Choosing the right app is crucial for making small investments. From placing your money with professionals to managing a portfolio of individual securities yourself, the best app will help you grow your investments so what starts small ends up big. In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the 18 best small investment apps, along with our top 3 choices so you can pick the best one for you.
Best Overall
With stocks, options, and ETFs available for zero commissions and the possibility to win $1,000 at signup, SoFi Active Invest is perfect for investors who want to start with a deposit as low as $1.
Best for Active Investing
I personally have used Robinhood for years and never been charged. It’s a leading tech platform offering stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto all through a transparent, ingenious user interface. Only $1 required to start investing in fractional shares.
Best for Passive Investing (& Beginners)
When it comes to passive platforms, it’s rare to have advisors transacting with non-ETF securities. M1 will invest in ETFs and stocks on your behalf, all for zero subscription and only $1 to start building wealth.
Have you dreamt of planting a small seed investment and watching it grow over time?
When you invest, things aren’t as simple as plopping your savings in any old account and forgetting it. With hundreds of investment accounts and options, you need to hand some of your money to the pros and learn the markets through active investing on your own.
It all starts with the right app.
This guide covers the best small investing options based on the following elements:
- Minimum Investment
- Security Types Available
- Price
- Promotional Offers for Opening an Account
- Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP)
- Fractional Shares
- Margin Investing
- Diversification Option
- Risk Profiles
- Other Fees
Let’s get going.
Our Recommendation? Get two small investment apps →
Robinhood(Active) + M1 Finance(Passive)
Learn through practice (active) and from the pros (passive) ✔️
$1 only to get started on each ✔️
Trusted brands (I’m invested too) ✔️
Diffuse risk during the learning curve ✔️
ETFs, Stocks, Options, Crypto + Fractional Shares & Margin Investing Options
What’s the best app for small investments?
Here are our top picks for small investment apps:
- Sofi Active Invest
- Robinhood
- M1 Finance
- Ally Invest Self-Directed
- TradeStation
- Public.com
- TD Ameritrade
- Ally Invest Automated
- Axos Self-Directed
- Stash
- Acorns
- Betterment
- Webull Retirement
- JP Morgan Self-Directed
- Etoro
- Sofi Auto Invest
- Webull Active Account
- Marcus Invest
SoFi Active Invest
Best Overall
Sofi Active Invest is our best overall pick because not only can you get started with only $1 and Sofi provides an excellent offer, but when you top it up to $10 in the first thirty days you can also win up $1,000 directly deposited. In fact, you have about a 10% chance to get $10, which means you’ll start investing with a 100% return out the gate. Sofi provides stocks, options, and ETFs, so you can get your feet wet with traditional, dependable equity investments. It also offers margin investing and fractional shares, so you can access all types of trades with your small investment.
Rating
Our rating: 9.7 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. The ideal starting platform for small investments with a buck minimum entry to trade. That said, you’ll want to add another $9 for the chance to win $1,000. A very easy tradeoff.
Price
$0.00. There is no cost to access the platform and no commissions.
That said, there are fees for special services, such as a $75 to transfer funds to another firm and $25 for wire transfers. Most additional fees are embedded in the funds you invest in, so you won’t see them, and others are rare events but common to most apps on our list. You can view in all the fees on Sofi’s fee schedule, but here’s a snapshot:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Wrap-fee | Yes |
| ETF Embedded Management Fees | Yes |
| Wire transfers out | $25 (ACHs are free) |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $75 |
| Returned ACH / Insufficient funds | $15 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2 |
| IRA closing fee | $20 |
| IPO Fees | $50 for the first sale of a security obtained through an IPO offering within 120 days of IPO; $5 for each subsequent |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $5 |
| Participation in voluntary corporate action | $50, additional fee per security involved in a voluntary corporate action deposit/withdrawal: $100 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | $22.10 per $1,000,000 of the price of the transaction (sells only), rounded up to the nearest penny. |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | $0.000119 sale within the first 120 days per share for each equity sell rounded up to the nearest penny with a maximum of $5.95 per trade |
Security Type
Stocks, Options, and ETFs. Sofi Active Invest provides the core assets you need to get going with small upfront exposure.
Active/Passive
Active. Sofi Active is not for those who want a passive solution driven by professionals and technology. For that, check out Sofi Auto Invest below.
Promotion
$1,000.00. When you deposit $10 in your account within 30 days of opening, you can win up to $1,000, which is one of the main reasons we rank Sofi so high.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | Yes |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
Robinhood
Best for Active Trading
I’ve been using Robinhood almost since its inception and seen it grow from a stock-only platform to offering options, ETFs and Cryptos. The interface is strong, it’s easy to understand, and you won’t get hit with fees. With only a $1 minimum entry to start trading, Robinhood is ideal for small investments and beginners who want to test the waters and learn the markets. From A-Z, Robinhood is best for active trading.
Rating
Our rating: 9.6 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. You can open an account with zero invested, and to start trading all you need is one dollar because you can buy fractional shares.
Price
$0.00. Robinhood costs nothing. I’ve never been charged a fee in over 5 years.
That said, there are applicable fees for some services. You can check out the fee schedule here, but the below table is a snapshot of applicable costs:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $100.00 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2.00 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $2.00 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | 0.00229% of $ amount |
| FINRA Regulatory Trading Fee | $0.000145 per share (equity sells), this fee is rounded up to the nearest penny and no greater than $7.27 |
Security Type
Stocks, ETFs, Options, and Crypto. Robinhood provides the basic securities you need to start making small investments. In fact, you probably won’t need to go that far. Stocks and ETFs are a great way to start.
Active/Passive
Active. Robinhood is an active trading platform. If you want a passive solution, we recommend M1 Finance.
Promotion
1% Match on IRAs. If you want to plan for retirement–either because you’re planning ahead or its an imminent need–Robinhood provides 1% match to all IRA contributions, with no employer necessary. They are the only ones to do so as of writing.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | Yes |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
What is the downside to Robinhood?
For self-managed small investments, there really is no downside or “catch” to Robinhood. That said, some may complain that is doesn’t offer futures, bonds, or treasury bills, and there is some question about how the platform makes its money. The reality is Robinhood adds new securities as it grows and is insured by SIPC, protecting up to $500,000 for its members.
M1 Finance
Best for Passive Investing
M1 is our top choice for passive investing because you get access to ETFs and stocks, whereas most passive apps are limited to ETFs, and because it has no subscription cost like others such as Acorns. AND M1 is more than just an investment app–it offers a flexible line of credit on 40% margin with only 7.75% interest once you reach $2,000 that you can use to invest or fund purchases, not to mention up to 2.4% cash back with a members rewards card you can look at later on.
Rating
Our rating: 9.6 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. That’s right, nothing required to open your account and all you need is $1 to start investing because M1 provides fractional shares.
Price
$0.00. For the basic account, there is no cost of subscription like some other passive apps, and like virtually all apps there is no commission fee. You can upgrade to get some pretty cool rewards on cards and better margin interest rates with the M1 membership for $125, but that’s something you can consider later.
That said, there are some service fees. You can see the full fee schedule here, but the below table serves as a snapshot:
| Name | M1 Finance |
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Wire transfers in | $25.00 |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $100.00 |
| Returned ACH / Insufficient funds | $30.00 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2.00 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $5.00 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | 0.00229% of $ amount |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | 0.000119% |
Security Type
Stocks and ETFs. Two may seem few, but for passive apps the combination of stocks and ETFs is very rare, and its one of the key reasons we rank M1 so high.
Active/Passive
Passive. M1 Finance is a passive application — you choose the general makeup, or “Pie,” and M1 does the investing for you based on your risk profile (conservative, moderate, aggressive).
Promotion
There is a promotion, but its not conductive to most readers: when you transfer more than $50k+ from another broker, you can win up to $10k.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | Yes, 7.75% |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Expert Pies |
Ally Invest Self-Directed
Best for Active OTC
Over the counter stocks, aka “penny” or “pink sheet” stocks, are uncommon but not a bad solution for small investing. In fact, it’s in some sense the original fractional shares, which can be purchased for the same absolute values. For OTC active trading, we think Ally Invest Self-Directed is best. It’s 1 of 3 on our list to provide OTCs, and it has excellent user interface, as well as a $75 bonus when you transfer $2.5K from another broker. It’s free to use, with no commissions on investments starting from $1. The limitation is that you will have to purchase minimum $100 per transaction, but you also get a large array of other securities, so if OTC is your thing then Ally may be the best small investing app for you.
Rating
Our rating: 9.5 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. All you need is one dollar to get started.
Price
$0.00. Ally has no subscription or commission fees.
That said, it does have some service fees. Check out the full schedule here, and below is a snapshot:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Wrap-fee | No |
| ETF Embedded Management Fees | Yes |
| Mutual Funds Transactions | $9.95 |
| Bond Transactions | $1.00 |
| Options | $0.50 |
| CDs | $24.95 |
| OTC Stocks | $4.95 |
| Wire transfers out | $30 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $4 |
| Participation in voluntary corporate action | 50 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | 0.00229% of $ amount |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | $0.00013 per share |
Security Type
Stocks, Options, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, and OTC Stocks. These security options provide more than enough flexibility to the small investment active investor, especially because Ally allows fractional share purchases.
Active/Passive
Active. Ally Invest Self-Directed is an active investment platform. It also offers a passive solution, which you can read about below.
Promotion
$75 bonus when >$2,500 transferred from another broker. This isn’t ideal for those who want a small investment app, so if bonuses float your boat, check out our top pick with Sofi Active Invest.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes, on request |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | Yes |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
TradeStation
Best for Most Security Types
If you’re the investor who wants to try it all, there’s no better app than TradeStation. They have everything from from stocks and bonds to IPOs and futures. There’s only a $1 minimum investment, and the upscaling perks are perfect for growth, including a world-class analytics interface that’s ideal for advanced strategies like deep value investing.
Rating
Our rating: 9.5 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. You only need one dollar to start trading with TradeStation.
Price
$0.00. There is no base cost or commissions to use TradeStation, although futures contracts do have any additional fee.
That said, there are some service and clearing fees, for which the below table is a snapshot:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Futures | $1.50 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | 0.00229% of $ amount |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | $0.000119 |
| Anciliary Crypto Fees | Up to 0.60% |
Security Types
Stocks, Options, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Futures, Futures Options, Crypto, IPOs. As if futures weren’t hard enough, TradeStation offers futures options in addition to virtually all other asset classes and securities types.
Active/Passive
Active. TradeStation is an active investing platform, so you’ll need to understand and manage your investments. This one is definitely NOT suitable for those with limited time or true beginners to investing.
Promotion
50% off futures brokerage fees. See that $1.50 commission for futures trading? You can get it down to $0.75 by signing up for an account with promo code FUTRAFZT as of writing.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | No |
| Fractional Shares | No |
| Margin Investing | Yes |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
Public.com
Best for Alternative Investments
I’ve lived in Europe for several years, and one opportunity has stuck out to me: investing in French luxury goods. Well, Public.com beat me to it. They offer a wide array of alternative investments, from art and crypto to luxury goods and music royalties. For those who enjoy diversification, Public.com may be the best small investment app for you.
Rating
Our rating: 9.5 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1, but if less than $20 over 90 days charges $5 every 6 months. This means the reality is you’ll need to have $20 in your account, making Public.com slightly more expensive than others.
Price
$10 Premium, otherwise free. A premium account will give you access to a lot of data and unique market metrics, but you don’t need it to use the platform.
That said, there are some fees to look out for. See the full fee schedule here, and here’s a snapshot:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Alternative Assets | 2.50% |
| Extended Hours Trading | $2.99 |
| Wire transfers in | $0.00 |
| Wire transfers out | $75.00 |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $0.00 |
| Returned ACH / Insufficient funds | $30.00 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $5.00 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $5.00 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | 0.00229% of $ amount |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | $0.000145 per share (equity sells), |
| Anciliary Crypto Fees | $6.29 max flat fee, or 1.25% of amount |
Security Type
Stocks, ETFs, Crypto, Luxury goods, Contemporary art, Treasuries, Music royalties. You saw correctly — art, luxury, and music royalties are all available through this platform.
Active/Passive
Active. Public.com is an active investing sight, which is to be expected with alternative investments. Most money managers won’t feel comfortable handling these rare items for you.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
TD Ameritrade
Best for Forex Trading
If you’re the kind of person who likes big brands with long history, then TD Ameritrade is a good choice for you. More importantly, its the only platform that allows forex trading (an extension of TradeStation called Global also has forex but not under the standard package). Combine the high risk of Forex with a quality name and a $1 small investment starter deposit, and TD Ameritrade has quite the nice pitch. It also boasts stock, ETF, and various other screening tools, which makes it a strong option for those interested in advanced strategies like value or quality investing.
Rating
Our rating: 9.5 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. One dollar is all you need to begin trading with TD Ameritrade.
Price
$0.00. There is no flat fee to use TD Ameritrade and US Stocks, Options, and ETFs are commission free, but forex expenses are embedded in the bid/ask spread. Some service fees also apply. You can see the fee schedule on their site, or check out our snapshot below:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Mutual Funds Transactions | No-Load: up to $74.95 on buys |
| Bond Transactions | Net yield basis |
| Options | $0.65 per contract |
| Futures | $2.25 per contract |
| Forex | Included in bid/ask spread |
Security Type
Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, Forex. With all those, you have your work cut out, and you won’t find forex trading with embedded pricing in many other places on a no-commission.
Active/Passive
Active. TD Ameritrade is an active investment platform and not suitable for those who want passive tools. For passive investing, we recommend M1.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | No |
| Margin Investing | Yes |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
Ally Invest Automated
Best Passive App with Bonus
If you’re looking for a passive small investment app that will give you a sign-up bonus, then Ally Invest Automated’s $75 bonus may be for you. That said, it all depends on your definition of “small” because the bonus requires the transfer of $2,500 from another broker. It also requires a minimum starting deposit of $100, which gives Ally Invest Automated the highest barrier to entry on our list. This app provides ETF investing only. The reason we rank it this high is the ability to combine Ally’s passive and active investing accounts within the same broker so you don’t worry about managing multiple finance apps.
Rating
Our rating: 9.5 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$100.00. At this much, Ally Invest Automated has the highest barrier to entry on our list.
Price
Free Cash-enhanced account, or 0.3% annual fee on Market-focused account. If you want a conservative passive account, Ally offers a “cash-enhanced” account that stores 30% of your portfolio as a volatility buffer earning 3.30% in annual interest. To bring that buffer down to 2%, you’ll need to pay 0.3% annual advisory fee that’s paid monthly. You can see the full fee schedule here or check out this snapshot below:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Wrap-fee | Yes |
| ETF Embedded Management Fees | Yes |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $4 |
| Participation in voluntary corporate action | 50 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | 0.00229% of $ amount |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | $0.00013 per share |
Security Type
ETFs. Exchange traded funds are the only type of security Ally Automated uses, though they’re well screened to reflect your investment goals.
Active/Passive
Passive. This is a passive product. If you would like to use an active one, we recommend combining Ally automated with Ally Invest Self-Directed.
Promotion
$75 bonus when >$2,500 transferred from another broker. If you already have $2.5k+ built up at another broker and would like to transfer, then this may be your best bet because you’ll earn $75 on the transfer, likely paying for the ACAT fees at your current firm.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes, on request |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Core → Income →Tax optimized → Socially Responsible | Cash-enhanced vs. Market-focused |
Axos Self Directed
Best for Simple Self-Directed Platform
Axos prides itself on providing a unified financial platform that groups all your accounts into a single place. A quick visit to the website says it all–Axos is simple, offers the basic features and reasonable options and mutual fund prices, and “let’s you do you.”
Rating
Our rating: 9.4 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. Only one dollar required to get started investing.
Price
$10 Premium, otherwise free. Axos provides a premium account with advantages like margin trading, but it costs $10/month. Here’s a comparative table of the free and premium services as seen on their website:
As always, there are some additional service fees to be aware of with the free version. You can check out Axos’ fee schedule, and here’s a snapshot:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Alternative Assets | Up to $210.00 |
| Wire transfers in | $30.00 |
| Wire transfers out | $75.00 |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $75.00 |
| Participation in voluntary corporate action | $25.00 |
Security Type
Stocks, ETFs, Options, and Mutual Funds. All the basic securities you could want in a simple interface broker, although its not suitable for forex and futures investors.
Active/Passive
Active. Axos is an active investing platform. If you want something more passive, we recommend M1.
Promotion
$200 bonus on deposits of >=$2,000 and 2 trades in 60 days. If you can swing a $2,000 deposit and make two trades in your first 2 months on the platform, you’ll get a $200 bonus, or in other words a 10% return just for starting.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | No |
| Margin Investing | Yes |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
Stash
Best for Rewards
We saw that Ally and Axos both provide bonuses for setting up, but what about continued rewards? Stash is the only app on our list to provide stock rewards in the form of fractional shares for qualifying purchases (which basically means buying an actual good, not cash advances or money orders). That’s pretty cool, and it rivals Acorns round-up feature. The downside? It costs a minimum of $3/month (Stash Growth). With the basic plan you get 0.125% of purchase in stock, and if you upgrade to the $9/month plan (Stash+), then it’s 1%.
What does that mean for you? You would need to spend $2,400 to earn back the $3 subscription, or only $900 to earn back the $9 subscription.
The catch here is that the Stash+ only provides rewards on your first $1,000, so the max you can earn is $1 in stock. However, there’s no cap on Stash Growth, so if you regularly spend many thousands a month, check out stash growth. And this is a debit card, so don’t worry about your credit score — if you spend $900/month or more, then consider the advanced plan!
Rating
Our rating: 9.4 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. You only need one dollar to get started with Stash.
Price
$3 – $9/month. With the rewards program, you can likely earn back your subscription in rewards with Stash+. It will be much more difficult to earn it back with Stash Growth. So think about your spending habits before jumping into a subscription model.
In addition, Stash has some fees. Check out the schedules (1 & 2 – bottom of document) on their site, and here’s a snapshot:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| ETF Embedded Management Fees | Yes |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $75.00 |
| Returned ACH / Insufficient funds | $5.00 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2.00 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $5.00 |
| Out of Network ATM Withdrawal Fee | $2.50 per event |
| Out of Network ATM Balance Inquiry Fee | $0.50 per event |
| External Debit Card “Move Money” | $0.30 per event Stash Ban |
| Stash Bank to External Debit (an instant withdrawal) | 1% fee per transfer |
| Mastercard® Debit Card Foreign Currency Conversion Rate | 3% |
Security Type
Stocks, ETFs, Bonds and Crypto. The basic securities you need to get started with small investments.
Active/Passive
Active & Passive. Stash offers both passive and active accounts — you can choose which is best during the registration process.
Promotion
Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® – 0.125% of purchase on $3 plan, or 1% on $9 plan. As mentioned above, if you spend more than $900/month on purchases then you can pay for your Stash+ subscription in rewards.
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes, on request |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Not diversified → Diversified | Brand-new, Hands-off, Budget |
Acorns
Best for Learning
Like Robinhood, I’ve been using Acorns for years and have had good performance with it. It’s a good idea to combine a passive and active app in order to disburse risk and learn from multiple angles. However, be wary of the $3/month (or $36/year) fee. You can, like me, offset this by investing enough so the dividends pay it for you. To be clear, the average dividend yield is 1.25%, so you would need $2,880 minimum invested to earn the $36 breakeven value on dividends. Of course, that doesn’t include the value of your money growing, which can far outweigh $36 in good return years.
Rating
Our rating: 9.3 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. Only 1 dollar required to get going.
Price
$3/month. The subscription is $3/month, and you would on average need about $3k invested throughout the year to pay for this in dividends. There really are no additional fees, just the basics:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Wrap-fee | Yes |
| ETF Embedded Management Fees | Yes |
Security Type
ETFs. Acorns keeps it simple and secure with ETF-only investing.
Active/Passive
Passive. Acorns is a passive application. If you want something active, we recommend Robinhood.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | No |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Conservative → Moderately Conservative → Moderate → Moderately Aggressive → Aggressive |
Is Acorns worth it for $3 per month?
The short, conservative answer is Acorns is usually worth the $3/month ($36/year) when you invest about $2,900 for a full year because this amount would receive about $36 in dividends at an average dividend yield of 1.25% (with all-stock aggressive account).
Of course, this ignores gains you could make with movements in the market. Assuming 5% annual market growth and 1.25% annual dividend yield on account, you would need to invest about $565 throughout the year to break even on your $3/month subscription. Here’s the table explaining:
Betterment
Best for Combining with Savings
Betterment has a nice interface and an attractive simple ETF + Crypto security spread. However, it costs $48 per year (billed monthly at $4). To offset, they offer a cash reserve account with APY of 3.75%. At that rate, you would need $1,280 in the cash reserve to pay the $48 subscription. If you’re someone with more than $1.3K in savings, then this may be a good option for you. The more you put in that account to avoid market volatility, the higher your returns. Put in $4k for example, and you would make $150 rather than letting your money sit in a checking account. That’s a nice, centralized offer from Betterment for those who want to park their money and make the most of it with little effort.
Rating
Our rating: 9.3 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$50.00. The downside here is that you need a minimum $50 in deposit to get started, which may not be suitable for readers looking for true “small” investment apps.
Price
$4/month. Betterment has a minimum subscription fee of $4. To earn your subscription in Betterment’s high-yield savings account, you would need to place about $1.3k.
| Wrap-fee | $4 |
| Anciliary Crypto Fees | 1% |
Security Type
ETFs and Crypto. Betterment keeps passive investing simple — get positions in ETFs and Crypto only.
Active/Passive
Passive. If you want an active app, we recommend Robinhood.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Conservative → Moderate → Aggressive |
Webull Retirement
Best for IRA Active Investing
If you’re looking for an active way to manage funds in an IRA account, then Webull is our top choice on the list. You can open a traditional, Roth, or Rollover IRA account and manage the assets across stocks, options, and ETFs–which is a tall order for competitors.
Rating
Our rating: 9.2 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1 (max $6,000/yr if under 50, or $7,000/yr if over 50). One dollar is all you need, and you can go as high as $7k if you’re over 50.
Price
$0.00. There is no cost to open an account.
That said, there is a fee schedule, a summary of which is included in the table below:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Wrap-fee | No |
| Options | Up to $3.00 |
| OTC Stocks | Up to $5.00 |
| Margin fee | <=9.49% |
| Wire transfers out | $25 |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $75 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $5 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | $0.0000229*Total $ Trade Amount (Min $0.01) — Sells Only |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | $0.00244* No. of Contracts (Min $0.01) — Sells Only |
| FINRA Regulatory Trading Fee | $0.000145* Total Trade. Volume Min $0.01 per – Max $7.27 per — Sells Only |
| Options Exchanges — Options Regulatory Fee | $0.01815* No. of Contracts — Buys & Sells |
| Options Clearing Corp (OCC) — Clearing Fee | $0.02 * No. of Contracts (Max $55 per Trade) — Buys & Sells |
Security Type
Stocks, Options, and ETFs. A strong trio of security types for investing valuable retirement savings.
Active/Passive
Active. That’s right, this is an active IRA account.
Promotion
None, but sometimes Webull offers a free stock to visitors on the site.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | No |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Traditional → Roth → Rollover |
JP Morgan Self-Directed
Best for Mutual Funds
If you’re a mutual fund investor, you know how hard it is to come by zero commission mutual fund trades, but JP Morgan has found a way. In addition to mutual funds, they offer stocks, ETFs, options, treasury bills, bonds, corporate bonds and other fixed-income securities.
Rating
Our rating: 9.2 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. Only one dollar required to begin investing.
Price
$0.00. There is no cost to use the app.
That said, as with preceding offers, there are service fees and contract costs. You can find the full fee schedule on JP Morgan’s site, and we’ve created a snapshot below:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Mutual Funds Transactions | $0.00 |
| Bond Transactions | $10.00 / Trade + $1.00 / Bond Over 10 Bonds ($250 Maximum) |
| Options | $0.65 per contract |
| Alternative Assets | $250.00 |
| Wire transfers in | $25.00 |
| Wire transfers out | $75.00 |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $75.00 |
Security Type
Mutual Funds, Stocks, ETFs, Options, Treasury Bills & Notes, Bonds, Corporate Bonds and other Fixed-Income securities. Most mutual fund investors have some experience, so this full suite of options from JP Morgan will suit their fancy.
Active/Passive
Active. We recommend the active plan. JP Morgan does offer a passive investing option, but this costs 0.35% in advisory fee. If you want a passive app, we recommend M1.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | No |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
Etoro
Best for Non-US Residents
If you’re based stateside, you can skip to the next section. But if you’re living in the EU, Asia, Latin America, Middle East or elsewhere, Isreal’s Etoro platform is the best small investment app for you. It has a wide set of securities and just under 3,200 popular stocks as a benchmark for size.
Rating
Our rating: 9.1 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$50.00. The downside to Etoro for non-US residents is that it requires a $50 deposit, which they’re able to charge because there are not many alternatives for those outside the US.
Price
$0.00. Etoro has no upfront charges and 0% commission on US Stocks and ETFs. However, it does charge fees in the bid/ask spread.
You can see all of the fees in eToro’s fee schedule, but here’s a quick summary:
| Withdrawal fee | $5 |
| Stocks and ETFs | Included in bid/ask spread |
| Crypto | 1% buy and sale sides |
| Forex | from 1 PIP (0.0001) |
| Commodities | from 2 PIPs (0.0001) |
Security Type
Stocks, ETFs, Commodities, Currencies, Crypto, and Indices. eToro has a wide spread of security types, giving you flexibility to trade multiple classes on its Margin Investing option, Contracts for Difference.
Active/Passive
Active. eToro is an active trading app. Unfortunately, we don’t have a passive alternative for non-US residents.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | Yes, via Contract for Difference |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
Sofi Auto Invest
Best for Passive Account to Accompany Sofi Active Invest
If you take our advice and go with SoFi Active Invest, then an ideal side-account is SoFi Auto Invest, which provides a straightforward, dependable ETF portfolio managed by experts.
Rating
Our rating: 9.1 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. You only need one dollar to invest on SoFi’s platform.
Price
$0.00. There are no upfront costs associated with investing on SoFi’s robo-advisory service. That said, just like on Acorns, ETFs have embedded fees that are paid behind the scenes from the fund’s performance. Check out the fee schedule here.
Security Type
ETFs. The basic, simple investment security for passive endeavors.
Active/Passive
Passive. SoFI Auto Invest is passive. If you want an active alternative or companion account, check out SoFi Active Invest.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | No |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Conservative → Moderate → Aggressive |
Webull Active Account
Best for Normal Account with Webull
If you’re looking for a normal account with Webull to accompany your retirement account, then it’s as simple as opening this one up with the online platform.
Rating
Our rating: 9.0 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$1.00. Only one dollar required to start.
Price
$0.00. There is no upfront cost for Webull. That said, you will pay some fees that we’ve summarized in this table:
| Trade Commission | $0.00 |
| Wrap-fee | No |
| Options | Up to $3.00 |
| OTC Stocks | Up to $5.00 |
| Margin fee | <=9.49% |
| Wire transfers out | $25 |
| ACAT transfers to another firm | $75 |
| Paper confirm fees (doesn’t apply to emails) | $2 |
| Paper statement fees (can be turned off) | $5 |
| SEC Regulatory Trading Fee | $0.0000229*Total $ Trade Amount (Min $0.01) — Sells Only |
| FINRA Trading Activity Fee (TAF) | $0.00244* No. of Contracts (Min $0.01) — Sells Only |
| FINRA Regulatory Trading Fee | $0.000145* Total Trade. Volume Min $0.01 per – Max $7.27 per — Sells Only |
| Options Exchanges — Options Regulatory Fee | $0.01815* No. of Contracts — Buys & Sells |
| Options Clearing Corp (OCC) — Clearing Fee | $0.02 * No. of Contracts (Max $55 per Trade) — Buys & Sells |
Security Type
Stocks, Options, ETFs, OTC Stocks, ADRs (US Bank-Held Foreign Stock). Webull, as you can see, offers some pretty interesting securities in ADRs and OTC stocks that you won’t find with many other platforms.
Active/Passive
Active. Webull does not offer any passive investment accounts.
Promotion
12 Free Stocks for opening funded account. These will be fractional shares and the promo is available at the time of writing. Check this link to see its status.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | No |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Not applicable to active trading |
| Risk Profiles | Not applicable to active trading |
Marcus Invest
Best for Higher Investments
To finish out list of best small investment apps, let’s look at one that targets higher investments: Marcus by Goldman Sachs. There’s a minimum investment of $5 and an annual fee of 0.25% in Goldman Sachs’ style. The reason you would pay this price? Because Goldman is really good at what they do. Plus they offer a 3.30% high-yield savings account, so you can place your cash that’s not invested.
Rating
Our rating: 9.0 / 10
Minimum Investment Size
$5.00. At this price, Marcus Invest is the 3rd highest minimum deposit on our list.
Price
0.25% annually of average daily balance. That’s a wrap-up fee, so you won’t pay anything else except ETFs embedded fees as with every platform offering the security.
Security Type
ETFs. Plain and simple exchange traded funds — the pros think its all you need to make money.
Active/Passive
Passive. The beauty of Marcus Invest is that Goldman Sachs handles your money, so you don’t need to actively manage it.
Promotion
None.
Important Functionalities for Small Investing
| Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Margin Investing | No |
| Diversification Option | Yes |
| Risk Profiles | Conservative → Moderate → Aggressive |
Complete Small Investment App Comparison Table
Here’s a full data table outlining all the offers in this article so you can compare them side-by-side:
| Name | Rank | Active/Passive | Security Type | MIN Investment Size | Max Size | Promo | Recurring Deposit | Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) | Fractional Shares | Margin Investing | Diversification Option | Risk Profiles | Price |
| Sofi Active Invest | 9.7 | Active | Stocks, Options, and ETFs | $1.00 | Any | $1,000.00 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| Robinhood | 9.6 | Active | Stocks, ETFs, Options, Crypto | $1.00 | Any | 1% Match on IRAs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| M1 Finance | 9.6 | Passive | Stocks and ETFs | $1.00 | Any | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, 7.75% | Yes | Expert Pies | $0.00 |
| Ally Invest Self-Directed | 9.5 | Active | Stocks, Options, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, OTC Stocks | $1.00 | Any | $75 bonus when >$2,500 tranferred from another broker | No | Yes, on request | Yes | Yes | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| TradeStation | 9.5 | Active | Stocks, Options, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Futures, Futres Options, Crypto, IPOs, OTCs | $1.00 | Any | 50% off futures brokerage fees | No | No | No | Yes | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| Public.com | 9.5 | Active | Stocks, ETFs, Crypto, Luxury goods, Contemporary art, Treasuries, Music royalties | $1, but if less than $20 over 90 days charges $5 every 6 months | Any | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $10 Premium, otherwise free |
| TD Ameritrade | 9.5 | Active | Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, Forex | $1.00 | Any | None | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| Ally Invest Automated | 9.5 | Passive | ETFs | $100.00 | Any | $75 bonus when >$2,500 tranferred from another broker | No | Yes, on request | Yes | No | Yes | Core → Income →Tax optimized → Socially Responsible | Cash-enhanced vs. Market Focused | Free Cash-enhanced account, or 0.30% annual fee on Market-focused account |
| Axos Self Directed | 9.4 | Active | Stocks, ETFs, Options, and Mutual Funds | $1.00 | Any | $200 bonus on deposits of >=$2,000 and 2 trades in 60 days | No | Yes | No | Yes | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $10 Premium, otherwise free |
| Stash | 9.4 | Active & Passive | Stocks, ETFs, and Crypto | $1.00 | Any | Stock-Back® Debit Mastercard® – 0.125% of purchase on $3 plan, or 1% on $9 plan | Yes | Yes, on request | Yes | No | Yes | Not diversified → Diversified | $3 – $9/month |
| Acorns | 9.3 | Passive | ETFs | $1.00 | Any | None | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Conservative → Moderately Conservative → Moderate → Moderately Aggressive → Aggressive | $3/month |
| Betterment | 9.3 | Passive | ETFs and Crypto | $50.00 | Any | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Conservative → Moderate → Aggressive | $4/month |
| Webull Retirement | 9.2 | Active | Stocks, Options, and ETFs | $1.00 | $6,000.00 | None | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Traditional → Roth → Rollover | $0.00 |
| JP Morgan Self Directed | 9.2 | Active | Stocks, ETFs, Bonds, Options, and Mutual Funds | $1.00 | Any | None | Unknown | Yes | No | No | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| Etoro | 9.1 | Active | Stocks, ETFs, Commodities, Currencies, Crypto, and Indices | $50.00 | Any | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, via Contract for Difference | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| Sofi Auto Invest | 9.1 | Passive | ETFs | $1.00 | Any | $0.00 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Conservative → Moderate → Aggressive | $0.00 |
| Webull Active Account | 9.0 | Active | Stocks, Options, ETFs, OTC Stocks, ADRs (US Bank-Held Foreign Stock) | $1.00 | Any | 12 Free Stocks for opening funded account | Yes | No | Yes | No | Not applicable to active trading | Not applicable to active trading | $0.00 |
| Marcus Invest | 9.0 | Passive | ETFs | $5.00 | Any | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Conservative → Moderate → Aggressive | 0.25% annually of average daily balance |
Summary
By now you’ve seen it all. There’s a lot to consider when choosing the best app for small investments, but this guide has provided a way to analyze and choose what’s best for you. Here’s a recap of what each app is best for:
| Name | Best for… |
|---|---|
| Sofi Active Invest | Best Overall |
| Robinhood | Best for Active Trading |
| M1 Finance | Best for Passive Investing |
| Ally Invest Self-Directed | Best for Active OTC |
| TradeStation | Best for Most Security Types |
| Public.com | Best for Alternative Investments |
| TD Ameritrade | Best for Forex Trading |
| Ally Invest Automated | Best Passive App with Bonus |
| Axos Self Directed | Best for Simple Self-Directed Platform |
| Stash | Best for Rewards |
| Acorns | Best for Learning |
| Betterment | Best for Combining with Savings |
| Webull Retirement | Best for IRA Active Management |
| JP Morgan Self Directed | Best for Mutual Funds |
| Etoro | Best for Non-US Residents |
| Sofi Auto Invest | Best for Passive Account to Accompany Sofi Active Invest |
| Webull Active Account | Best for Normal Account with Webull |
| Marcus Invest | Best for Higher Investments |
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Investment Apps
What is the best investment app right now?
Our best overall pick for a small investing app is SoFi Active Invest. It has all the advantages of a a modern app, including a great interface with charts and secured data. It allows trading of Stocks, Options, and ETFs, and you can win up to $1,000 by placing $10 in your account within 30 days.
What is the most used stock app?
Robinhood is the most used stock app with 16.3 million users in 2021.
How to invest with little money?
The best way to invest with little money is to choose whether you want to passively or actively invest, then choose one of the apps from our list. Most of them allow $1 minimum investments. You could consider various allocation strategies like the 10, 5, 3 rule. We recommend Robinhood for active trading and M1 Finance for passive trading.
What is the safest stock app?
Most modern apps are encrypted or otherwise very well protected, so your data is generally safe. From a money perspective, the safest apps are passive ones set on conservative investing parameters. These include M1 Finance, Ally Invest Automated, Acorns, Betterment, Sofi Auto Invest, and Marcus Invest.
What stock apps have no fees?
Virtually every modern stock app has zero commissions on stocks and ETFs, but many charge fees for other securities and crypto. That’s why we created the summary table below to help you see which app is best for you based on fees and 9 other criteria.
All stock apps charge fees for ancillary services like paper statement confirmations, ACAT transfers to other firms, and regulatory fees payable to the SEC and FINRA.
Conclusion
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