Robinhood and Acorns each have a unique target audience, but the biggest difference between the two is that Robinhood may be better for beginners looking to choose their own individual stock and ETF investments, while Acorns may be a good choice for hands-off investors who want help building a diversified, long-term portfolio. See our comparison of Robinhood and Acorns below.
Robinhood is best for:
- Mobile-first investors.
- IRA investors.
- Margin traders.
Robinhood at a glance
Account minimum | $0 for brokerage accounts, Robinhood Gold accounts and IRAs. |
Stock trading costs | $0. |
Options trades | $0 for equity options. $0.50 for index options, or $0.35 for Gold accounts. |
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) | No annual or inactivity fees. $100 ACAT outgoing transfer fee. Robinhood Gold costs $5 a month or $50 per year. Matching funds in IRAs may be taken back if money is withdrawn in less than five years. Instant withdrawals cost 1.75% of the amount withdrawn, with a minimum fee of $1 and a maximum of $150. |
Interest rate on uninvested cash | 0.01% for free accounts, 3.35% for Gold accounts |
Tradable securities | Stocks, ETFs, Options, Cryptocurrency, American Depositary Receipts for over 650 global companies, Futures, Fractional shares. Bonds only available in the form of bond ETFs. |
Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds | Not rated; no mutual funds. |
Trading platform | Robinhood's mobile and web platforms are known for their smooth sign-up, funding and trading processes. The broker now also offers a desktop platform, Robinhood Legend. |
Mobile app | Mobile trading platform includes customizable alerts, news feed, advanced charting and ability to listen live to earnings calls for some companies. Reviews are mostly positive, although the average star rating on both iOS and Android is below the 4.5 star line. |
Research and data | Access to professional research from Morningstar and Level II market data from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange (with Gold subscription). |
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | 24/7 chat support. Phone support available from 7:00 a.m. ET to 9:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday. Decent suite of educational articles and webinar events, and an easily-navigable website. |
IRA match | 1% match on IRA contributions for free accounts, 3% for Gold accounts. |
Nerdy Perspective
There's one option here you might not have considered: having accounts at both Robinhood and Acorns. Why? Because these two brokerage firms serve unique purposes. Robinhood is an approachable way to learn how to trade investments on your own, while Acorns might be a good place for investors who want to be hands-off and utilize the support of an investment advisor to select their investments. Acorns also has a feature that automatically invests your spare change. I have found the perks of having multiple brokerage accounts — especially when each offers a unique benefit — outweigh the administrative hassle of having your money spread out a bit.
Acorns is best for:
- Hands-off investors.
- People who struggle to save and would benefit from roundups.
- Earning cash-back rewards.
- IRA investors.
Acorns at a glance
Reviewed: Oct. 2025
Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2025
Account minimum | $0 to open account; $5 required to start investing. |
Account management fee | Prices are per month: Bronze Tier: $3. Silver Tier: $6. Gold Tier: $12. IRA match for qualifying contributions at Silver and Gold tiers could wipe out management fees. |
Investment expense ratios | 0.04% to 0.22%. |
Account fees (annual, transfer, closing) | $35 per ETF to have them transferred to another broker when you close your taxable Acorns account; no charge to sell your investments and have the resulting cash transferred. |
Portfolio mix | Well-diversified portfolio with exposure to domestic and international stocks, bonds, REITs and a Bitcoin-linked ETF. |
Socially responsible portfolio options | Sustainable portfolio built with ESG ETFs available for no extra cost. |
Accounts supported |
|
Tax strategy | Not available. |
Human advisor option | Not available. |
Bank account/cash management account | Acorns offers impressive high-yield checking and savings accounts. At the time of this review, the checking account earns 2.57% APY and the savings account earns 4.05% APY, with no minimum balance to receive the interest rate. The checking account has no overdraft fees and access to 55,000+ fee-free ATMs. |
Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | Customer support is available 7 days/week from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT via live chat, phone and email. Live chat and chat bot available 24/7. |
» Compare more options: View our picks for the best robo-advisors and the best brokers for beginners
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Methodology
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