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Looking for the best investing apps to get your financial life back on track? A solid finance app can handle routine financial tasks, shuffle money into investment accounts, and track spending. But the best investment apps can also let you quickly trade stocks, follow your account in real time, help you learn about the markets and more. Because they can do so much, investment apps have become increasingly popular.
Here are some of the top apps for getting your finances organized and invested.
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- Best investing apps to help you make money
- What to consider when choosing an investment app
- How to use an investment app
- Investment apps FAQs
Best investment apps to help you make money
All of these apps are great for beginners, and they make it easy for thosejust starting to investor looking to play a stock-picking game for fun.
- Betterment – Best app for automated investing
- Invstr – Best app for education
- Acorns – Best app for saving
- Wealthbase – Best app for trading games and contests
- Wealthfront – Best app for portfolio management
- Fidelity Investments – Best app for managing money all-in-one
- Robinhood – Best app for active trading
- Stock Rover – Best app for stock research
- Charles Schwab – Best app for beginners
- Ellevest – Best app for socially responsible investing
- Public – Best app for learning about companies
- Fundrise – Best app for direct investment in real estate
Betterment - Best app for automated investing
Bettermentis one of the largest and most popular robo-advisors, and for good reason. The app provides professionally managed portfolios using a selection of ETFs that’s calibrated against your own risk tolerance and when you need the money. Betterment can createsocially responsible portfoliosfocusing on climate change or social impact.
Minimum balance required:$0 for digital service; $100,000 for premium service
Fees:Management fee of 0.25 – 0.40 percent of assets annually
Invstr - Best app for education
Invstris what you get when you mix learning, real-life investing and community into an app that’s designed togive beginning investors a way to get into stocks, especially if you like games. The app combines a fantasy stock game, where you can assist in managing a virtual portfolio, with access to investors’ thoughts on stocks and other investments.
Minimum balance required:$0
Fees: $0, $3.99 a month for Invstr Pro. Can trade stocks, crypto and ETFs commission-free with a $5 minimum investment.
Acorns - Best app for saving
Acornsremains one of the most popular of the new breed of savings apps, because of how easy it is to use. You really don’t have to pay much attention once you’ve set it up.
Minimum balance required: $0 for savings account, $5 to start investing
Fees: $3, $5 or $9 per month depending on the service tier
Wealthbase – Best app for trading games and contests
Wealthbaseis a top player in the world of stock market games, and it may be the most user-friendly investing app out there for having fun and picking stocks. You can set up games with friends to last up to 15 days or even just until the end of the day.
Minimum balance required:$0
Fees:$0 up to 5 players. $20 game fee up to 1,000 players, plus five cents per player per day.
Wealthfront – Best app for portfolio management
Wealthfrontis one of the largest independent robo-advisors. For a small fee, it can manage your money, whether that’s in a taxable account or anIRA.
Minimum balance required:$500
Fees:Management fee of 0.25 percent of assets annually
Fidelity Investments – Best app for managing money all-in-one
If you wanted to live your whole financial life onFidelity Investments, you could do it with little issue – and have the top integrated experience. At Fidelity, you can get an investment account, a checking account, an IRA, a business retirement account such as a SEP IRA, bill paying, a savings account, arobo-advisor accountand even credit card accounts, to cover the big ones.
Minimum balance required:$0
Fees:$0 for stock/ETF trades, $0.65 per contract on options.
Robinhood – Best app for active trading
Robinhood is the app to have if you like a smooth interface and avoiding trading commissions, whether you’re trading stocks, ETFs, options or cryptocurrency. You’ll get to do it all with no commission and using a slick mobile interface that makes quick work of it all.
Minimum balance required:$0
Fees:No commissions for stock, ETF, options or crypto trades
Stock Rover – Best app for stock research
Stock Rover is the app to use if you’re looking to access detailed financials and research reports on thousands of publicly traded companies and funds. You’ll be able to screen for stocks and funds, chart valuations over time and access what seems like an endless amount of data.
Fees: A free plan as well as three subscriptions ranging from $7.99 to $27.99 per month or discounted annually
Charles Schwab – Best app for beginners
Charles Schwabdoes well for experts, but it’s also a great app for beginners, because of all the resources it provides. Schwab provides tons of research and education, helping newer investors get up to speed on topics such as investing and personal finance.
Minimum balance required:$0
Fees:$0
Ellevest – Best app for socially responsible investing
Ellevestis one of the top-ranked robo-advisors, but it’s also the top app for socially responsible investing. Ellevest’s mission is to help women investors make smart investing decisions (though, of course, anyone can become a client).
Minimum balance required:$0
Fees: $12 a month
Public – Best app for learning about companies
Public is a trading app geared toward helping new investors learn about business and investing. You can trade stocks, ETFs, options, Treasury bills and cryptocurrency, but what sets Public apart from others is the educational content, including “town hall” meetings with business leaders and its podcast Public Live. Users will also have access to a social feed to discuss stock picks with other investors.
Minimum balance required:$0
Fees: Commission-free stock, ETF and options trades; $5 semiannual inactivity fee for accounts less than $20
Fundrise – Best app for direct investment in real estate
The Fundrise app allows individual investors to invest in commercial real estate with virtually any amount of money. The app provides information about potential deals, and then you can select the ones you’d like to participate in. But if you can bring more money to the table, you can get access to even more select deals. The app even allows you to reinvest your dividends.
Minimum balance required:$10
Fees: 0.15 percent annual advisory fee, annual asset management fee of 0.85 percent; 1.85 percent for Innovation fund.
What to consider when choosing an investment app
When it comes to investment apps, think about how you’ll plan to use them. Do you need an educational tool or are you looking to actually trade and invest? Some apps charge fees that can eat into your investment returns, while others have very low costs and offer commission-free trading. If you’re interested in trading things like cryptocurrencies, you’ll want to make sure that’s a feature offered by the app or broker – not all brokers offer crypto trading.
You’ll also want to consider your investment goals. If you’re saving for retirement, you’ll want to find an app that offers an IRA.
Similarly, you’ll want to consider how much time you plan to spend investing. Several apps let you actively buy and sell stocks, but if you’re looking for a more passive approach, a robo-advisor might be a better fit.
Deciding how much money to invest
The good news for investors starting out today is that it requires very little money to get started. Fees are so low or even non-existent that you can start with virtually any amount of money. In fact, what you start with matters much less than your saving and investing discipline over time.
The key to achieving ongoing investing success is toadd money regularly over time. So you’ll want to add cash to the account and keep investing in your positions regularly over time in order to build wealth.
How much you actually invest depends on your own financial situation and needs. And today’s low-fee brokerages and apps leave more money in your pocket to actually invest.
How to use an investment app
Investing apps can be a useful tool to manage your money and grow your wealth. A big part of their appeal is how easy they are to use and set up.
Here's a brief walkthrough of how to use an investment app.
- Choose an app: There are many options out there, so make sure to compare factors like account fees, investment choices and how easy the app is to use.
- Sign up and set up your account: Once you’ve chosen an app, you’ll want to download it. Inside the app, you’ll need to provide your personal information then link your bank account to fund your investments.
- Fund your account: Decide how much money you want to invest and transfer funds from your bank to your investment app. This is also a good time to set up automatic recurring contributions on a weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule.
- Explore investment options: Most apps offer trading in stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds. Research these options and utilize any educational features or articles within the app to grow your knowledge.
- Build your portfolio: This is the exciting part. Choose investments that align with your goals and budget. Consider your risk tolerance and investment horizon (short-term vs. long-term). Aim for diversification to spread your risk.
- Monitor your portfolio: Finally, you’ll want to periodically check in on your investments and see how they’re performing. You’ll be able to track your progress and make adjustments as needed within the app.
Using an investment app is a great way to learn more about the markets and start growing your portfolio. Just remember, investing involves risk, so don't invest any money you can't afford to lose.
If you’re feeling stuck or uncertain about which investments to choose, you might consider consulting with a financial advisor for personalized guidance.
Investment apps FAQs
Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.
