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The micro-investing app that turns your spare change into investments through Round-Ups—perfect for beginners who struggle to save consistently.
Acorns' signature feature is Round-Ups. Link a debit or credit card, and every purchase gets rounded up to the nearest dollar. That spare change is invested automatically.
Buy a coffee for $3.75? Acorns rounds up to $4.00 and invests the $0.25 difference. Once round-ups reach $5, they're invested into your portfolio.
You can apply multipliers (2x, 3x, 10x) to accelerate savings. A $0.25 round-up becomes $2.50 with a 10x multiplier. It's a painless way to build investing habits.
All Acorns portfolios automatically reinvest dividends. The dividends from your ETFs are used to purchase more shares, compounding your growth over time.
Combined with round-ups and recurring deposits, dividend reinvestment creates multiple streams flowing into your portfolio. Everything happens automatically.
You can't opt out of dividend reinvestment—Acorns is designed for accumulation, not income distribution.
Acorns offers around 25 low-cost ETFs spanning stocks, bonds, real estate, and (in higher tiers) limited Bitcoin exposure. Portfolios are built on modern portfolio theory.
You select a risk level from Conservative to Aggressive, and Acorns builds your allocation. You cannot pick individual ETFs or customize holdings.
ESG portfolios are available for socially responsible investors who want to align investments with their values.
Bronze ($3/month): Invest account, Later (IRA), and Checking with debit card. 1% IRA match on new contributions in year one.
Silver ($6/month): Everything in Bronze plus Acorns Early for kids (1 child included), 10% bonus round-ups with selected retailers.
Gold ($12/month): Everything in Silver plus 3% IRA match, $10K life insurance, free will, ability to buy individual stocks, and up to 5 kids on Acorns Early.
Acorns' flat fee structure is problematic for small balances. At $3/month ($36/year), a $500 account pays an effective 7.2% annual fee—far higher than the 0.25% charged by Wealthfront or Betterment.
The fee only becomes reasonable as your balance grows. At $10,000, $36/year equals 0.36%—competitive with robo-advisors.
Once you've built the saving habit and grown your balance, you may be better served by a percentage-based robo-advisor or a free brokerage like Fidelity.
Acorns is ideal for people who genuinely struggle to save and need automation to build the habit. If willpower is your obstacle, Round-Ups solve that problem.
College students get Acorns free, making it a no-brainer for students with .edu emails.
Once you have a consistent saving habit and a larger balance, consider graduating to a more cost-effective platform.
Transparent breakdown of all fees you might encounter.
| Fee Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bronze Plan | $3/month |
| Silver Plan | $6/month |
| Gold Plan | $12/month |
| Account Minimum | $0 ($5 to invest) |
| College Students | Free |
| Trading Commissions | $0 |
| Dividend Reinvestment | Included |
| IRA Match (Bronze) | 1% first year |
| IRA Match (Gold) | 3% first year |
Round-Ups automate saving for people who struggle to invest consistently.
Free access with .edu email makes Acorns a no-brainer for students.
The psychology of Round-Ups helps build investing habits painlessly.
Acorns is a clever tool for building investing habits through Round-Ups and automation. For beginners who can't seem to save, the spare change approach works. Dividends are automatically reinvested, and the portfolios use quality ETFs. However, the flat monthly fee is expensive for small accounts—you're better off with a free brokerage once you've built the habit. College students should definitely use Acorns (it's free). For everyone else, consider it training wheels that you'll eventually outgrow.
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