The 10 Best Investment Apps of 2024
Best for all-in-one investing
Public
- Zero commission
- No fees, account min.
$0
minimum balance
Best for new investors
Magnifi
- Personalized plans
- Payment options
$0
minimum balance
Best for access to a financial advisor
SoFi Active Investing
- Personalized advice
- Pay zero commission
$0
minimum balance
Best for active trading
Robinhood
- Unlimited trades
- Top-notch UX
$0
minimum balance
Choosing among the best investment apps can be a tough decision. After all, there are a lot to pick from.
From micro-investing mobile apps that buy fractional shares with your spare change to active trading platforms equipped with advanced trading tools and market commentary, there’s an investment app for every skill set and budget.
Each of our top picks offer $0 account minimums, low account fees, retirement accounts and educational resources.
All of these apps are good for beginners, but some offer users more control, customization and investment selection than others.
When choosing an investment app, it’s important to consider if you want a passive portfolio or a self-directed portfolio.
The first manages your investments day-to-day for you. The second puts you in the driver’s seat: You’re responsible for picking and managing your own investments — and gauging your personal risk tolerance.
We tend to favor robo-advisors because they’re affordable, easy to use and don’t require much ongoing maintenance.
Below, you’ll find our full list of the best investment apps along with answers to frequently asked questions and insight from financial experts about how to pick the right investment app for you.
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The 10 Best Investment Apps
- Best for all-in-one investing: Public
- Best for new investors: Magnifi
- Best for access to real life financial advisors: SoFi Automated Investing
- Best for active trading: Robinhood
- Best for the busy investor: Acorns
- Best for passive, automated investing: Betterment Digital
- Best for micro-investing: Stash
- Best for frequent and active traders: E*TRADE
- Best for low cost investment management: Fidelity Go
- Best for intermediate investors: Webull
Public
- Zero commission
- No fees or account minimums
- Buy and sell using dollar amounts
Public wants to give everyone the tools to become an investor — regardless of how much money you have.
You can buy and sell “slices” of stock. So, if one share of stock costs $800, you can buy a $5 slice.
There is no commission, no fees on trades and no account minimums, and you can earn up to 2.5% interest on up to $10,000 of uninvested cash.
Magnifi
- Personalized plans
- Multiple payment options
- AI helps guide investors
We all hope we’re doing everything we can to grow our money. Another benefit to Magnifi is it can go through all your investments and help fill in any gaps. You can connect external accounts to optimize your investments, but also invest directly through the app.
The personalize plans it builds are great for novice investors, but it can also help the more experienced level up.
SoFi Active Investing
- Access to a financial advisor
- No account minimums
- Free stock and ETF trades
SoFi Active Investing offers an attractive platform for more experienced traders.
It provides an almost unbeatable fee structure: No account minimums, no annual advisory fees and free stock and ETF trades. It also offers fractional share investing.
However, the platform lacks access to some fundamental investment types, including bonds and mutual funds. It also lacks some advanced trading options, such as options trading. For a more hands-off investing approach, you can choose SoFi Automated Investing.
Robinhood
- Unlimited trades
- Top-notch user experience
- No commission or fees
Robinhood is known for being one of the first platforms to make investing accessible to the average American.
And while it cuts out nearly all costs that are typically associated with investing, its options are limited for people interested in passive investing.
Acorns
- Invest automatically
- No minimums or trade fees
- Allows for passive investing
Acorns is a popular micro-investing app, but the fee can be a drawback for people. What makes it popular is that you put aside spare money automatically while you go about your regular day. Because it is a robo-advisor, an algorithm can create a portfolio for you based on things like your age and risk tolerance. You can pick your own portfolio if you’d like, but you can’t choose individual stocks and bonds.
Betterment Digital
- Automated portfolios
- Tax-loss harvesting
- Bank account with debit card
Betterment uses a hands-off investment strategy to get your money in the market. You can’t buy or trade stocks with this investing app; Betterment automatically invests your money into diversified ETFs. It picks the ETFs inside your portfolio based on your risk tolerance and financial goals.
Customers with a $100,000 minimum balance in their investment accounts can opt into the Betterment Premium plan for an account management fee of 0.40%.
Premium customers get more in-depth financial advice and unlimited access to phone calls with a financial advisor.
For more details on the app’s features and offerings, check out our full Betterment app review.
Stash
- Hands-on micro-investing
- Fractional shares
- Educational resources
At $9 per month, Stash+ offers users two UGMA/UTMA custodial accounts for kids. Stash also offers the Stock-Back® Card, which invests up to 3% of the value of purchases back into stock.
Stash is popular with beginner investors because it lets you buy fractional shares with just $5.
The micro-investing app can create a diversified investment portfolio for you with its robo-advisor, or you can pick from more than 3,000 stocks, ETFs and bonds if you want a more hands-on approach.
Stash’s flat monthly fee is unlike some other robo-advisors that charge a management fee as a percentage of your portfolio balance.
The flat fee is a potential drawback for Stash users with low account balances.
For more details on the app’s features and offerings, check out our full Stash app review.
E*TRADE
- Wide array of investment options
- 4,400 no-load, fee-free mutual funds
- Advanced trading tools
E*TRADE’s sleek mobile app makes it easy to buy and trade stocks on the go.
The company also offers a more advanced platform called Power E*TRADE, where experienced and intermediate traders can utilize more than 145 charting tools, options strategies, risk-reward analysis and a live-streaming Bloomberg TV feed.
The Power platform also includes a paper trading feature, which lets you hone your investing skills and test strategies without committing real money.
Power E*TRADE isn’t a separate brokerage account — just a different platform with its own mobile app. Like the original platform, there’s no trading costs or account management fees.
For more details on the app’s features and offerings, check out our full E*TRADE app review.
Fidelity Go
- No fees for small account balances
- No investment expense ratios
- Integration with other Fidelity accounts
With Fidelity Go, investors have a choice among 14 portfolio options — half are retirement portfolios, and the rest are taxable. No matter which you choose, they’re created from Fidelity Flex funds.
These funds have holdings across four asset classes including U.S. stocks, international stocks, domestic bonds and short-term securities. Keep in mind there are no assets such as commodities, real estate investment trusts or international bonds to choose from. Still, you can get a decent amount of diversification if you’re not bothered by the lack of these additional choices. Keep in mind that this robo-advisor doesn’t offer tax loss harvesting.
For more details on the app’s features and offerings, check out our full Fidelity Go app review.
Webull
- Commission-free trading
- Cryptocurrency trading
- Advanced investing tools
Webull is best for active traders comfortable placing their own stock and ETF trades.
While the Webull platform features a thriving user community, its traditional education resources are slim. It also lacks access to some common securities, like bonds and mutual funds.
Webull is most appealing for its advanced features, including margin accounts and options trading. In fact, Webull is one of the few online brokers to offer free options trades with no commissions or contract fees.
Other key features include real-time market quotes and full extended-hours trading. Crypto trading has recently been moved to WeBull Pay, a new, separate platform that was created for crypto transactions. The change took place in response to the SEC’s litigation against other platforms like Binance and Coinbase.
For more details on the app’s features and offerings, check out our full Webull app review.
Best Investment Apps: Features Summary
| Investing App | Account Fees | Account Minimum Balance | Best For | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Public |
None |
$0 |
All-in-one investing |
SEE DETAILS | |
Magnifi |
$11 a month |
$0 |
New investors |
||
SoFi Active Investing |
No annual or monthly fee |
$0 |
Advisor access |
SEE DETAILS | |
Robinhood |
None |
$0 |
Active trading |
SEE DETAILS | |
Acorns |
$3, $5 or $9/mo. |
$0 |
The busy investor |
card_name |
|
Betterment Digital |
$4 per month or 0.25% |
$0 |
Passive investing |
SEE DETAILS | |
Stash |
$3 to $9 monthly fee (one month free) |
$0 |
Micro-investing |
SEE DETAILS | |
E*TRADE |
0% to 0.30% |
$0 |
Frequent, active traders |
SEE DETAILS | |
Fidelity Go |
$0 for accounts below $25K; 0.35% over $25K |
$0 |
Low-cost management |
SEE DETAILS | |
Webull |
No annual or monthly fee |
$0 |
Intermediate investors |
SEE DETAILS |
How Much Money Should You Invest?
The good news is that you can invest almost any amount you want considering many brokerages offer low or no investment minimums (including the ones on our list). As in, if you can’t afford to put a good chunk of your paycheck just yet, you don’t have to — the important step is to start.
Given that, many experts recommend investing at least 10% to 15% of your income. For example, if you make $45,000 per year, your goal would be to invest at least $4,500 to $6,750 annually.
However, this common rule of thumb isn’t always the best fit for everyone. You can invest more or less depending on your goals and whether you have the financial means to invest more toward your future. Remember, you need to have enough to pay off existing debts, set aside money towards an emergency fund, meet other short-term savings goals and take care of your daily expenses before increasing the amount you put into investments.
If you have an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), it might be a good idea to start there and aim for that 10% to 15%. Depending on your plan, your employer should match a percentage of your contributions — think of this as “free” money and part of the perks of the job.
Don’t fret if you think that you’re not doing enough. Investing is meant to be a long-term endeavor. Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. If you find it hard to stay motivated, plenty of robo advisors or investment apps have tools to help you visualize your financial goals.
For instance, Betterment has visual tools to show you things like projected retirement savings for certain time horizons, and you can even play around with how much that amount can go up if you invest different amounts. Being able to estimate how much you’ll have for retirement may be a great motivator to invest more or more often.
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What Assets Can You Trade on an Investment App?
You can invest in virtually all types of securities on an investment app.
These include:
- Stocks (domestic and international)
- Bonds (domestic and international)
- ETFs
- Mutual funds
- Forex
- Options contracts
- Futures
- Cryptocurrency
Although you have plenty of options, the types of assets you can trade will depend on the brokerage account you use. Before opening an investment account, check to see what types of assets you can invest to ensure the types you want are available.
In addition to the types of securities you can invest in, don’t forget to check the account types. For example, do you want an IRA or taxable account? What about the option to open an investment account for your children or grandchildren?
Understanding what you want in an investment account is key, since that will ensure you find a good fit for your financial goals. Taking the time to do your research (including looking at the options on our list) is well worth the effort.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Investing Apps
There are a lot of questions about investing apps. We’ve answered some of the most commonly asked so you can decide if this is the right move for you.
Expert Advice on Choosing the Best Investment App for You
We asked two financial experts at The Penny Hoarder what they had to say about investment apps.
What Are the Biggest Benefits of Using an Investment App?
Molly Moorhead, Certified Financial Planner:
Apps bring investing and financial planning to the place where you manage so much else of your life nowadays: your phone. If you’ve put off opening an IRA or becoming more educated before investing real money, all the tools and information you need are in your hands.
Robin Hartill, Certified Financial Planner:
Many investment apps make it easier than ever for beginners to get started. Some apps will let you buy fractional shares that allow you to invest as little as $1 in top stocks instead of saving up hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars for a full share. Others will round up your purchases and let you invest the spare change.
Others will round up your purchases and let you invest the spare change.
Another benefit is that you can get an instant snapshot of how your investments are performing.
What Are the Drawbacks of Using an Investing App?
Molly Moorhead, CFP:
If you’re inclined to check your 401(k) every day or watch how a stock you bought is doing, investment apps can exacerbate that habit.
The vast majority of us don’t need to follow the markets every day, and we definitely don’t need to buy or sell investments based on short-term movements.
We’re in it for the long haul, so don’t let whatever app you choose become a temptation to make hasty investment choices.
Robin Hartill, CFP:
If you’re prone to panicking after the stock market has a bad day, an investment app may not be the best choice.
Likewise, if you’re an impulse buyer, be careful with investment apps. Long-term investing is what builds wealth.
Also, some apps have substantial fees that may not look like a lot. But if you invested $100 in a lump sum and your app charges a $1 monthly fee, that amounts to a 12% annual investment fee.
How Can I Learn More About the Investment Choices an App Offers?
Molly Moorhead, CFP:
Most apps will steer you toward stock ETFs. By purchasing shares in these funds, you’ll own small pieces of many different companies across an array of sectors.
If you’re curious, log into your investment account, find the stock symbol for the companies in the fund and check out their historical performance.
You’ll find that they likely all have ups and downs, but because your money is spread across multiple industries, no single company’s stock will hurt you much if it drops.
Robin Hartill, CFP:
Look at online reviews to see whether users are satisfied with their investment choices and if there are any limitations.
Once you find an investment you’re interested in, do your homework.
If it’s an individual stock, you need to understand how the company makes money and why you think it can be profitable in the future.
Most people don’t need a ton of investment options. An S&P 500 index fund is one of the most surefire ways to build wealth over time.
How Much Money Can You Make with Investing Apps?
Molly Moorhead, CFP:
To state the obvious, it depends how much you invest.
Micro-investing apps that let you round up the change on your purchases and invest that money for you won’t make you rich.
But if you can set aside a fixed amount of money every month to automatically invest in a diversified portfolio, your money will grow over time and provide you with a nice nest egg.
Robin Hartill, CFP:
Of course, your returns depend on how much you invest and what you invest in.
But keep in mind: Past results don’t guarantee future returns. Just because people made huge returns using an app to invest in an obscure crypto or a hot stock doesn’t mean you should expect the same result.
Rachel Christian is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance and a senior writer for The Penny Hoarder. Freelance writers Sarah Li-Cain and Adam Palasciano contributed to this report.
