Last updated Mar. 12, 2023 by Charles Zemub
If you’re looking to get started with micro-investing, plenty of apps can help. However, when you’re just starting or want to dip your toe into the investing world, it’s important to understand what each app does and how they work.
In this post, we’ll compare eight different micro-investing apps so that you can start making smarter investments.
Acorns
Acorns is one of the best micro-investing apps, and it’s a great way to get started with small portfolios.
Acorns allow investors to invest their spare change by round-robin purchases, meaning that any time you purchase with your linked credit card, Acorns will automatically invest in a diversified portfolio of ETFs.
For example: if you buy a $2 cup of coffee from Starbucks using your Acorns-linked credit card, Acorns will invest $1 in an ETF portfolio based on your risk-level preferences (more information below).
If this sounds too good to be true or hard to understand at first glance, don’t worry! We’ll break down how it works so you can see how simple and effective it can be for saving money for big goals like retirement or tuition payments later on down the road.
Stash
Stash is a micro-investing app that lets you invest in ETFs. It’s available for free on both iOS and Android. It was founded by Ally Bank, which owns the mobile banking app Mobile Deposit for iPhone and Android users.
Stash will allow you to make automatic deposits into your portfolio each week or month with no minimum balance requirement or account opening fees.
You can choose from four portfolios based on income level and risk tolerance: conservative, moderate, growth-oriented, or aggressive.
They also have more than 100 different ETF options to choose from, including international stocks, bonds (e.g., global bond index funds), real estate investments (e.g., REITs), commodities (e.g., gold bullion), etcetera, depending on your preferences.
Robinhood
Robinhood is a free stock trading app that allows you to invest in the stock market. You can buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies without commission fees.
Additionally, Robinhood offers margin trading for up to $30000 per month if you meet their requirements.
The app is easy-to-use and has a clean interface that makes it easy to see your portfolio value and what’s new in the news related to any particular stock or sector.
This could be a great option if you’re looking for an intuitive way to start investing on your phone or tablet.
It’s easy to get started investing with Robinhood, but there are some things you should know before you open an account. They offer trading services in over 50 states and allow deposits via bank transfer or PayPal.
Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple is an online investing app that makes investing your money in a diversified portfolio of ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and stocks easy.
You can choose how much you want to invest and how often you can set up automatic contributions or make one-time deposits whenever you want.
- No minimum: There’s no minimum account requirement to get started with Wealthsimple, so don’t let this deter you from trying it out.
- Customize your portfolio: Build the portfolio that best fits your needs by adjusting the number of ETFs and stocks in your investment portfolio, or choose from one of their prebuilt portfolios based on risk tolerance.
- Invest without trading fees: With Wealthsimple, there are no trading commissions when buying or selling shares within an existing mutual fund account.
Please open a new personal financial plan for investment management services through a registered financial advisor who uses Wealthsimple as his platform.
There may be some additional charges depending on how much is invested per month into the program (fees usually start at $100 per month).
You will also have access to their wealth management tools, such as tax loss harvesting, which helps offset potential capital gains taxes over time.
Betterment
Betterment is one of the best micro-investing apps. You can choose from various assets to invest in, including ETFs and stocks.
Betterment also allows you to set up a goal-based portfolio to save for retirement or other goals simultaneously with your investment account.
You can choose from three levels of risk: conservative, moderate, and aggressive. Once you have decided which class is right for you, Betterment will create an asset allocation based on your risk level.
In addition, if one part of your profile doesn’t fit the rest of your goals (such as choosing a target date while choosing an aggressive risk level).
It will give you options on how to proceed with each decision point to help ensure that all aspects are properly aligned with what matters most when investing money into different types of funds available through Betterment’s platform (ETFs).
With regular investing features included within this app, setting up automatic contributions every month makes saving easy no matter how much money is coming into an account at any given time.
Plus, there’s even more flexibility than ever thanks to its new “Smart Deposits “feature, where users can simply deposit their paycheck directly into their accounts without making manual transfers.
This means less work overall since there aren’t many steps involved anymore, just like always when depositing back then before too long ago since last year when we wrote our first post about them.
Ellevest
Ellevest is a digital investment platform for women. Sallie Krawcheck, the former CEO of Bank of America, founded the app. Since launching in 2015, Ellevest has gained much traction among women investors and advisors alike.
Ellevest offers a financial advisory service to help women effectively invest their money. The platform tracks your progress over time as you save money and invest it in low-cost ETFs (exchange-traded funds).
Ellevest also integrates with Acorns, Robinhood Investing, and Betterment to manage all your finances from one place.
Qapital
Qapital is a micro-investing app that allows you to save and invest your money. This app has several features that stand out from other micro-investing apps.
For example, it allows you to set up automatic savings goals to have more of your money working for you instead of lying around in a traditional bank account.
You can choose which accounts will be used for these savings goals on your phone. Qapital also gives users access to stocks, bonds, ETFs (essentially baskets of stores), cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, and even cash.
M1 Finance
Suppose you’re looking for a mobile app that lets you invest in a wide range of stocks, bonds, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies but don’t want to do the work of researching each store individually or keeping track of your investments manually (or both). In that case, M1 Finance is an excellent option.
Former investors founded the company with extensive experience in the financial sector.
M1’s core offering is its “Smart Investment” feature that allows users to create diversified portfolios from different types of assets without researching each security.
This feature includes several other automated features, such as rebalancing and tax optimization.
Best investing apps
The best investing apps can help you invest your money, even if you don’t have much. Acorns round up the spare change from everyday purchases and deposit it into an investment account.
In addition to that, you can set specific amounts of money and deposit them regularly.
It’s a great way to start investing without having to come up with thousands of dollars at once. Acorns is a great app for beginners who want to invest their money but don’t have much cash.
It rounds up receipts from everyday purchases and deposits the change into an investment account, so you can make money from what you were buying anyway.
You can also set specific amounts of money to deposit regularly or tap into your existing savings accounts to create an emergency fund or retirement account.
Best stock apps for beginners
Acorns is a great app for beginners looking to invest because it’s super easy to use. The app rounds up your purchases to the next dollar and supports the change.
It also has a “play” feature that lets you invest in individual stocks for as little as $5 a pop and lets you follow other users’ picks.
Acorns is an investment app, so it won’t be right for everyone, particularly those who are getting started with investing and only have very little spare cash to invest. Still, it’s worth checking out if you’ve got some money kicking around.
Acorns is an investment app that lets you invest in an ETF portfolio. It won’t be right for everyone, particularly those who are getting started with investing and only have very little spare cash to invest, but if you’ve got some money kicking around, it’s worth checking out.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s micro-investing?
Micro-investing is simply investing small amounts of money over time rather than making one large investment.
The term can be applied to various things like a $5 monthly subscription to a monthly subscription box or $1 a day put towards retirement.
Micro-investing allows you to benefit from the power of compounding in a way that feels very doable and manageable.
It’s also a great way to get started investing if you’re unsure of where to start or if you’re already invested and want to diversify your portfolio with something else.
What is the most profitable investing app?
The most profitable investing app is E*TRADE. E*Trade is a great trading platform with useful features like alerts and education.
With the app, you can choose your desired level of involvement with your investments, allowing you to either do it yourself or give your trading power to a trusted financial advisor.
The app’s goal is to make money and save you money by avoiding unnecessary fees and offering tools that keep you informed about how much you are spending on investment services.
Can you get rich off Robinhood?
No. You can’t. That’s not the point of the app. But it is a great way to start if you’re new to investing and don’t have much money.
You can get started with as little as $1, and there’s no minimum to keep your account open. So as long as you have that dollar, you can open an account.
Robinhood is a great starting point for new investors because it removes many investment barriers. For example, trading stocks is free, so you don’t have to pay any fees for your trades.
There are no minimum account balances, so even if you only have $5, you can buy as many stocks as you want.
The app makes tracking your purchases and sales easier and seeing how much money is in your account than trying to keep track.
Are Micro investment apps worth it?
Micro investing is worth it, depending on your goals. Micro investing apps like Acorns or Robinhood give you access to many stock options without requiring any minimum investment or account creation process.
You can buy and sell stocks anytime; the Acorns app even has a “Round-Ups” feature that will help you save for investment by rounding up all your purchases and putting the change into an investment fund.
Many micro-investing apps also offer rewards programs and other bonuses for using their service.
All of this sounds great at first glance, but before you start buying shares in every company with a ticker symbol on your app, there are some important things to remember.
Is Robinhood a micro-investing platform?
Robinhood is a micro-investing platform allowing users to purchase trades at $0.00. It is a private company based in Menlo Park, California.
Robinhood’s popularity has grown from approximately 200,000 users in 2014 to more than 3 million in 2016. In addition, the company began offering commission-free trades for Apple and Android devices for the first time on February 16, 2015.
The app was also available for Windows phones until April 10, 2015, when Robinhood announced it would no longer support the operating system due to its minuscule market share compared to Android and iOS.
Robinhood is an American financial services company headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
The company operates an investment platform that allows users to invest in public companies and exchange-traded funds listed on U.S. stock exchanges without paying a commission. It also offers margin lending and interest-bearing checking accounts.
Do investing apps work?
They are investing in app works. They’re the best way to start investing because they make investing easy and fun. In addition, you can start investing with as little as $5; you don’t need to know anything about investing or have a lot of money.
There are a lot of advantages to using investing apps. For example:
1. No establishment fees. You can set up your profile on any app you want; the only price you’ll be charged is if you decide to buy stocks through the app.
This way, you control how much money goes into the app, and that money will never be touched unless you want it to be. Since most fund companies charge a pretty penny for managing your 401(k), this is a real saving.
2. Easier diversification. Suppose you open an account with an investing app. In that case, they will search through all of their available funds to build a portfolio that matches what you define as important in an investment portfolio which might include things like expected return rate, risk of loss rate, or even your age and retirement goals.
This way, you don’t have to worry about investing in a fund that’s too risky or not risky enough for your needs; the app does all of this work for you.
3. Control over your money. The best part about investing apps is that they don’t require any money upfront from their users to access the platform; instead, you can use them for free and only pay fees when you want to buy stocks through it.
Summary
These are some of the best investing apps available, and they’re all available on both Android and iOS. They’re also all available in the US, Canada, Australia, and the U.K.
The investing app that you choose will depend on your personal preferences. For example: Do you want to invest in stocks or cryptocurrency?
Do you want to invest in real estate? Or do you prefer peer-to-peer lending? These are just a few questions to consider when choosing your investing app.
Micro-investing apps are a great way to invest with little money. You can get started with $5 or less; the fees are usually lower than those of traditional mutual funds.
Some apps even have features that allow you to set up automatic transfers from your bank account, so you don’t have to think about it again.
