The Best Investing Apps for Beginners
Starting your investing journey can feel intimidating—especially if you’re unsure where to begin. The good news? Today’s investing apps make it easier than ever to dive in, even if you’re a complete beginner. With user-friendly interfaces, automated tools, and low barriers to entry, these apps are designed to help you learn, grow, and succeed as an investor.
Based on my own experience, Acorns, Stash, and Robinhood are the top investing apps for beginners, and they work best when used in that order. Here’s why these platforms are great for starting your journey and how they each play a role in building wealth.
1. Acorns: The Ultimate Starting Point
Why Acorns is Perfect for Beginners
Acorns is designed to make investing completely hands-off. It’s a micro-investing app that automatically invests your spare change into a diversified portfolio of ETFs. You don’t need to pick stocks, time the market, or know much about investing to get started.
Key Features:
Round-Ups: Link your debit or credit card, and Acorns will round up your purchases to the nearest dollar, investing the spare change automatically.
Automated Investing: Based on your risk tolerance, Acorns builds and manages a portfolio for you.
Recurring Contributions: Set up automatic deposits as low as $5 per week to grow your portfolio steadily.
📖 Example: You buy a coffee for $3.75. Acorns rounds up the transaction to $4, investing $0.25 into your portfolio.
Best For:
Beginners with little knowledge of investing.
People who want to start small and build consistent habits.
🔑 Takeaway: Acorns makes investing effortless by automating everything, helping you build wealth without even thinking about it.
2. Stash: Learn and Invest
Why Stash is the Next Step
Once you’ve built the habit of investing with Acorns, Stash is a great app to start learning more about investing while still keeping things simple. Stash allows you to invest in fractional shares of individual stocks, ETFs, and themed portfolios.
Key Features:
Personalized Portfolios: Choose investments aligned with your interests and values, such as tech, green energy, or dividends.
Educational Content: Learn as you go with in-app lessons on investing basics, personal finance, and portfolio management.
Banking and Stock-Back® Rewards: Stash offers a debit card that earns fractional shares of stock as rewards for purchases.
📖 Example: If you spend $10 at Starbucks using the Stash debit card, you earn a small fraction of Starbucks stock as a reward.
Best For:
Beginners who want to take a more active role in choosing investments.
Investors interested in learning the “why” behind their portfolios.
🔑 Takeaway: Stash bridges the gap between automated investing and DIY investing, giving you control while providing resources to build confidence.
3. Robinhood: Take Control
Why Robinhood is the Final Step
When you’re ready to take full control of your investments, Robinhood is the app to graduate to. It’s a commission-free trading platform that lets you buy and sell individual stocks, ETFs, options, and even cryptocurrencies. Robinhood is where you can start exploring your own strategies, taking calculated risks, and diversifying your portfolio.
Key Features:
Commission-Free Trades: Buy and sell stocks and ETFs without paying fees.
Fractional Shares: Invest in big companies like Amazon or Tesla with as little as $1.
Advanced Tools: Access real-time data, news, and charts to make informed decisions.
📖 Example: With $50, you can buy fractional shares of multiple companies like Apple, Google, and Disney, all while monitoring their performance in real time.
Best For:
Investors who want full control over their portfolios.
People ready to explore more advanced options like options trading or crypto.
🔑 Takeaway: Robinhood puts the power in your hands, letting you execute your own investment strategies without middlemen or commissions.
How to Transition Through These Apps
Start with Acorns:
Build the habit of consistent investing with automated tools.
Focus on learning how small investments grow over time.
Move to Stash:
Start picking your own investments and learning about different asset types.
Use the educational resources to deepen your knowledge.
Graduate to Robinhood:
Take full control of your portfolio and execute your own investment strategies.
Explore advanced features like fractional shares, real-time data, and options trading.
Why This Process Works
This progression mirrors the natural growth of a beginner investor:
Acorns teaches you consistency and patience.
Stash gives you confidence in choosing your own investments.
Robinhood lets you take full control and explore advanced strategies.
By starting small and gradually taking on more responsibility, you build a solid foundation for long-term wealth.
Conclusion: Start Small, Dream Big
With apps like Acorns, Stash, and Robinhood, investing is more accessible than ever. You don’t need a lot of money or expertise to start—just the willingness to take that first step. Begin with Acorns to build your habit, transition to Stash to expand your knowledge, and graduate to Robinhood to take full control of your financial future.
