Top 10 Best Investment Apps for Beginners in 2021 (Wealthfront, Robinhood, and More)

Although they require a $500 minimum to start, Wealthfront uses robo-advisor to build a portfolio catered to you. Their "Path" tool provides free financial planning. It can help you set goals for things like college, weddings, or housing. It also lets you plan for retirement with factors as specific as weekly budgets and life expectancy.

This app also offers tax-loss harvesting, which is a strategy that can help decrease owed taxes on investments. It can also minimize losses on failing investments since you can deduct the losses on your taxes.

Some reviewers say this app is too limited for advanced investing and dislike that they have little control over investments. They also warn that it doesn't have fractional shares. However, many reviewers found it very beginner-friendly with manageable fees. They also like how it syncs all their financial accounts into one app.

This app minimizes investment taxes and tells you the chances of achieving your financial goals. It allows you to link up external investing and retirement savings accounts, too. While Betterment is not FDIC-insured, it's a fiduciary, which means it's legally bound to act in your best interest. 

Best of all, Betterment lets you ask basic questions to financial experts for free. They also sell packages for planning certain life events, including college, marriage, and retirement.

Despite an easy sign-up process, some reviewers complain that the app's interface is a bit cluttered and doesn't always display useful information. They also warn that you aren't allowed to choose your investments, and money transfers can take around seven days.

Even with all the interface complaints, many reviewers still praise this app for giving them positive financial gains. They are also very pleased with the fact that they can easily text financial experts with many questions.

This app offers fee-free stock trades for a variety of investments, including cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that can be used without banks, such as the popular BitCoin. It will also give you notifications for any major news on stocks in your portfolio.

For more serious traders, this app has a subscription called Robinhood Gold that will provide in-depth analyses of stocks, give extended hours for trading, and let you buy and sell stocks on credit.

Although this app was meant for stock trading, some reviewers complain that the notifications are behind, and the app's data may lag. They also say that this app is less beginner-friendly, so you will need to do some outside research.

Overall, many reviewers find that this app makes it easy to get into active investing. They love that there are no trading or transaction fees, unlike most other investment apps.

Made for simplicity and ease-of-use, Acorns recommends optimized portfolios based on your investment goals. However, they are mostly known for their micro-savings system, where they take the round-ups of every purchase to the next dollar.

The app's round-ups can also be multiplied by two, three, or ten, and there are scheduled deposits. They also offer Acorns Later, a retirement account, and Acorns Early, a custodial account for a child.

Some reviewers warn that transferring money can sometimes take up to six days. They also note that the scheduled deposits are always on the first of each month and can't be changed to another day.

Most reviewers praise this app for being easy to use and relatively low-risk. They love the concept of this app as a virtual spare change jar.

Formerly named Matador, Public.com offers fee-free trades and lets you buy fractional shares that they call "slices." On this app, you can browse anyone's portfolios on their profiles, and others can do the same to you. You can also follow other investors as a way to learn.

Some reviewers complain that this app spams too many useless push notifications. They also warn that this app is only for smartphones, not tablets or iPads.

Many reviewers are very pleased with this app's social aspect. They say it gives them ideas based on who others are investing in. They also state that this app is pretty good at teaching about stocks and financial strategies.

This app has low fees and a great robo-advisor, making it a good option for passive investors. This app has no questionnaire but instead provides investment portfolio templates called "Pies." However, like a traditional brokerage firm, you can choose your own types of investments.

M1 Finance does not offer tax-loss harvesting, but they do offer "tax minimization." This feature will allow you to sell investments in the most tax-favorable way. They also have no fees for buying or selling investments.

Reviewers warn that this app is only good for passive investors that do not want to manage their portfolio at all. They also state that you cannot move stocks on an existing Pie to a new Pie, but instead must sell it and buy it again.

Despite its limitations, many reviewers praise this app for its Pie system. They like that they can customize their Pies to be identical to portfolios they like. They also appreciate how quickly they can deposit and withdraw money. 

SoFi Wealth, short for "social finance," is a robo-investor with free human financial advisors to help you when you want it. It has goal-setting and retirement analysis tools, too. SoFi Wealth users also have benefits, such as career coaching and invitations to exclusive events. However, this app does not offer tax-loss harvesting.

Since this app is a bit limited, reviewers recommend this app for long-term investors and not trading. They state that if you purchase a stock, the order may not go in until much later.

Many younger people find this app very useful. They like that it shows where their money is going and helps them learn about investing. Some reviewers also have bank accounts with SoFi and like that all their finances can be easily managed in one app.

Unlike other apps, Stash does not directly manage its users' accounts. Instead, this app teaches you how to start investing in ETFs, stocks, and fractional shares. It lets you select among many investment themes and provides specific recommendations.

Some reviewers complain that the interface is not always transparent and accurate. They also state that this app charges a subscription that can be difficult to cancel. They recommend this app for investments of $500 or higher.

Reviewers praise this app for its educational tutorials that help them learn about investing. They are also pleased with the AutoStash option that lets them slowly work their way up to a whole share.

Although this app can work for any gender, this app was designed with a focus on women and their unique challenges. This app allocates investment assets with factors like how women are more likely to take career gaps and start careers with lower pay.

Some reviewers complain that the app has glitches and bugs, such as bank linking issues. They also warn that this app lacks a way to track withdrawals. Other reviewers like that it has a lot of educational articles. They also find it interesting that you can choose to only invest in women-run companies.

In addition to buying and selling stocks, Stockpile also allows you to buy gift cards that can be used for stocks and ETFs. This unique service aims to let experienced investors gift stocks to beginners and young people to get them interested in stock investing.

Since this app is designed for gifting stocks to beginners, some reviewers find that it is quite limited in types of investments and accounts. They also warn that there is no real-time trading. Though, many reviewers praise this app for its unique gifting feature. They find that it is a great financial learning tool for teens and kids.