests users' spare change. The platform has over 8 million members. It offers an easy app and simple pricing. If you're looking to simplify your investing, our Acorns review will help you decide if it's right for you.
Open Account for Acorns
OnAcorns'Secure Website.
Ratings Methodology
Our Rating:
Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars.
4.0/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. = Best = Excellent = Good = Fair = Poor
Bottom Line
Acorns is a top-tier robo-advisor ideal for hands-off investing. The bigger your account balance, the more competitive you'll find Acorns' fees. You may want to open an account for the simple fee structure or the variety of account options, including custodial accounts for kids. Join Acorns to quickly open a diversified portfolio that manages itself.
Fees:
$3-$12 monthly
Account Minimum:
$0
Open Account for Acorns
OnAcorns'Secure Website.
Alternatives to Consider
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.
| Account | Fees | Account Minimum | |
|---|---|---|---|
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, $0 for options contracts | $0 | Open Account for SoFi Active Investing |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; up to $6.99 monthly for Robinhood Gold | $0 | Open Account for Robinhood |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Commission-free; other fees apply | $0 | Open Account for E*TRADE |
Acorns is ideal for hands-off investors with big or growing balances. The flat monthly fee means you'll spend less relative to competitors when your balance goes up. Later Match makes Acorns even more compelling for big IRA contributors. By maxing your IRA, you can recoup the cost of your Acorns subscription and then some.
Acorns offers five Acorns Core portfolios. It also offers four Acorns ESG Portfolios and one Bitcoin ETF. You can pick the one you prefer, and if you're a Premium user, you can add individual stocks to your portfolio. Acorns offers individual (taxable) investment accounts, as well as traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and UGMA/UTMA accounts for minors.
Investments
- ETFs
Brokerage accounts
- IRA
- Roth IRA
- SEP IRA
- Traditional brokerage
- UGMA/UTMA accounts for minors
Acorns also offers a checking account with a debit card to U.S. customers.
Acorns charges clear subscription fees, not transaction fees. This breaks from the typical robo-advisory model. It's cheaper for large accounts to use the platform because fees remain flat, no matter how much money you add. But smaller accounts will pay more than typical expense ratios, which range from 0.03% to 0.18% per year.
Acorns offers over 100 educational articles. They cover common financial topics, like investing and retirement. These are short, two-to-three minute reads well-suited for beginner investors. You can find these under the "Learn" tab on the Acorns website. They're easy, informative reads.
For more educational content, you need to be a higher-paying Acorns member. Silver subscribers can access live Q&A with investing experts. Gold subscribers get education courses and GoHenry, a debit card platform. The design helps parents teach kids how to spend.
Acorns offers little stock research. This is compared to full-service brokers like E*TRADE and even discount brokers like Robinhood. This makes sense. Acorns only offers ETFs. The full-service robo-advisor is expected to handle the details.
Beginners might be satisfied with Acorns' educational content. Advanced users should look elsewhere for deep-dives into stock analyses or earnings reports.
Acorns is an app-based investment platform. It has a user-friendly app with high ratings. On the App and Google Play stores, the Acorns app has 4.7 and 4.6 out of 5-star ratings. That's top-tier.
Recent reviews indicate that customers like how the app works as advertised. Some customers wish you could direct Round-Ups to your savings instead of your investing account. Others are disappointed that Round-Ups round up to the next dollar on exact dollar amounts.
On the app, you can access all your Acorns accounts in one place, including checking and brokerage accounts. Premium users can access their GoHenry accounts from the app. You can also read and watch education content directly from the app's Learn tab.
Acorns has no desktop platform.
Acorns is very secure. It's a member of the SIPC, meaning your investments are insured for up to $500,000 in the event Acorns goes bankrupt. Your data is encrypted, and you can set up multi-factor authentication to further secure your account from thieves. These are standard features for regulated brokers. This includes big ones like Fidelity.
Acorns started as a way for users to invest their spare change. It works by rounding up purchases made with credit and debit cards to the nearest dollar. Then, it invests those small amounts. It still does this, but Acorns has evolved quite a bit since its early days. It's now a full-featured robo-advisor. It lets you put your investments, including retirement accounts, on auto-pilot.
Our brokerage rating methodology
At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and user experience; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and customer service. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.
See our full methodology here: Ratings Methodology
My investing experience
My favorite brokers are those that make investing in stocks and ETFs easy and affordable. I've been investing for four years, and I plan on holding my investments for decades. Robinhood is my go-to platform. Top perks include IRA match and a no-frills interface. I don't day trade or dabble in mutual funds, but I do invest in Bitcoin; it's a must-have option.
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FAQs
No robo-advisor offers completely safe investments. But, Acorns is a real broker. The SIPC protects investments. It covers them for up to $500,000. Your investments in an Acorns account can go up and down. But, Acorns invests your money in top-notch exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Acorns is just a robo-advisor. You can't buy whatever stocks and ETFs you want, as in a standard brokerage account. The platform also has a flat fee structure. The fees can be higher than its peers, especially for lower-balance accounts. It charges a flat monthly fee as opposed to a percentage of invested assets.
