Acorns vs Charles Schwab

Acorns is an investment app that automatically invests your spare change. Good for young investors to get into the habit. How does it compare to Charles Schwab? Read our comparison chart below.

Acorns is geared towards young investors who have trouble saving. This investment app automatically rounds up and invests your spare change whenever you make a purchase. The service fee starts at $3/month for accounts. There is no minimum to open.

While Charles Schwab offers stock and ETF trades at $0 commission and options trading at $0 commission + $0.65 per contract. There is no minimum deposit, no maintenance fee, and no inactivity fee.

Compare Acorns with Charles Schwab, side-by-side. Read on for an in-depth look, including ratings, reviews, pros and cons.

	Acorns	Charles Schwab

	Visit Site	Learn More
	SPECIAL OFFER $20 Investment Bonus - Learn More Read Acorns Review	SPECIAL OFFER $0 Commissions on Online Stock, ETF, and Options Trades - Learn More Read Charles Schwab Review
	Benefits and Features
Savings	No
Stock Trading	Part of service fee. No add-on trading fees.	$0 commission on U.S. stocks and ETFs
Options Trading	No	$0 + $0.65 per contract
Annual Fee	Acorns Bronze ($3/mo) - includes personal taxable account, IRA, and checking account Acorns Silver ($6/mo) - includes everything in Bronze, emergency fund, 25% match on rewards, and 1% IRA match on Acorns Later contributions Acorns Gold ($12/mo) - includes everything in Silver, investment accounts for kids, 50% match on rewards, custom portfolio, Trust & Will, $10K Life Insurance, free Acorns Early account, and 3% IRA match on Acorns Later contributions	None
Cryptocurrency Trading	No	No
Minimum Deposit	$0	$0
Checking	Yes
Mutual Fund Trading	No	$0 for funds from Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource and up to $74.95 per purchase for all other funds
Commission Free ETFs	A selection automatically chosen by Acorns	2,000+ across asset classes and fund companies, $0 commission through Schwab ETF OneSource™.
Phone Support	Yes
Live Chat Support	No
Email Support	Yes
Human Advisors	No
Robo Advisor	Yes
Assets Under Management	$4.7 Billion
Tax Loss Harvesting	No
Goal Tracker	Yes
Automatic Deposits	Yes
Broker Assisted Trades	Acorns automatically invest and trade for you	$25.00 service charge
Good For	Beginners; Passive investors; Those who have trouble saving/investing on their own
Inactivity Fee	None, but you will keep paying the monthly fee	None
Maintenance Fee	Monthly fee for the service	$0
Online Platform	Yes
iPhone App	Yes (4.7 stars, 760k ratings)
Android App	Yes (4.3 stars, 156k ratings)
Banking	Included in Acorns Bronze ($3/mo). Free metal debit card, no minimum balance, no overdraft fees, and 55,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide.	Yes
Mobile App	iOS & Android	Yes
Desktop App		Yes
Two-Factor Authentication	Yes
Futures Trading		$2.25 per contract
Customer Service		24/7
Locations	No	300 locations
Online Community	No	Yes
Seminars	No	Yes
Trading Platform		Desktop, Web Trading, Mobile Apps
Virtual Trading	No	Yes (thinkorswim platforms)
Fractional Shares	Yes
Taxable Accounts	Yes
401k Plans	No
IRA Accounts	Yes
Roth IRA Accounts	Yes
SEP IRA Accounts	Yes
Trust Accounts	No
529 Plans	No
	CreditDonkey® Reviews

Annual Fee
Minimum Deposit
Mobile App
Customer Service
Ease of Use
Stock Trading
Options Trading
Mutual Fund Trading
Online Platform
Banking
Commissions and Fees
Research
Pros & Cons	Pros: No minimum to open account Invest with spare change Cash-back program Cons: Fees are high for small balances No tax benefits Limited investment options	Pros: Vast selection of commission-free ETFs and mutual funds 2 platforms (one for beginners and one for advanced traders) 24/7 customer service including online chat Cons: Commission costs on mutual funds outside of the commission-free funds Robo-advisor option requires a minimum investment of $5,000
Bottom Line	Investment app that automatically invests your spare change. Good for young investors to get into the habit... Read full review	Good choice for beginning and advanced investors looking to invest in ETFs and mutual funds or investors that require extensive research... Read full review
	Visit Site	Learn More
	$20 Investment Bonus Try Acorns Today! Acorns Invest: Invest Spare Change	$0 Commissions on Online Stock, ETF, and Options Trades 500 Commission-Free Online and Options Trades Schwab's Referral Offer - Up to $1,000 Bonus
Blank fields may indicate the information is not available, not applicable, or not known to CreditDonkey. Please visit the product website for details. Acorns: Pricing information from published website as of 11/29/2024. Charles Schwab: Pricing information from published websites as of 01/22/2025.

$20 Investment Bonus

Get $20 Investment Bonus

Open an Acorns account (new users only)
Set up the Recurring Investments feature
Have your first investment be made successfully via the Recurring Investments feature

Try Acorns Today!

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Acorns Invest: Invest Spare Change

Automatically Save and Invest

Which is Better: Acorns or Charles Schwab?

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

In short: Acorns' mobile app and ease of use are notable. In particular, the ease of use is outstanding.

Articles on Acorns

Acorn App Review

Acorns automatically invests your spare change. But can it help make you money? Find out if this app is safe and legit.

Apps Like Acorns

Acorns is one of the best micro-investing apps out there. But is it for everyone? Read on to see some of your alternatives.

Is Acorns Legit

Acorns lets you invest spare change from every purchase. But is it safe to use? Learn just how secure the micro-investing app is.

How to Make Money Using Acorns

Acorns "rounds up" everyday purchases and invests it for you. What's the catch? Read this review to find out how to make money using the app.

Articles on Charles Schwab

Charles Schwab Review

Charles Schwab is one of the oldest names in the world of investing. With low fees, no account minimums, and robust research tools, it's a good brokerage for all levels of investors.

Comments

Olivia Tabor from Texas
on April 2019 said about Acorns:
I have both Acorns and Robinhood and even though they each serve a different purpose I don't have the freedom of stock purchase that I really like. I believe Acorns diversifies for my needs more effectively.

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