Both platforms are practical choices for first-time investors, but their individual offerings are markedly different.
Which one is better?
Choose Robinhood if you’re seeking a self-directed brokerage account or want early access to IPOs.
Choose Acorns if you’d like to invest through a robo-advisor.
Robinhood and Acorns offer drastically different investment services. Robinhood is an online trading platform that offers self-directed brokerage accounts. And Acorns is a robo-advisor for hands-off investors seeking automated portfolio management. Active investors ready to buy and sell their own securities will want to explore Robinhood. The commission-free trading that made Robinhood so popular has been emulated by many of its competitors — but there’s more to the Robinhood name than low-cost trading. The platform has one of the most intuitive trading interfaces in the industry, positioning itself as one of the most popular beginner-friendly platforms. Plus, it offers pre-IPO investing, which lets Robinhood traders buy IPO shares at their pre-market price. That said, Robinhood has experienced multiple service outages and some traders report feeling frustrated with its lack of advanced research tools. Passive investors looking to have their money managed for them will want to explore Acorns. Investors select from one of five portfolio options, fund their account and Acorns’ robo-advisor takes care of the rest. While ideal for a passive set-it-and-forget-it investor, the platform’s fee structure favor’s investors with high account balances and the available asset classes are limited.
Robinhood is an online trading platform that offers self-directed brokerage services. Investors can trade commission-free stocks, ETFs and options with 24-hour access to 17 different cryptocurrencies. It’s well-suited to new investors looking to start buying and selling their own stocks.
Acorns is a robo-advisor that offers individual investment accounts, retirement accounts, custodial accounts — even a checking account that comes with a free Visa debit card. When investors sign up, they select one of Acorns’ five investment portfolios crafted by industry experts under the guidance of Nobel Prize-winning economist Dr. Harry Markowitz. Platform services are available through three distinct service tiers with accompanying monthly fees. It’s best suited to buy-and-hold investors who want their money managed for them.
Stock trade fee
$0
N/A
Option trade fee
$0
N/A
Annual fee
0%
$1/month
Minimum deposit to open
$0
$0
Benefits
Commission-free. Robinhood doesn’t charge commissions for stocks, ETFs, options or cryptocurrency trades.
Instant deposits. Deposits of up to $1,000 are approved in seconds.
Cryptocurrency trading. Few trading platforms offer access to crypto, helping Robinhood stand out from competitors.
Pre-IPO investing. Buy shares of companies going public at IPO prices.
Round-up feature. The platform’s round-up feature helps investors automate their savings by rounding purchases up to the nearest dollar and investing the difference.
Unlimited ATM fee reimbursements. Acorns checking accounts come with unlimited ATM fee reimbursements for US withdrawals.
Drawbacks
No retirement accounts. Investors seeking an IRA will need to look elsewhere.
Limited support. Robinhood support is limited to email inquiries.
Unreliable. Multiple service outages were reported in 2020.
High fees. Unlike most robo-advisors that charge percentage-based fees, Acorns charges a flat monthly rate that could be problematic for investors with small portfolios.
Limited asset classes. Acorns limits its investments to seven asset classes — a range that may be sufficient for some but isn’t as comprehensive as robo-advisors like Betterment that offer over 10 asset classes.
Tools and research
Newsfeed. Tap into topical investor news from the Financial Post, MarketWatch, Reuters and the New York Times.
Daily stock information. Review a daily rundown of significant movers in the stock market.
Robinhood Gold. Opt into Robinhood Gold for $5 monthly to receive Morningstar and Nasdaq Level II Market Datastock research.
Acorns Grow. Investors have access to Acorns Grow, a personal finance blog that covers a diverse range of investment topics.
Money Basics. The Acorns website hosts hundreds of articles that cover taxes, insurance, debt, credit, saving, retirement, investing and the economy.
Reputation and customer reviews
Reviews are: Mostly negative.
Customers praise: Beginner-friendly platform and commission-free trades.
Customers complain about: Limited customer support and cash withdrawal delays.
Reviews are: Mostly negative.
Customers praise: Ease of use and automated round-up feature.
Customers complain about: Account withdrawal delays and unresponsive customer service.
Apple App Store reviews
★★★★★4.8/5
★★★★★4.7/5
Google Play Store reviews
★★★★★4.3/5
★★★★★4.5/5
Support
Email. Fill out an online support ticket request on Robinhood’s website for an email response from the customer service team.
Phone. Call 855-739-2859
Email. Fill out an online support ticket request on Acorns’ website
Twitter: contact the team through their Twitter, @Acorns.
Both Robinhood and Acorns make money in different ways. Acorns profits from membership fees displayed on its website. Robinhood profits from payment for order flow — and isn’t forthcoming about it.
Robinhood profits from payment for order flow
How does a broker with a commission-free pricing model stay in business? Payment for order flow (PFOF):
Brokers route investor orders to middlemen called market makers.
Market makers fill the order at a slightly better price and pocket the difference.
In return for investor orders, market makers pay brokerages a fee.
Payment for order flow has been criticized for failing to serve the best interests of the investor. Combine that with Robinhood’s failure to openly communicate how it profits from PFOF to its traders and you’ve got a questionable business practice on your hands. Now, full disclosure: Robinhood published an article on PFOF that said it earned an average of $0.0023 per equity share traded in the fourth quarter of 2020. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s clearly enough to keep Robinhood in business.
Acorns profits from membership fees
It’s easier to see where Acorns turns a profit because it’s upfront about its fees. It has a dedicated pricing page on its website where investors can see that they’ll pay $1 to $5 for the service, depending on their membership tier. To be fair, Acorns isn’t under the same pressure as Robinhood to offer a fee-free platform. Many robo-advisors have ongoing fees, so it’s not unusual for Acorns to charge them — or to have a dedicated pricing page.
Bottom line
Robinhood and Acorns tailor their investment offerings to new investors with educational materials and easy-to-use platforms. Robinhood’s commission-free trading and instant deposits feature is ideal for investors who want to actively trade, while Acorns’ robo-advisor is designed to help passive investors manage their portfolio. Before you sign up, explore your account options with multiple providers for the broker best suited to your investment needs.
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Finder is not an adviser or brokerage service. Information on this page is for educational purposes only and not a recommendation to invest with any one company, trade specific stocks or fund specific investments. All editorial opinions are our own.
Shannon Terrell is a lead writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet and a former editor at Finder, specializing in personal finance. Her writing and analysis on investing and banking has been featured in Bloomberg, Global News, Yahoo Finance, GoBankingRates and Black Enterprise. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and English literature from the University of Toronto Mississauga.
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