M1 Finance vs Betterment

M1 Finance is a no-fee robo-advisor that allows you to choose your own investments. How does it compare to Betterment? Read our comparison chart below.

M1 Finance offers free automated investing with no commissions or account fees. Unlike other robo-advisors, M1 lets you select your own investments and their automation will manage it for you. This is great for investors who want a say. The downside is that there are no human advisors. The minimum to start is just $100.

While 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.

Compare M1 Finance with Betterment, side-by-side. Read on for an in-depth look, including ratings, reviews, pros and cons.

	M1 Finance	Betterment


	SPECIAL OFFER Commission Free Stock Trading - Learn More Read M1 Finance Review	SPECIAL OFFER Get up to 1 Year Managed Free - Learn More Read Betterment Review
	Benefits and Features
Savings
Stock Trading	$0
Options Trading	No
Annual Fee	None	0.25% for accounts under $100,000 0.40% for accounts $100,000+
Cryptocurrency Trading	No
Minimum Deposit	$100	$0
Checking		No-Fee Checking
Mutual Fund Trading	No
Commission Free ETFs	All U.S. listed ETFs
Phone Support	Monday - Friday 9:30 am to 4 pm EST	Yes
Live Chat Support	No	No
Email Support	Yes	Yes
Human Advisors	No	Yes ($100k minimum)
Robo Advisor	Hybrid; You choose your own investments and M1 trades & manages your portfolio for you
Assets Under Management	$4.5 Billion	$14 Billion
Tax Loss Harvesting	No, but offers tax minimization features	Yes
Goal Tracker	No	Yes
Automatic Deposits	Yes	Yes
Broker Assisted Trades	Included
Good For	DIY investing with passive portfolio management
Inactivity Fee	$20 (for accounts with less than $20 and no activity for 90+ days)
Maintenance Fee	$0
Online Platform	Yes	Yes
iPhone App	Yes (4.6 stars, 33.3k ratings)	Yes
Android App	Yes (4.5 stars, 15.7k ratings)	Yes
Banking	All users can open a M1 Spend account with free debit card. No monthly service fees and no balance requirements.
Mobile App		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	No	Yes
IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
Roth IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
SEP IRA Accounts	Yes	Yes
Trust Accounts	Yes	Yes
529 Plans	No	No
	CreditDonkey® Reviews

Annual Fee
Minimum Deposit
Customer Service
Mobile App
Ease of Use
Research
Human Advisors
Pros & Cons	Pros: Choose your own investments Can invest in individual stocks No account fees Cons: No research No human advisors Can only trade once a day	Pros: No minimum investment Customized portfolios Automatically invest extra funds Cons: Limited investment options High fees for large investors
Bottom Line	No-fee robo-advisor that allows you to choose your own investments... Read full review	Great robo-advisor for beginners with low fees, good tools, and tax strategies... Read full review

	Commission Free Stock Trading Get M1 Plus Free for First 3 Months Invest Automatically with M1 Finance	Get up to 1 Year Managed Free Get 1 Month Managed Free Get 6 Months Managed Free
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. M1 Finance: Pricing information from published website as of 02/28/2020 Betterment: Pricing information from published website as of 04/04/2018

Commission Free Stock Trading

Start Investing

M1 Finance allows investors the choice of ETFs and stocks. M1 charges no management fees or commission.

Get M1 Plus Free for First 3 Months

New M1 customers get M1 Plus for free on their first 3 months. M1 Plus is $125/year.

M1 Plus is a $125 annual subscription offering products and services from M1 Spend LLC and M1 Finance LLC, both wholly-owned, separate but affiliated subsidiaries of M1 Holdings Inc.

*Your free trial (a $31.25 value) begins the date you enroll in the M1 Plus subscription, and ends 90 days after ("Free Trial"). Upon expiry of the Free Trial, your account is automatically billed an annual subscription fee of $125 unless you cancel under your Membership details in the M1 Platform.

Get Deal

Invest Automatically with M1 Finance

Invest Automatically

Get up to 1 Year Managed Free

Get Started

New Betterment customers only. Accounts must be funded within 45 days of signup. Terms apply.

Get 1 Month Managed Free

View Terms

Deposit $15,000 - $99,999 within 45 days and get 1 month managed free

Get 6 Months Managed Free

View Terms

Deposit $100,000 - $249,999 within 45 days and get 6 months managed free

Which is Better: M1 Finance or Betterment?

Still need help deciding which investing is better? Read the in-depth reviews below. You may also be interested in comparing M1 Finance or Ally Invest.

Articles on M1 Finance

M1 Review

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Best M1 Finance Pie

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M1 Finance Alternatives

M1 Finance is a popular app for fee-free investing. But is there a better option for you? Find out in this detailed guide to M1 Finance alternatives.

Articles on Betterment

Betterment Investing

Betterment offers low fees and good returns. But there are risks you should NOT ignore. Read this review to see if Betterment is better.

Betterment Returns

Betterment has low fees and is good for beginners. But what about their returns? Let's take a look at this robo-advisor's performance.

Betterment vs Ally Invest

Betterment Fees

Betterment offers no minimum deposit and good returns. But are the fees worth it? Read on to learn about this robo-advisor's costs.

Is Betterment Safe

Betterment offers low fees, no minimum balance and good returns. But is it a good idea? Find out if it's safe to invest your money with this robo-advisor.