The 13 Best Investing Apps for Beginners in 2022

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When it comes to taking control of your finances, investing is one way to diversify your income and grow your wealth. Modern-day technology is making investing for beginners easier than ever by putting investment tools in the palm of your hand. Nowadays, you’ll find beginner investing apps are a common resource you can use to learn how to manage your portfolio and build a secure financial future.

To help you narrow down which app is right for you, we compiled the 13 best investment apps for beginners that help you diversify your portfolio and learn as you go, including:

• SoFi Invest
• Betterment 
• Fundrise 
• Charles Schwab
• Acorns
• Stash 
• Stockpile 
• Public 
• Invstr 
• M1 Finance 
• TD Ameritrade 
• E*Trade 
• Robinhood

Your savings won’t know what hit it once you figure out which app is right for you.  

1. SoFi Invest

Apple Store Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

As one of the top investing apps in the Apple Store, SoFi Invest is made for all experience levels. Beginners can easily opt for automated investing and let SoFi’s investors build your wealth for you. For the more hands-on beginner, you also have the freedom to diversify your own portfolio by choosing from crypto, stocks, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

Features:

• Fees: None
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance: None

Pros	Cons
User-friendly platform	Limited investment options
Affordable trading	–
Fractional share options	–
No-cost financial planning	–

2. Betterment

Apple Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars

If you want a beginner investing app designed to help you reach your goals, start out with Betterment. This app is great for beginners because it takes care of everything, including managing your money, investing it, trading, and rebalancing your portfolio. The only caveat is that Betterment does it all for you if you’re willing to spend a little extra, offering two investing plans for you to choose from.

Features:

• Fees: Annual fees of 0.25 percent or 0.4 percent of your balance, various fund fees
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance: None for Digital, $100,000 for Premium

Pros	Cons
Hands-off investing	Annual fees for advising (high with large balances)
Goal-oriented platform	High minimum balance for Premium plan

3. Fundrise

Apple Store Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

Another way to diversify your portfolio is through real estate. Fundrise’s unique low-fee model changes the real estate investing game and opens up the opportunity to beginner and savvy investors alike. In just a few minutes, you can create an account with a low investment minimum, select your preferred investing strategy, and sit back as Fundrise diversifies your portfolio for you.

Features:

• Fees:
  • 0.15 percent annual advisory fee
  • 0.85 percent annual asset management fee for standard portfolios
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance:
  • $500 for Starter account
  • Varying minimums for other account types

Pros	Cons
Low fees and balance minimum	Not good for short-term investing
Open to non-accredited investors	Investments are not liquid
90-day guarantee	–
Two-factor authentication and biometric security	–

4. Charles Schwab

Apple Store Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Investing with Schwab Mobile is a great option for beginners who want to learn and put their knowledge to use. Schwab’s free and expansive research offerings include real-time news, a quarterly magazine, research reports, and expert quotations. As you level up your skills, you can use the mobile app to trade and monitor your positions at all hours, as well as customize your investing experience with alerts, summaries, and notifications. 

Features:

• Fees: None
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance: None

Pros	Cons
Large investment selection	Small cash sweep rate for uninvested funds
Ample research offerings	–
No fees or minimums	–
Biometric security	–

5. Acorns

Apple Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Acorns makes investing with whatever you have easy by automatically investing your spare change. Users can set up an account in less than five minutes and begin automating micro-investments at price plans of $1 (Lite), $3 (Personal), or $5 (Family) per month. Investors at any level can avoid constantly thinking about their investments or managing them, as there’s a team of advisers there for support if you ever need them.

Features:

• Fees: $1 to $5 per month
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance: None to open, $5 to invest

Pros	Cons
Invests spare change from purchases automatically	High monthly fees compared to low account balances
Built-in robo-advisers	Small portfolio
Educational and investing support	Can’t build your own portfolio
Cash back at select retailers	–

6. Stash

Apple Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

Stash is focused on simplifying investing for regular people. You can start investing in fractional shares through one of Stash’s three monthly subscription plans. They also offer a great learning center with built-out posts to teach you about investing and keep you up to date on money news. 

Features:

• Fees: $1 to $9 per month
• Commissions: None for trading
• Minimum balance: None for Personal Portfolio (only capitalized if it’s the name of the portfolio in the app)

Pros	Cons
Educational resources	Monthly fees can be high compared to a low account balance
Personalized investment advice	Only four trading windows*
Automated investing	–

7. Stockpile

Apple Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Stockpile allows beginners to start investing with as little as $5. Its trading platform lets you purchase fractional shares in any dollar amount or gift stock ownership for any amount with a gift card. You can choose from a variety of stocks and ETFs, and with no account fees, you just pay the small commission of 99 cents per trade. 

Features:

• Fees: None
• Commissions: 99 cents per trade
• Minimum balance: None

Pros	Cons
Redeemable stock gift cards	No real-time trading
Fractional shares	Commission on every trade
Educational resources	–

8. Public

Apple Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

If you love social media and are looking to get into investing, Public may be the app for you. Public allows beginners to buy fractional shares of their favorite companies for any amount of money you choose, commission-free. And with the ability to follow other investors on the app, you can see what everyone else is investing in, learn from them, participate in group messages, and share your own experiences.

Features:

• Fees: None
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance: None

Pros	Cons
Social component	Small investment selection
Fractional shares	–
No fees or commissions	–
Referral program	–

9. Invstr

Apple Store Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Invstr is one of the best apps to learn about investing. Beginners can practice investing before doing it with real money using the Invstr app. You simply download the free app and get started by learning lessons from Invstr Academy. After gaining experience and some confidence, you can start investing in fractional shares with as little as $1.

Features:

• Fees: Up to $3.99 per month, withdrawal and deposit fees
• Commissions: $2.99 per full trade, 99 cents per fractional trade
• Minimum balance: None, but $25,000 to day trade

Pros	Cons
Practice investing without risking your money	Limited amount of trades per day (unlimited with subscription)
Educational resources	Can only invest in U.S. stocks
Large investing community	Lots of fees
Portfolio and performance insights	–

10. M1 Finance

Apple Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

M1 Finance is an investing platform that offers a lot of flexibility for beginners. You can choose from premade expert portfolios or cultivate your own investment strategy by building a customized portfolio for free. You can enjoy the flexibility of this app for free, but beware of other miscellaneous fees and a $100 minimum account balance before you get started.

Features:

• Fees: No annual or monthly fees, but a $20 inactivity fee and others
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance: $100 to $500

Pros	Cons
Customizability	$100 minimum account balance
Automated investing	Inactivity fee
Fractional shares	Morning trading window only for free accounts

11. TD Ameritrade

Apple Store Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 3.6 out of 5 stars

This award-winning trading platform is a good mobile investing option for beginners and active traders alike. With no account minimums and no commissions, beginners can easily get started and quickly level up their learning with how-to videos. The TD Ameritrade app also offers free research in the form of market trend reports, charts, and updates accessible via phone, tablet, or even Apple Watch. 

Features:

• Fees: None
• Commissions: None for online U.S. stock, ETFs, and options trade
  •  65 cents per options contract fee
• Minimum balance: None

Pros	Cons
Ample research and educational offerings	No fractional shares
Large investment selection	Adviser program fee (a percentage of managed assets)
Quality customer support	–
Apple Watch compatibility	–

12. E*TRADE

Apple Store Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

As another popular award-winning investing app, E*TRADE offers commission-free investing to beginners with an easy-to-use app interface. The app has a wide investment selection and is compatible with mobile, tablets, and Apple Watches. Users can access real-time news, Bloomberg TV, and third-party research to stay updated on the market at all times. 

Features:

• Fees: None
• Commissions: None for online U.S. stock, ETFs, and options trade
  • 65 cents per options contract
  • $1.50 per futures contract
  • $1 per bond
• Minimum balance: None

Pros	Cons
Large investment selection	High minimum balances and fees for managed portfolios
Ample research offerings	–
User-friendly interface	–
Quality customer support	–
Apple Watch compatibility	–

13. Robinhood

Apple Store Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars | Google Play Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Robinhood is one of the more well-known apps for investing, offering commission-free investing opportunities with no minimum balance and no fees. Users are able to customize their portfolios, trade in real time, and invest any amount they choose thanks to fractional shares. Robinhood is a solid option for beginners who just wish to trade stocks and ETFs, and new users can get their first stock free.

Features:

• Fees: None or $5 per month for Robinhood Gold
• Commissions: None
• Minimum balance: None

Pros	Cons
Fractional shares	No free research offerings
Cryptocurrency options	No retirement options
–	No bonds or mutual funds

Whether you prefer to be a hands-off investing beginner or a hands-on learner, there’s a mobile investing app to help you get started. Try out one of these best investment apps for beginners to start earning some passive income today. And don’t forget to link your investment accounts with the Mint app to ensure that you’re keeping track of your personal budget. We’re here to help you make money moves toward the brighter financial future you see for yourself. 

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