Choosing the right app for mutual funds is important for your investment strategy. Mutual funds have active managers who make informed decisions and build diversified portfolios on your behalf. These funds, however, are hard to purchase because they don’t trade on exchanges like ETFs — which means few apps are able to offer them. There are many for India, but few made “by and for” US investors.
In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the 6 best mutual fund apps for US investors, along with our top 3 choices, so you can choose the best one for you.
Best Overall
With 13k funds across all asset classes and fees limited to no-load buys (up to $75), TD offers a breadth of options at a price that’s unparalleled, making it our top pick. Plus, your account allows for trading 6 other security types at $0 commissions, so you can keep everything in one place.
Best Price-to-Offering-Size Ratio
Traders who want to avoid the high buy-side fees on no-load funds via TD Ameritrade have an alternative in Ally Invest. Ally offers 12k funds and limits fees to $9.95 on no-load funds only. The rest are free.
Best for Mutual Funds + Other Securities
TradeStation is for those who want to trade it all: with 10 security types, there’s no better app. TradeStation has 2,000 funds to choose from, you can easily combine mutual funds with alt investments and classic equities. Just pay $14.95/transaction on the mutual funds.
Have you dreamt of finding that special investment with stable, strong returns?
Creating a healthy portfolio is a long game. You need diverse securities and conducive industries, with proportions aligned to your exit or reentry strategy. Picking mutual funds that fit the mold is not easy, and it’s even harder when your options are limited to few fund families and asset classes.
With about 8,000 mutual funds in the United States, you need to have a solid interface for selecting and exchanging them.
A good mutual fund app is a crucial.
This guide covers the best options based on the following 12 criteria:
- Total Funds
- # of Fund Families
- Minimum Investment
- No-Transaction-Fee Funds
- No-Load Buys Price
- No-Load Sells Price
- Load Buys Price
- Load Sells Price
- Credit Checks
- Fund Screener
- Fund Comparison Tool
- All Other Security Types Available on the App
What’s the best app for mutual fund investing?
Here are my top picks for mutual fund apps:
- TD Ameritrade
- Ally Invest Self-Directed
- TradeStation
- JP Morgan Self-Directed
- Axos Self-Directed
- Plynk
TD Ameritrade
Best Overall App for Mutual Funds
My Take
The Bottom Line: TD Ameritrade is ideal for investors who want a large fund offering and diverse asset classes and to leverage other securities on the same brokerage account — so long as they can keep an eye on no-load buy-side fees.
Our rating: 9.8 / 10
Minimum investment: $0.
It’s hard to compete with TD Ameritrade for mutual fund investing. With over 13k funds across 55 fund families, the fund offering size is large enough to accommodate even professional traders. It provides everything from 85+% equity funds to commodities and municipal bonds, giving you the freedom to implement your investing philosophy across asset classes. There’s no fee to use TD Ameritrade, and you’ll gain access to a large spread of direct investment securities outside mutual funds. Just pay $49.95 for no-load buys, or up to $74.95 if the fund family doesn’t compensate TD Ameritrade.
Key Features
- Excellent fund comparison and screening tools, like the one shown in this picture:
# of Funds, Fund Families, & Analytics Tools
| Total Funds | # of Fund Families | Fund Screener | Fund Comparison Tool |
| 13,000+ | 652 | Yes | Yes |
All Security Types on Platform
Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, and Forex.
Beyond mutual funds, TD Ameritrade offers a “full stack” of security trading options, which makes it ideal for active investors who want to diversify their position with $0 commissions alongside their mutual funds. Not many platforms offer futures and forex. Plus, there’s no inbound transfer fee, so you can transfer your existing brokerage account at no cost.
→
| Security | TD Ameritrade |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Mutual Funds | ✓ |
| ETFs | ✓ |
| Options | ✓ |
| Bonds | ✓ |
| OTCs | |
| Futures | ✓ |
| Crypto | |
| IPOs | |
| Futures Options | |
| Forex | ✓ |
| Direct Indexing | |
| CDs | |
| Annuities |
Pricing
Not only does TD Ameritrade provide $0 commissions on its equities, but it also foregoes mutual fund transaction fees on all fund types except no-load buys, which range from $1 to $74.95 depending on the fund family. Here’s a table of prices.
| No-Transaction-Fee Funds | No-Load Buys Price | No-Load Sells Price | Load Buys Price | Load Sells Price |
| Yes | Up to $74.95 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
See the full fee schedule here.
What I Like and Dislike
No platform is perfect. Here’s a list of what I like and dislike on TD Ameritrade for mutual funds:
Like
- Wide selection of funds and fund families
- Not limited to funds run by TD Ameritrade like JP Morgan (4rth on our list)
- Offers one of the most extensive security spreads from stock to futures within the same broker
- Very transparent fees
Dislike
- Could improve no-load buys price
- Could provide more transparency on the spread of no-load buy pricing, rather than state only the maximum
- Could improve customer service reply times
- Trades could be processed faster
- No crypto
Ally Invest Self-Directed
Best for Price-to-Offering-Size Ratio
My Take
The Bottom Line: Ally Invest is best for investors who want to keep costs low without sacrificing no-load fund investments.
Our rating: 9.6 / 10
Minimum investment: $0
With over 12k funds available and low $9.95 transaction fees on no-load buys and sells, Ally is the top pick for those who don’t want to limit their fund investments because of price. The only other platform with sub-$10 is Axos, but they don’t offer no-transaction-fee funds or load funds. Moreover, the others on the list cost more across the board. Ally, therefore, comes in first for price to offering size. As a cherry on the cake, they have leading charts, watchlists, profit/loss views, probability analytics, research, and ETF screeners.
Key Features
- Numerous charts, watchlists, profit/loss views, probability analytics, research, and ETF screeners. The profit/loss view is useful for self-monitoring and avoiding the trap of doubling down on losses, as show in this picture:
# of Funds, Fund Families, & Analytics Tools
| Total Funds | # of Fund Families | Fund Screener | Fund Comparison Tool |
| 12,000 | Unknown | No | No |
All Security Types on Platform
Stocks, Options, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, & OTC Stocks.
Ally isn’t limited to mutual funds. When you open an account you have access to the core equity and fixed income securities, as well as OTC or “penny” stocks and options trading. When you put in $2,000, you can even trade on margin.
→
| Security | Ally Invest Self-Directed |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Mutual Funds | ✓ |
| ETFs | ✓ |
| Options | ✓ |
| Bonds | ✓ |
| OTCs | ✓ |
| Futures | |
| Crypto | |
| IPOs | |
| Futures Options | |
| Forex | |
| Direct Indexing | |
| CDs | |
| Annuities |
Pricing
Ally Invest provides $0 commission trades on core securities, and they transfer that philosophy to mutual funds, providing $0 commission load buys and sells, as well as a host of no-transaction-fee funds. As a broker, they have to charge for no-load transactions, but these prices are lower than the competition and provide access to a 12k fund pool.
| No-Transaction-Fee Funds | No-Load Buys Price | No-Load Sells Price | Load Buys Price | Load Sells Price |
| Yes | $9.95 | $9.95 | $0.00 | From $0.00 |
What I Like and Dislike
Like
- Large fund inventory
- Excellent interface with more tools than you will need
- Low prices for no-load funds, which run more expensive at the competition
Dislike
- Alternative securities are limited
- No Crypto available
TradeStation
Best for Combining Mutual Funds with Other Securities
My Take
The Bottom Line: TradeStation is best for investors who want to try mutual fund investing alongside stocks, bonds, and 7 other security types in one place.
Our rating: 9.5 / 10
Minimum investment: $0
TradeStation offers 55 fund families with just over 2,000 funds inside, which makes its offering only about 10% the size of TD Ameritrade and Ally. That said, TradeStation offers 9 other securities, which makes it the best option for those looking to get their feet wet with mutual funds but want to manage a larger portfolio in one app. Believe it or not, you can even get in on IPO action via TradeStation. The other big advantage to TradeStation is its use of flat pricing across the board, for any transaction that’s not no-fee, you’ll pay only $14.95 — the second lowest flat price on our list.
Key Features
- I’ll say it again — TradeStation has 10 total securities available through its platform, including futures and futures options. Not many platforms can make that claim.
# of Funds, Fund Families, & Analytics Tools
| Total Funds | # of Fund Families | Fund Screener | Fund Comparison Tool |
| 2,000 | 55 | Yes | No |
All Security Types on Platform
Stocks, Options, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Futures, Futures Options, Crypto, IPOs, and OTCs.
In addition to mutual funds, TradeStation has the largest offering of other securities on our list.
If you’re an adventurous investor, TradeStation is probably the best platform for you.
→
| Security | TradeStation |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Mutual Funds | ✓ |
| ETFs | ✓ |
| Options | ✓ |
| Bonds | ✓ |
| OTCs | ✓ |
| Futures | ✓ |
| Crypto | ✓ |
| IPOs | ✓ |
| Futures Options | ✓ |
| Forex | |
| Direct Indexing | |
| CDs | |
| Annuities |
Pricing
| No-Transaction-Fee Funds | No-Load Buys Price | No-Load Sells Price | Load Buys Price | Load Sells Price |
| No | $14.95 | $14.95 | $14.95 | $14.95 |
What I Like and Dislike
Like
- Large mutual fund selection with over 2k options
- 10 total security types to streamline your activities on one platform
Dislike
- Could have more funds available
JP Morgan Self-Directed
Best Price
My Take
The Bottom Line: JP Morgan is good for those who don’t mind restricting their investing to one fund family (JP Morgan) and its 144 funds in order to benefit from zero fees. One other thing: you need $1,000 deposited to start.
Our rating: 9.5 / 10
Minimum investment: $1,000
Any mutual fund list has to include JP Morgan, who offers $0 commissions across all funds. The catch? Only JP Morgan funds are available through their platform. That said, if you just want to try your hand at mutual funds and don’t mind the fund options limited to 144 and a single fund family, as well as deposit $1,000 up front, then JP Morgan may be right for you.
Key Features
- JP Morgan is arguably the most well-recognized brand in investing. It is the largest bank in the world by market capitalization, so using their services means engaging with true professionals.
# of Funds, Fund Families, & Analytics Tools
| Total Funds | # of Fund Families | Fund Screener | Fund Comparison Tool |
| 144 | 1 (JP Morgan) | Yes | Yes |
All Security Types on Platform
Stocks, ETFs, Bonds, Options, and Mutual Funds.
JP Morgan keeps its fees tight and its security types tighter. If you’re only interested in the bare minimum outside mutual funds and want to keep costs down, then this app will do the trick.
→
| Security | JP Morgan Self Directed |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Mutual Funds | ✓ |
| ETFs | ✓ |
| Options | ✓ |
| Bonds | ✓ |
| OTCs | |
| Futures | |
| Crypto | |
| IPOs | |
| Futures Options | |
| Forex | |
| Direct Indexing | |
| CDs | |
| Annuities |
Pricing
| No-Transaction-Fee Funds | No-Load Buys Price | No-Load Sells Price | Load Buys Price | Load Sells Price |
| $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
What I Like and Dislike
Like
- Excellent reputation
- Excellent history
- $0 transaction fees for funds of all types
Dislike
- Offering limited to JP Morgan funds only
- Could carry more security types
Axos Self-Directed
Best for Simple Interface
The Bottom Line: Axos is good for those who want a simple interface and don’t mind depositing $250 up-front.
Our rating: 9.2 / 10
Minimum investment: $250
If you’re looking for simple, Axos may be right for you. It offers no-load funds and charges $9.95/transaction. The downsides are a mandatory $250 and a credit check during the application process, but the interface is very straightforward.
Key Features
- As of writing, Axos has a promotion that will pay you $200 when you deposit $2,000 or more.
# of Funds, Fund Families, & Analytics Tools
| Total Funds | # of Fund Families | Credit Checks | Fund Screener | Fund Comparison Tool |
| 10,000 | Unknown | Yes | No | No |
All Security Types on Platform
Axos’ securities are limited to the four basic types: Stocks, Mutual Funds, ETFs, and Options.
| Security | Axos Self Directed |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Mutual Funds | ✓ |
| ETFs | ✓ |
| Options | ✓ |
| Bonds | |
| OTCs | |
| Futures | |
| Crypto | |
| IPOs | |
| Futures Options | |
| Forex | |
| Direct Indexing | |
| CDs | |
| Annuities |
Pricing
| No-Transaction-Fee Funds | No-Load Buys Price | No-Load Sells Price | Load Buys Price | Load Sells Price |
| No | $9.95 | $9.95 | Not offered | Not offered |
What I Like and Dislike
Like
- Simple interface makes it easy for beginners to get involved with mutual funds
Dislike
- Limited offering with only no-load funds, so all transactions cost $9.95 to execute
Plynk
Best for Subscription
The Bottom Line: Plynk is right for those who want a low, fixed-fee mutual fund app and like to try new players in the market.
Our rating: 9.1 / 10
Minimum investment: $1
Last on the list is a newcomer in the mutual fund space. Plynk offers commission-free mutual fund trading as of writing, but expects to implement a $2/month subscription in the near future. Unfortunately, the company is rather opaque about its funds and supplementary pricing, but they merit mention on this list due to the subscription nature of the platform. They are the only ones to implement a subscription mutual fund service.
Key Features
- Subscription-based service that’s free as of writing and expects to grow to $2/month.
# of Funds, Fund Families, & Analytics Tools
| Total Funds | # of Fund Families | Fund Screener | Fund Comparison Tool |
| Unknown | Unknown | No | No |
All Security Types on Platform
Beyond mutual funds, Plynk provides Stocks, ETFs, and Bonds.
| Security | Plynk |
| Stocks | ✓ |
| Mutual Funds | ✓ |
| ETFs | ✓ |
| Options | |
| Bonds | ✓ |
| OTCs | |
| Futures | |
| Crypto | |
| IPOs | |
| Futures Options | |
| Forex | |
| Direct Indexing | |
| CDs | |
| Annuities |
Pricing
| No-Transaction-Fee Funds | No-Load Buys Price | No-Load Sells Price | Load Buys Price | Load Sells Price |
| $2/month (all inclusive) | $2/month (all inclusive) | $2/month (all inclusive) | $2/month (all inclusive) | $2/month (all inclusive) |
What I Like and Dislike
Like
- Subscription model creates an innovative way for investors to place money in mutual funds
Dislike
- The company is not transparent about its funds, fund families, and interface
- Likely to implement $2 subscription in the future
Complete Comparative Table
Here’s a table you can use to compare all the offer data side-by-side.
| Item | TD Ameritrade | Ally Invest Self-Directed | TradeStation | JP Morgan Self Directed | Axos Self Directed | Plynk |
| Best for… | Best Overall | Best for Price-to-Offering Size Ratio | Best for Combining Mutual Funds with Other Securities | Best Price | Best for Simple Interface | Best for Subscription |
| Rating | 9.8 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.2 | 9.1 |
| Minimum Investment | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1,000.00 | $250.00 | $1.00 |
| Total Funds | 13,000 | 12,000 | 2,000 | 144 | 10,000 | Unknown |
| # of Fund Families | 652 | Unknown | 55 | 1 | Unknown | Unknown |
| Credit Checks | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Fund Screener | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Fund Comparison Tool | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| No-Transaction-Fee Funds | Yes | Yes | No | $0.00 | No | $2/month |
| No-Load Buys Price | Up to $74.95 | $9.95 | $14.95 | $0.00 | $9.95 | $2/month |
| No-Load Sells Price | $0.00 | $9.95 | $14.95 | $0.00 | $9.95 | $2/month |
| Load Buys Price | $0.00 | $0.00 | $14.95 | $0.00 | Not offered | $2/month |
| Load Sells Price | $0.00 | From $0.00 | $14.95 | $0.00 | Not offered | $2/month |
Complete List of Fund Families by Platform
There are over 700 fund families across the apps in this article. Here’s a GoogleSheet excerpt that you can use to see all families per app. To see TD Ameritrade, scroll down until you see it in the left column.
This view is helpful for those who want to get an idea for the size and spread before choosing an app.
Popular Apps that Do NOT Support Mutual Funds
We’ve shown the best 6 apps for mutual fund investing, but we had to investigate virtually ALL investment apps to find out which are best. Several popular apps that you expect to have mutual funds, well, simply don’t.
Here’s a list of common platforms that don’t offer mutual funds so you can avoid picking the wrong one:
- eToro
- Robinhood
- Acorns
- Betterment
- M1 Finance
- Marcus Invest
- Public.com
- Sofi Active Invest
- Sofi Auto Invest
- Stash
- Webull Active Account
- Webull Retirement
Mutual Fund Terms Glossary
For the average investor, terms associated with mutual funds can be daunting because they differ from what most of us are familiar with in stocks and bonds.
- Load Fund. A fund that comes with a sales charge or commission from money managers.
- No-Load Fund. A fund that has no sales charge or commission.
- No-Transaction-Fee Fund. Basically the same thing as a no-load fund — there are no charges or commissions.
- Life Cycle Funds. A mutual fund that targets investments that will bring high returns in the year you expect to retire.
- Money Market Funds. Mutual funds that invest is highly-liquid short-term securities like cash equivalents and US treasury bills.
- Asset Class. The three major ones are Equities (stocks), Fixed income (bonds), and Cash and cash equivalents. There’s no official list, but asset classes are defined based on (1) the nature of the underlying asset and (2) the risk profile of securities.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Mutual Fund Investing Apps
Is it safe to invest in mutual funds through apps?
Yes, it is safe to invest in mutual funds through apps because the brokers have data security standards and insurance. Brokers like TD Ameritrade, JP Morgan, and Ally are regulated by federal agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) who impose security standards. Moreover, brokers are required to be insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and protect your positions up to $500k, as well as cash positions up to $250k.
Which app is best for mutual fund tracking?
If your focus is tracking, we recommend TD Ameritrade, whose Mutual Fund Screener and Compare Funds Tool are cutting-edge by way of tracking.
Can I use Robinhood for mutual funds?
No, mutual funds are not available on Robinhood. Learn more about Robinhood (opens in new tab).
Which is the safest mutual fund app?
You can rest assured that any app or broker governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and insured by the Securities Investor protection Corporation is safe. Every app on our list meets these standards.
How do I start investing in mutual funds?
It’s easy to start investing in mutual funds. Just click on one of the links in this article to access the broker website, create and account, and following the instructions to invest in the mutual fund of your choice.
Which app is free for mutual funds?
The only mutual fund app that’s free for all fund types is JP Morgan Chase. That said, it only provides JP Morgan funds. Your second best option is either Ally Invest or TD Ameritrade: if you can avoid no-load buys, go with TD; otherwise, go with Ally Invest. No-loads can cost as much as $74 with TD, but only cost $9.95 with Ally Invest.
How do I withdraw money from mutual funds?
The way to withdraw money from a mutual fund is to sell your shares back to the fund (that may sound like a complicated process, but in reality its just the click of a button inside an app).
The price of each share is equal to its net asset value (NAV), which represents the fund’s total assets minus total liabilities, divided by the number of shares outstanding. When a fund performs well, it is able to increase the value of securities in the market while minimizing the amounts it must pay, including management fees and distribution costs.
To make a profit, you should only sell when the NAV is higher than when you purchased it.
Which mutual fund should a beginner invest in?
In general, beginners should stick to funds that focus on low risk investments like bonds and US treasuries. Good filtering criteria include (1) 15% – 30% equity allocation, (2) no-load/no-transaction-fee, (3) open to new investors, and (4) a positive average annual return over 3 years. These will generally be low-risk investments. That said, you should always check with your financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Summary
Let’s bring it all together into one easy table. Here are out top picks for mutual fund apps, as well as what each is best for:
| Name | Best for… |
| TD Ameritrade | Best Overall |
| Ally Invest Self-Directed | Best for Price-to-Offering Size Ratio |
| TradeStation | Best for Combining Mutual Funds with Other Securities |
| JP Morgan Self Directed | Best Price |
| Axos Self Directed | Best for Simple Interface |
| Plynk | Best for Subscription |
Conclusion
If you want more support on investment apps, check out our list of the 18 best (opens in new tab). For more personal finance material (opens in new tab), you can check out that page or explore more at AnalystAnswers.com (opens in new tab).
