Acorns is worth it if you need a helping hand with investing and want to build good habits. It’s one of the best microinvesting apps out there, and it has enough portfolio variety to suit a wide range of investing goals. Plus, its newer features like Acorns Earn can help you earn even more.
However, Acorns isn’t worth it if you want comprehensive investment research or to make your own trading decisions. In this case, you’re better off using a leading stock broker rather than apps like Acorns. Robo-advisors like Betterment or Wealthfront also have way more portfolio selection and customization available than Acorns’ five portfolios.
And when deciding if Acorns is worth it or not, be careful with fees if you’re only investing a small amount of money. Paying $3 per month for Acorns Personal might not sound like much, but that’s $36 per year. If you’re only investing $20 a month through round-ups, you’re paying a 15% fee to invest that $240. In contrast, robo advisors such as Betterment only charges 0.25% annually.
And, for reference, it takes almost $15,000 of investing through Acorns for its $36 annual fee to reach 0.25%, so the fees can be steep for small portfolios.
Of course, if you’re a frequent card user who makes many more purchases per day, Acorns starts to make a bit more sense. And the main goal of the app is to help newer investors build good habits by consistently investing.