You don't need thousands of dollars or a finance degree to start investing anymore. Micro-investing apps let you start with as little as a few dollars, round up your everyday purchases, or set small automatic contributions that grow over time. Here are the 10 best platforms for beginners who want to start building wealth without the intimidation factor.
Acorns – best for round-up investing
Stash – best for learning while you invest
Robinhood – best for commission-free trading
SoFi Invest – best all-in-one money app
Fidelity Go – best for low fees with a trusted brand
Betterment – best robo-advisor for hands-off investors
M1 Finance – best for customizable portfolios
Public – best for social, community-driven investing
Webull – best for active beginner traders
Greenlight + Invest – best for teens and family investing
Acorns is the platform that popularized round-up investing, automatically rounding your everyday card purchases up to the nearest dollar and investing the spare change.
Why it stands out: It's the easiest possible way to start investing passively without thinking about it daily.
Best for: Total beginners who want a "set it and forget it" approach.
Benefits: Simple interface, automatic diversification through ETF portfolios, retirement account option available.
Drawbacks: Monthly fees ($3–$12) can eat into returns on very small balances.
Use case: Great for someone who wants to start investing without ever manually placing a trade.
Stash combines investing with built-in financial education, walking beginners through concepts as they go instead of just handing them a brokerage account.
Why it stands out: It teaches you why you're investing, not just how.
Best for: Beginners who want to actually understand the basics while they build a portfolio.
Benefits: Fractional shares, beginner-friendly explanations, debit card with investing rewards.
Drawbacks: Monthly subscription fee applies regardless of balance size.
Use case: Ideal for someone who's intimidated by investing and wants guidance built into the app.
Robinhood was one of the first major apps to eliminate trading commissions, making it easy to buy fractional shares of stocks and ETFs with minimal cash.
Why it stands out: No account minimums and no commission fees on most trades.
Best for: Beginners who want direct control over individual stock picks.
Benefits: Clean, simple interface, fractional shares, no monthly fee for the basic tier.
Drawbacks: Less educational guidance than Stash or Acorns, and the simplicity can encourage impulsive trading.
Use case: Best for someone who already has a few stocks or companies in mind they want to invest in directly.
SoFi Invest is part of a broader financial app that also offers banking, loans, and credit tools, making it convenient for beginners who want everything in one place.
Why it stands out: No management fees on its automated investing option.
Best for: Beginners who want investing alongside other financial tools like a savings account or credit score tracking.
Benefits: $0 account minimums, access to financial planners, fractional shares.
Drawbacks: Investment options are more limited than dedicated brokerages.
Use case: Great for someone consolidating their financial life into a single app.
Fidelity Go brings the trust and stability of a major, long-established brokerage to a simplified, beginner-friendly robo-advisor format.
Why it stands out: No advisory fee on balances under $25,000, which is rare among competitors.
Best for: Beginners who want a big-name, established company behind their investments.
Benefits: Low costs, professional portfolio management, easy transition to full Fidelity accounts later.
Drawbacks: Less flashy interface compared to newer fintech apps.
Use case: Ideal for someone who values stability and a long track record over trendy app design.
Betterment is one of the original robo-advisors, automatically building and managing a diversified portfolio based on your goals and risk tolerance.
Why it stands out: Fully automated rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting features that are usually reserved for higher-balance accounts elsewhere.
Best for: Beginners who want a completely hands-off, "do it for me" experience.
Benefits: Goal-based planning tools, automatic diversification, low annual fee (around 0.25%).
Drawbacks: Less control if you eventually want to pick individual investments.
Use case: Great for someone investing for a specific goal, like retirement or a house down payment, who doesn't want to manage it manually.
M1 Finance blends automation with customization, letting you build your own portfolio "pie" of stocks and ETFs that automatically rebalances over time.
Why it stands out: Combines the control of picking your own investments with the convenience of automated management.
Best for: Beginners who want more say in what they're investing in without manually trading every time.
Benefits: No trading fees, customizable portfolios, automatic rebalancing.
Drawbacks: Less educational content for true first-timers; works best if you already have some idea what you want to invest in.
Use case: Ideal for a beginner who's done a little research and wants to build a personalized portfolio.
Public adds a social layer to investing, letting users see what others are investing in and follow along with community discussion around stocks and trends.
Why it stands out: A built-in community feed makes investing feel less isolating for beginners.
Best for: Beginners who learn well by seeing what others are doing and discussing decisions.
Benefits: Fractional shares, no payment-for-order-flow trading model, transparent fee structure.
Drawbacks: Social features can encourage following trends rather than personal strategy.
Use case: Great for someone who wants a more community-driven, transparent investing experience.
Webull leans more advanced than most beginner apps, offering more in-depth charts, data, and trading tools for users ready to learn more actively.
Why it stands out: Free access to research and analysis tools usually found on pricier platforms.
Best for: Beginners who are motivated to learn active trading strategies, not just passive investing.
Benefits: No commissions, extended trading hours, robust charting tools.
Drawbacks: Steeper learning curve than apps like Acorns or Stash.
Use case: Best for a beginner who wants to grow into more active trading over time, not someone looking for pure simplicity.
Greenlight is primarily known as a debit card and money app for kids and teens, but its Invest add-on lets younger users (with parental oversight) start learning to invest with small amounts.
Why it stands out: Built specifically for parents teaching teens real investing skills with real money, under supervision.
Best for: Families wanting to introduce investing basics to teens early.
Benefits: Parental controls, educational content built for younger users, real fractional share investing.
Drawbacks: Not designed for adult beginners investing independently.
Use case: Ideal for a parent who wants their teen to start learning hands-on investing safely.
If you want the absolute simplest entry point, Acorns or Stash will get you started without much thought required. If you already have specific stocks in mind, Robinhood or Webull give you more direct control. If you'd rather hand off the decision-making entirely, Betterment or Fidelity Go are built for a fully hands-off approach. And if you're investing as a family or want to teach a teen the basics, Greenlight + Invest is purpose-built for that.
Total beginner who wants zero effort: Acorns. Beginner who wants to learn while investing: Stash. Beginner ready to pick stocks directly: Robinhood. Beginner who wants one app for everything: SoFi Invest. Beginner who values a trusted, established brand: Fidelity Go. Beginner who wants full automation: Betterment. Beginner with some research already done: M1 Finance. Beginner who likes community input: Public. Beginner ready to learn active trading: Webull. Parent teaching a teen to invest: Greenlight + Invest.
How much money do I need to start micro-investing? Most of these platforms let you start with $1 to $5, and several support fractional shares so you're never blocked by a stock's full share price.
Are micro-investing apps safe? Reputable platforms like the ones listed here are regulated by the SEC and FINRA and typically carry SIPC insurance protecting up to $500,000 in securities if the company fails, though this doesn't protect against normal market losses.
Do micro-investing platforms charge fees? Some charge a flat monthly fee (like Acorns and Stash), while others charge a percentage of assets managed (like Betterment) or no fee at all on basic trading (like Robinhood), so it's worth comparing based on how much you plan to invest.
Can I lose money with micro-investing? Yes – these platforms invest your money in real markets, which means your balance can go down as well as up, so only invest money you won't need in the short term.
Starting small is still starting. The biggest difference between someone who builds wealth over time and someone who doesn't usually comes down to starting early, not starting big.
SEC Investor.gov – Robo-Advisors - https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/how-invest/working-investment-professional/robo-advisors
FINRA – Investing Basics for Beginners - https://www.finra.org/investors/learn-to-invest/types-investments
