M1 Finance vs Robinhood vs Webull

M1 Finance, Robinhood, and Webull are the three most popular no-fee investment apps. Find out which fits your needs best.

So, you're thinking of using an app to invest? Three names you've likely heard of are M1 Finance, Robinhood, and Webull.

But which one best fits your investment goals?

Although investing is much easier today, it has a downside. There are so many options, it's hard to make a pick. All three of these apps perform a similar service—free online trades. But each excels in different areas.

Before making a decision, review the in-depth breakdown of different features, fees, and investment options.

Who Each One Is Best For

• M1 Finance is best if you're a long-term passive investor wanting to set your investments and forget them.

• Robinhood is best if you're new to active trading and looking to save money on fees.

• Webull is best if you're an advanced trader looking for more research tools, customer support, and margin trading.

A Quick Overview of the Three Apps

What All Three Offer

Before diving into the full comparisons, let's go over what you can expect from all three of these apps.

All three offer:

• No account opening fees
  
• No trading fees
  
• No deposit or withdrawal fees to or from your linked bank
  
• Low minimum deposit to start
  
• Fractional shares or a low minimum trade amount
  
• Individual taxable accounts and retirement accounts
  
• Able to trade stocks and ETFs
  
• Automatically reinvest your dividends
  
• SIPC protection up to $500,000
  
• All are registered brokers with the SEC
  
• Phone support

How They Are Different

The main differences between these three investing apps are:

• Portfolio Management: In general, M1 Finance is best for automated, long-term, "set-it-and-forget-it" portfolio management using its unique "Pie" structure (over 60+ pre-made options) and automatic rebalancing.

• Automatic Rebalancing: M1 Finance will automatically rebalance your portfolio, according to your desired allocation. Robinhood and Webull will not.

• Minimum Account Balance: M1 Finance requires a $100 minimum account balance. Meanwhile, Robinhood and Webull do not have a requirement.

• Trading Hours: Robinhood and Webull have extended trading hours. M1 Finance offers morning and afternoon trade windows.

• Margins Trading: Webull offers you a free margin trading account. Robinhood also allows margin trading with interest rates based on your total margin balance. M1 Finance does not offer margin trading but does let you borrow up to 50% of your portfolio.

• Research Tools: M1 Finance and Robinhood offer limited analytics tools. Webull has advanced tools and indicators in the app.

Why Choose M1 Finance

M1 Finance is great for new investors who want some help choosing and managing their portfolio.

With M1 you can create a custom portfolio (called Pies), and M1 Finance will manage it for you. That's why it's great for passive investing because you only need to create the portfolio. M1 will take over and do the work.

Whenever you make adjustments to your portfolio or deposit money, M1 will automatically buy and sell stocks for you.

If you're not sure what to invest in, there are more than 60 pre-built portfolios. You can choose from them to build a balanced portfolio quickly.

M1 also lets you buy fractional shares, so there's no minimum trade amount. It will automatically reinvest your dividends, too.

Finally, M1 offers a loan service that lets you borrow up to 50% of your portfolio.

You may like M1 Finance if you:

• Want to spend as little time on your investments as possible
  
• Want help balancing your portfolio
  
• Are a long-term investor
  
• Want to borrow from your investments

Pros:

• 100% commission-free
  
• Pre-made Model Portfolios created by M1
  
• Buy fractional shares
  
• Retirement accounts are supported

Cons:

• No human financial advisors
  
• Pies can be a challenge to create at first
  
• No options, mutual funds, or short selling

Why Choose Robinhood

Robinhood is one of the most user-friendly apps. Which is why it's so popular with beginners. At the same time, it also caters to more active traders through its Robinhood Legend desktop platform, which offers customizable layouts, advanced charting, and a range of technical indicators.

You have many trading options, such as buying stocks, ETFs, and options. There are over 65 cryptocurrencies to choose from. You can execute orders, including limit, stop limit, and stop orders.

The extended trading hours allow you to make trades 2.5 hours before the market opens and 4 more hours after it closes.

It's also a strong choice for active traders, with features like instant deposits of up to $1,000 so you don't have to wait several days for funds to settle.^[1]

Finally, it has research tools like real-time market updates on stocks in your watch list. There are candlestick charts and indicators for watching your favorite investments, too.

You may like Robinhood if you:

• Are a new investor and want an easy-to-use app
  
• Want complete control over managing your investments
  
• Are an options trader
  
• Are an active trader looking for advanced tools, stock screeners, and extended trading hours

Pros:

• 100% commission free
  
• No minimum investment to start
  
• No minimum trade amount with fractional shares

Cons:

• No mutual funds & bonds
  
• Only basic research tools

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Why Choose Webull

Webull has the most advanced features and tools. These will appeal to active, swing, and margin traders.

You can trade stocks, ETFs, and options. You can also use accounts beyond just the individual taxable. Webull offers Traditional, Roth, and Rollover IRAs.

It has the longest extended trading hours—from 4 am to 8 pm.

Webull gives you a free margin account with 4x buying power and supports short selling.

Another unique feature is the virtual paper trading account with unlimited virtual money. This is a fantastic feature for beginning investors.

Webull's more advanced research tools include market data. They cover 5 categories and 100+ exchanges, 60+ technical indicators, and 17+ charting tools.

You may like Webull if you want:

• The most options for margin trading
  
• Want to invest in your IRA
  
• As many research tools as possible
  
• To paper trade with unlimited virtual cash

Pros:

• 100% commission-free trades
  
• No account minimums
  
• Fractional shares starting at $5
  
• Free margin account
  
• More advanced charts and indicators

Cons:

• Interface can be overwhelming
  
• No mutual funds

$20 in Fractional Shares + 1 Month Webull Premium

Click Here to Get Free Fractional Shares

Expires 7/30/2026

Make a qualifying initial deposit of $500 or more during the promotional period to get $20 in fractional shares of stock of NVIDIA Corporation and a 30-day subscription to Webull Premium. Terms and conditions apply.

This offer has been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by Webull.

How The Fees Compare

All three apps have no fees for their most important features:

• No account opening fees
  
• No trade fees
  
• No deposit or withdrawal fees from your bank

Still, there are some differences in their fees for extra features:

• Robinhood and Webull do not have an inactivity fee. But M1 Finance will charge $50 (for accounts with $50 or less and no trading or deposit activity for 90+ days).^[2]
  
• Webull has a free margin trading account. Robinhood also offers margin trading. Gold members ($5/month) pay zero percent interest on the first $1,000 borrowed.^[3]
  
• M1 Finance and Webull charge fees for wire transfers. Robinhood does not.

All the apps have some fees for extra services, such as paper statements. You can see the current fee schedules for M1 Finance, Robinhood, and Webull.

The apps also charge the mandatory regulatory expenses, which work out to be a few pennies per trade. Some exchanges charge small fees as well, which you would be responsible for.

Robinhood and Webull have no management fees, while M1 Finance charges a monthly platform fee that can be waived under certain conditions. A $3 monthly platform fee will apply to clients with less than $10,000 in M1 assets or without an active M1 Personal Loan.

Investment Account Options

There are plenty of investment options on all three apps. But there are differences between them.

With M1 Finance, you can invest in more than 6,000 stocks and ETFs. You can also manage joint accounts and non-taxable accounts like IRAs. It also offers cryptocurrency trading, but you'll need to open a Crypto account to access this feature.

With Robinhood, you can access over 11,200 securities, including a wide range of U.S. stocks, ETFs, and options. It also supports trading in more than 65 cryptocurrencies.

Robinhood provides several account types, including individual brokerage accounts, IRAs (Traditional and Roth), custodial accounts (UGMA/UTMA), and joint accounts.

With Webull, you can invest in more than 5,000 stocks, options, and ETFs. You can also trade margins and use non-taxable accounts like IRAs.

Of course, each app adds more stocks and options as often as possible. So, results will differ from month to month.

In addition to different investment account options, each app offers unique features that could be a great fit for your goals.

M1 Finance Features

With M1 Finance, you have 4 account options: Earn, Spend, Invest, and Borrow.

Robinhood Features

With Robinhood, you have different account options: Instant, Crypto, Cash Card, Gold, and IRAs.

1. Instant is their main service. It lets you invest, receive instant deposits up to $1,000, and get instant access to your funds after selling.

2. Crypto is their crypto exchange, with 0% fees and 10+ cryptocurrencies.

3. Cash Card is a debit card that is connected to a spending account separate from brokerage account. The card gives you weekly rewards that helps you invest in your choice of assets when spending money. It has no monthly fees, no in-network ATM fees, no overdraft fees, and no account minimum fees.

4. Gold is their premium trading account and costs $5 per month (or $50 per year if billed annually). You can also receive instant deposits of up to $50,000.^[4]

5. Retirement (Traditional and Roth IRA) is their new retirement program. You can choose to invest in stocks and ETFs through traditional or Roth IRA.

Webull Features

With Webull, you have 3 account options: Cash, Margin, and Paper.

1. Cash is their main service. You can invest in stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies using taxable or non-taxable accounts.

2. Margin is their free margin account where you can get leverage and short sell. You have 4x day trade buying power and 2x overnight buying power. Interest rates are tiered and decrease with higher balances.^[5]

3. Paper trading is their free service. It lets you virtually trade unlimited "paper" money.

Are They Safe?

All three investment apps have plenty of safety features.

• SIPC insured. SIPC is a federal corporation that protects securities up to $500,000 per account.
  
• Member of FINRA. Each is a registered broker of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
  
• Member of SEC. Each is a registered broker of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  
• Two-factor authentication.
  
• Industry-standard encryption.

M1 investment accounts are insured by the SIPC, providing standard protection of up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for cash claims). It has military-grade encryption and offers fingerprint ID or face ID for authentication.

Robinhood also protects $250,000 for cash claims. It has Bcrypt encryption, which many similar companies use. It also offers device approvals, authenticator apps, and text messages for authentication.

Webull protects $250,000 for cash claims. Apex Clearing also insures your investments for up to $37.5 million in securities and $900,000 in cash for each account. It offers 128-bit encryption and will send messages to your phone or email for authentication.

Customer Support

These apps are not well-known for their top-notch customer support. This is one way they save on costs so they can offer services without fees. But each offers limited services to customers.

Webull has the most options for customer support. You can use their in-app chat, email, and phone number to reach customer service 24/7. But it could take a while to reach a real person.

M1 Finance has instant chat, email, and a phone number to reach customer service during business hours.

Robinhood offers customer support via chat 24/7 and phone 7AM to 9PM ET.

Promotions

Get a Free Stock (worth between $5 and $200)

Get a Free Stock

Limitations apply

3% Match on IRA with Robinhood Gold

Get 3% Match

Earn 3% IRA match on all eligible contributions with Robinhood Gold. Terms and conditions apply. This is a limited-time offer.

1% Match on IRA

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Earn 1% IRA match on all eligible contributions to your Robinhood IRA. Terms and conditions apply. This is a limited-time offer.

$20 in Fractional Shares + 1 Month Webull Premium

Get Free Fractional Shares

Expires 7/30/2026

Make a qualifying initial deposit of $500 or more during the promotional period to get $20 in fractional shares of stock of NVIDIA Corporation and a 30-day subscription to Webull Premium. Terms and conditions apply.

This offer has been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by Webull.

Up to $100 Transfer Fee Reimbursement

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Transfer fees of up to $100 will be reimbursed when you make an initial transfer of $2,000 or more.

Up to $75 IRA Transfer Fee Reimbursement

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Transfer fees of up to $75 will be reimbursed when you make an initial transfer of $5,000 or more.

Webull Premium - 3.5% Match on IRA Contributions

Earn a 3.5% match bonus for every qualifying contribution into a Webull IRA. Customers must be subscribed to Webull Premium to be eligible for the match bonus. Terms and conditions apply.

The information for this offer has been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by Webull.

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Expires 6/30/2026

Webull Premium - 3% Match on IRA Transfer

Earn a 3% match bonus when you transfer or roll over assets into a Webull IRA. Assets must be new to Webull and customers must be subscribed to Webull Premium to be eligible for the match bonus. Terms and conditions apply.

The information for this offer has been collected independently by CreditDonkey. The details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by Webull.

Get Deal

Expires 6/30/2026

Bottom Line

M1 Finance is best suited for new investors who prefer a hands-off approach. Its "Pies" feature makes it easy to build and follow a portfolio, while automated rebalancing and dividend reinvestment support long-term passive investing.

Robinhood is ideal for new active traders who want a simple interface, low fees, full control over their investments, and easy access to options trading, which helps explain its popularity among the three apps.

Webull is geared more toward active and advanced traders who want built-in research tools. It can feel overwhelming at first, but it offers strong charting, data, and portfolio tracking features for managing investments.

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