SoFi Invest® vs. Acorns

SoFi Invest and Acorns are among the top mobile-first investing platforms available today.

SoFi Invest gives you a self-directed brokerage account with $0-commission stocks, ETFs and options, as well as fractional share trading and matching IRA contributions.

SoFi Invest distinguishes itself by providing financial advisory services and access to mutual and interval funds, and relaunched cryptocurrency trading in November 2025 after a brief pause.⁽¹⁾

Acorns stands out with automated micro-investing built around Round-Ups, which invests your spare change from everyday purchases into one of five expert-built ETF portfolios. It’s also known for its set-it-and-forget-it design, with Custom Portfolios on its Gold plan letting subscribers add individual stocks and ETFs on top of that automated core.⁽²⁾

These trading apps are both excellent choices, catering to different investing needs and preferences.

Here’s a detailed comparison of their features.

SoFi Invest vs Acorns: A quick comparison

	SoFi Invest Go to site	Acorns Go to site
Finder Score	9.0 Excellent	9.0 Excellent
Minimum to open	$0	$0 ($5 to invest)
Annual fee	$0	$0 ($3–$12/mo subscription)
Stock trade fee	$0	$0 (Gold plan only)
Options trade fee	$0	N/A
Options contract fee	$0	N/A
Crypto trade fee	1.90%–0.90% by volume(3)	N/A
Investment options	Stocks, ETFs, options, funds, crypto	5 ETF portfolios, plus stocks (Gold)
ACATS fee	$100	$50 per ETF
Inactivity fee	$25 per 6 months inactive	$0
Customer support	Live chat, phone, email (business hours)	Email, phone, 24/7 chat
Bonus offer	Up to $1,000 in stock. T&Cs apply.	$20 bonus, min. $5. T&Cs apply.
Learn more	Read Review	Read Review

• SoFi terms and conditions

  INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE
  
  Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees.
  
  Investing in alternative investments and/or strategies may not be suitable for all investors and involves unique risks, including the risk of loss. An investor should consider their individual circumstances and any investment information, such as a prospectus, prior to investing. Interval Funds are illiquid instruments, the ability to trade on your timeline may be restricted. Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA (www.finra.org) /SIPC(www.sipc.org).
  
  There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event.
  
  Options involve risks, including substantial risk of loss and the possibility an investor may lose the entire investment Before trading options please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options
  
  Utilizing a margin loan is generally considered more appropriate for experienced investors as there are additional costs and risks associated. It is possible to lose more than your initial investment when using margin. Please see https://www.sofi.com/wealth/assets/documents/brokerage-margin-disclosure-statement.pdf for detailed disclosure information
  
  SoFi Plus members can schedule an unlimited number of appointments with a financial planner during periods in which the SoFi Plus member meets the eligibility criteria set forth in section 10(a) of the SoFi Plus Terms and Conditions. SoFi members who are not members of SoFi Plus can schedule one (1) appointment with a financial planner. The ability to schedule appointments is subject to financial planner availability. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate this benefit at any time with or without notice. Advisory services are offered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Information about SoFi Wealth's advisory operations, services, and fees is set forth in SoFi Wealth's current Form ADV Part 2 (Brochure), a copy of which is available upon request and at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
  
  The probability of a member receiving $1,000 is 0.028%. If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Members must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. The probability percentage is subject to decrease. Members are only eligible for the Stock Award promotion upon opening their first brokerage account; subsequent cash brokerage accounts are ineligible for the promo, including for members with multiple accounts.
  
  Terms and conditions apply*. For 401k rollovers, existing SoFi IRA members must complete 401k rollovers via this link See full terms and For SoFi members without a SoFi IRA, a SoFi IRA must first be opened, and 401k rollover must be completed utilizing Capitalize via this link. SoFi and Capitalize will charge no additional fees to process a 401(k) rollover to a SoFi IRA. SoFi is not liable for any costs incurred from the existing 401k provider for rollover. Please check with your 401k provider for any fees or costs associated with the rollover. For IRA contributions, only deposits made via ACH and cash transfer from SoFi Bank accounts are eligible for the match. Click here for the 1% Match terms and conditions.
  
  Must be a SoFi Plus member at the time a recurring deposit is received into your SoFi Active or Automated investing account to qualify. Bonus calculated on net monthly recurring deposits made via ACH and paid out as Rewards Points. See Rewards Terms of Service. SoFi reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time without notice. See terms and limitations. https://www.sofi.com/sofiplus/invest/#disclaimers
  
  SoFi will match 1% of a customer's ACAT transfers, up to $5,000,000 into an existing or newly opened SoFi self-directed individual retirement account (IRA) or SoFi self-directed taxable account during the Offer Period of Sept 10- Sept 30, 2026. The transferred assets must be settled before the end of the Offer Period to qualify for the match and must be maintained in the account for five years. For the full terms and conditions, please visit SoFi.com/ACATterms.

How features compare

How the platforms compare

SoFi Invest and Acorns offer user-friendly but distinct trading platforms tailored to different types of investors.

SoFi Invest’s platform is clean and gives you control if you want it

SoFi Invest features a clean, user-friendly interface designed for effortless navigation across its suite of integrated financial services, making it easy to manage investments alongside other SoFi products like loans and banking.

This seamless experience is particularly ideal for beginners, as the platform simplifies the investing process with clear instructions and accessible features. You can trade individual stocks, ETFs and options yourself, or hand the whole thing to SoFi’s robo-advisor.

Acorns’ platform is built to require almost no decisions from you

Acorns strips out nearly everything a self-directed platform would show you — no stock charts, no watchlists, no news feed. You pick a plan, answer a few questions, and Round-Ups and Recurring Investments do the rest.

Gold subscribers get one exception: Custom Portfolios let you add individual stocks and ETFs on top of the automated core, so Acorns isn’t quite the closed system it once was — but that option only exists at the $12/month tier.

The similarities

SoFi Invest and Acorns are leading contenders among stock trading apps, offering user-friendly platforms that cater to beginners with no minimum account balance and access to a robo-advisor.

Both platforms also provide an IRA with a matching-contribution incentive and educational resources to help investors learn and grow.

Which broker is better for beginners?

Acorns is built entirely around removing decisions from the process. Round-Ups turns everyday purchases into investments automatically, and its five core (plus four ESG) portfolios are assigned to you based on a short questionnaire. Its straightforward, low-cost entry point can incentivize beginners to start investing without feeling overwhelmed.

Conversely, SoFi Invest offers a more holistic and supportive environment for new investors. It provides comprehensive educational resources and access to both a robo-advisor and financial planners, alongside the option to trade stocks, ETFs and options directly.

While Acorns is an excellent choice for those wanting the simplest possible way to start investing, we believe SoFi Invest is better suited for beginners due to its broader feature set and access to financial planning support at no added cost for a first session.

Which broker is better for advanced traders?

Acorns’ platform offers a deliberately minimal investing experience, with no charts, watchlists or news feed. Even its Custom Portfolios feature, available only on the $12/month Gold plan, is designed to sit on top of a managed portfolio rather than replace self-directed trading.

SoFi Invest, on the other hand, supports full self-directed trading in stocks, ETFs and options with $0 commissions and no options contract fees, plus IPO access, fractional shares and now-restored cryptocurrency trading through SoFi Bank. Given these capabilities, SoFi Invest is the clear choice for more experienced and advanced traders.

Which one’s safer and more reliable?

SoFi Invest and Acorns’ brokerage accounts are SIPC-insured up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash claims.

Additional insurance policies, security measures and security for their cash sweep and banking programs vary a bit, and both brokers have been fined in the past.

Additional insurance policies

SoFi Invest

• SoFi Invest discloses no additional insurance policies.

Acorns

• Acorns discloses no additional insurance policies beyond standard SIPC and FDIC coverage.

Security measures

SoFi Invest

• Uses industry-standard security measures, including the standard Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol and two-factor authentication (2FA).

Acorns

• Uses industry-standard security measures, including 256-bit encryption and two-factor authentication. Bank login credentials aren’t stored on Acorns’ servers.

Cash sweep insurance

SoFi Invest

• Cash swept into partner banks is eligible for FDIC insurance coverage up to $2.5 million.⁽⁴⁾

Acorns

• Acorns Checking balances are FDIC-insured through partner banks up to $250,000 per depositor.⁽²⁾

Fines

SoFi Invest
In May 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) censured and fined SoFi Securities $1.1 million for not establishing and maintaining a proper Customer Identification Program for its cash management brokerage account, SoFi Money.

Fraudsters exploited the gap to open around 800 accounts using stolen or fictitious identities. SoFi settled with FINRA, neither admitting nor denying the charges.⁽⁵⁾

Acorns
In September 2022, FINRA censured and fined Acorns Securities $200,000 after finding that customer account statements had reflected inaccurate cash balances and securities holdings, along with related recordkeeping and supervision deficiencies. Acorns settled with FINRA, neither admitting nor denying the charges.⁽⁶⁾

SoFi Invest vs. Acorns: Which one’s better?

While Acorns offers a simpler, more automated path into investing, we think SoFi Invest provides a superior all-around investment platform.

SoFi Invest’s self-directed trading, user-friendly design and broader account lineup make it a strong choice for beginners who may eventually want more control. Additionally, it offers IPO access, fractional shares and cryptocurrency trading through SoFi Bank — capabilities Acorns doesn’t match.

SoFi Invest also excels with financial planner access, a growing lineup of alternative investment funds, and an all-in-one ecosystem that includes banking and lending.

For these reasons, we believe SoFi Invest is the better option — though Acorns remains a strong pick specifically for people who want investing to run entirely in the background.

Alternatives to SoFi Invest and Acorns

Both SoFi Invest and Acorns are excellent choices for beginners due to their user-friendly interfaces and low costs. However, if you’re looking for more advanced trading tools or a different automated approach, there are other platforms worth considering.

• Betterment. Like Acorns, Betterment is a robo-advisor built for hands-off investors, but it charges a percentage-of-assets fee (0.25%) rather than Acorns’ flat monthly subscription, which can be cheaper at low balances and more expensive at high ones.
• Robinhood. Like SoFi Invest, Robinhood offers $0-commission self-directed trading in stocks, ETFs, options and crypto, with a more advanced desktop trading platform (Robinhood Legend) for active traders.

See how even more brokers stack up

• SoFi Invest vs. Robinhood
• Fidelity vs. Robinhood
• Public vs. Robinhood

Written by

Matt Miczulski

Investments editor and market analyst

Add to Preferred Sources

Matt Miczulski is an investments editor and market analyst at Finder. With over 450 bylines, Matt dissects and reviews brokers and investing platforms to expose perks and pain points, explores investment products and concepts and covers market news, making investing more accessible and helping readers to make informed financial decisions. Before joining Finder in 2021, Matt covered everything from finance news and banking to debt and travel for FinanceBuzz. His expertise and analysis on investing and other financial topics has been featured on Yahoo Finance, CBS, MSN, Best Company and Consolidated Credit, among others. Matt holds a BA in history from William Paterson University. See full bio

Matt's expertise

Matt has written 291 Finder guides across topics including:

• Trading and investing
• Broker and trading platform reviews
• Money management