Betterment vs Acorns

Betterment is a great robo-advisor for beginners with low fees, good tools, and tax strategies. How does it compare to Acorns? Read our comparison chart below.

Betterment offers automatic investing starting at an annual fee of 0.25% of your account balance. There is no fee to open an account and no minimum deposit required. All balances get automatic rebalancing, tax loss harvesting, and access to financial experts.

While Acorns is geared towards young investors who have trouble saving. This investment app automatically rounds up and invests your spare change whenever you make a purchase. The service fee starts at $3/month for accounts. There is no minimum to open.

Compare Betterment with Acorns, side-by-side. Read on for an in-depth look, including ratings, reviews, pros and cons.

	Betterment	Acorns


	SPECIAL OFFER Get up to 1 Year Managed Free - Learn More Read Betterment Review	SPECIAL OFFER Sign up with Acorns and get a $20 bonus - Learn More Read Acorns Review
	Benefits and Features
Savings		No
Stock Trading		Part of service fee. No add-on trading fees.
Options Trading		No
Annual Fee	0.25% for accounts under $100,000 0.40% for accounts $100,000+	$3/mo for Acorns Personal (includes personal taxable account, IRA, and checking account) $5/mo for Acorns Family (includes everything in Personal plus investment accounts for kids)
Cryptocurrency Trading		No
Minimum Deposit	$0	$0
Checking	No-Fee Checking	Yes
Mutual Fund Trading		No
Commission Free ETFs		A selection automatically chosen by Acorns
Phone Support	Yes	Yes
Live Chat Support	No	No
Email Support	Yes	Yes
Human Advisors	Yes ($100k minimum)	No
Robo Advisor		Yes
Assets Under Management	$14 Billion	$4.7 Billion
Tax Loss Harvesting	Yes	No
Goal Tracker	Yes	Yes
Automatic Deposits	Yes	Yes
Broker Assisted Trades		Acorns automatically invest and trade for you
Good For		Beginners; Passive investors; Those who have trouble saving/investing on their own
Inactivity Fee		None, but you will keep paying the monthly fee
Maintenance Fee		Monthly fee for the service
Online Platform	Yes	Yes
iPhone App	Yes	Yes (4.7 stars, 760k ratings)
Android App	Yes	Yes (4.3 stars, 156k ratings)
Banking		Included in Acorns Personal ($3/mo). Free metal debit card, no minimum balance, no overdraft fees, and 55,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide.
Mobile App	Yes	Yes
Two-Factor Authentication		Yes
Locations		No
Online Community		No
Seminars		No
Virtual Trading		No
Single Stock Diversification	No
Fractional Shares	Yes	Yes
Taxable Accounts	Yes	Yes
401k Plans	Yes	No
IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
Roth IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
SEP IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
Trust Accounts	Yes	No
529 Plans	No	No
	CreditDonkey® Reviews

Annual Fee
Minimum Deposit
Human Advisors
Customer Service
Mobile App
Ease of Use
Pros & Cons	Pros: No minimum investment Customized portfolios Automatically invest extra funds Cons: Limited investment options High fees for large investors	Pros: No minimum investment Invest with spare change Cash-back program Cons: Fees are high for small balances No tax benefits Limited investment options
Bottom Line	Great robo-advisor for beginners with low fees, good tools, and tax strategies... Read full review	Investment app that automatically invests your spare change. Good for young investors to get into the habit... Read full review

	Get up to 1 Year Managed Free Get 1 Month Managed Free Get 6 Months Managed Free	Sign up with Acorns and get a $20 bonus $10 Sign-Up Bonus $5 Sign-Up Bonus
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Betterment: Pricing information from published website as of 04/04/2018 Acorns: Pricing information from published website as of 09/28/2020.

Sign up with Acorns and get a $20 bonus

Get $20 Sign-Up Bonus

Expires 12/31/2022

Users must create their Acorns account between now and December 31st, and have it verified
Sign up bonus is exclusively for new customers who have not previously opened an Investment Account.
To be eligible for sign up bonus, a customer must deposit a minimum of $5, in an Acorns Invest, Early, Later, or Checking account via the Recurring Investment feature
Bonus is typically paid within 10 days of the following month, after making your first successful Recurring Investment

$10 Sign-Up Bonus

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$5 minimum investment

$5 Sign-Up Bonus

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Which is Better: Betterment or Acorns?

Still need help deciding which investing is better? Read the in-depth reviews below. You may also be interested in comparing Betterment or eToro.

In short: Betterment's annual fee and customer service are noteworthy.

Articles on Betterment

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Is Betterment Worth The Fee

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Articles on Acorns

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Acorns vs Stash

Is Acorns Safe

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How to Make Money Using Acorns

Acorns "rounds up" everyday purchases and invests it for you. What's the catch? Read this review to find out how to make money using the app.

Comments

Olivia Tabor from Texas
on April 2019 said about Acorns:
I have both Acorns and Robinhood and even though they each serve a different purpose I don't have the freedom of stock purchase that I really like. I believe Acorns diversifies for my needs more effectively.

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