Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities.
ALSO CONSIDER: Best brokers for stock trading || Best IRA retirement accounts || Best robo-advisors
You can do just about anything on your phone — including buy stocks, mutual funds and other investments thanks to a variety of investment apps.
All of the brokers on our list of the best brokers for stock trading have high-quality investment apps that are suitable for beginners and advanced investors alike. But if investing on the go is most important to you, we've narrowed down that list to the below picks for the best investing apps — all are rated highly by consumers and scored well in our analysis. (Need more info to get started? Read our primer on how to buy stocks.)
ALSO CONSIDER: Best brokers for stock trading || Best IRA retirement accounts || Best robo-advisors
You can do just about anything on your phone — including buy stocks, mutual funds and other investments thanks to a variety of investment apps.
All of the brokers on our list of the best brokers for stock trading have high-quality investment apps that are suitable for beginners and advanced investors alike. But if investing on the go is most important to you, we've narrowed down that list to the below picks for the best investing apps — all are rated highly by consumers and scored well in our analysis. (Need more info to get started? Read our primer on how to buy stocks.)
Summary of Best Investment Apps of October 2021
| Broker | NerdWallet Rating | Fees | Account Minimum | Promotion | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fidelity Learn more on Fidelity's website | $0 per trade for online U.S. stocks and ETFs | $0 | Get $100 when you open a new, eligible Fidelity account with $50 or more. Use code FIDELITY100. Limited time offer. Terms apply. | Learn more on Fidelity's website | |
 SoFi Active Investing Learn more on SoFi Invest's website | $0 per trade | $0 | $5 to $1,000 in free stock for users who sign up via mobile app | Learn more on SoFi Invest's website | |
 E*TRADE Learn more on E*TRADE's website | $0 per trade | $0 | Get $600 or more when you open and fund an E*TRADE account with code: BONUS21 | Learn more on E*TRADE's website | |
 TD Ameritrade Learn more on TD Ameritrade's website | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on TD Ameritrade's website | |
 J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Learn more on J.P. Morgan's website | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on J.P. Morgan's website |
on Fidelity's website
Fidelity
Fees
per trade for online U.S. stocks and ETFs
Account Minimum
Promotion
when you open a new, eligible Fidelity account with $50 or more. Use code FIDELITY100. Limited time offer. Terms apply.
on Fidelity's website
on SoFi Invest's website
SoFi Active Investing
Fees
per trade
Account Minimum
Promotion
in free stock for users who sign up via mobile app
on SoFi Invest's website
on E*TRADE's website
E*TRADE
Fees
per trade
Account Minimum
Promotion
when you open and fund an E*TRADE account with code: BONUS21
on E*TRADE's website
on TD Ameritrade's website
TD Ameritrade
Fees
per trade
Account Minimum
Promotion
no promotion available at this time
on TD Ameritrade's website
on J.P. Morgan's website
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing
Fees
per trade
Account Minimum
Promotion
no promotion available at this time
on J.P. Morgan's website
on Robinhood's website
Robinhood
Fees
per trade
Account Minimum
Promotion
after linking your bank account (stock value range $2.50-$225)
on Robinhood's website
on Acorns's website
Acorns
Fees
per month
Account Minimum
Promotion
on Acorns's website
on Zacks Trade's website
Zacks Trade
Fees
per share
Account Minimum
Promotion
no promotion available at this time
on Zacks Trade's website
Want to compare more options? Here are our other top picks:
Disclosure: The author held no positions in the aforementioned securities at the time of publication.
Last updated on October 19, 2021
You may also like these
People often identify opening a savings account as their next money move.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs Online Savings Account
APY
Bonus
at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Member FDIC
American Express® High Yield Savings Account
APY
Bonus
at American Express National Bank, Member FDIC
Axos Bank® High Yield Savings
APY
Bonus
at Axos Bank®, Member FDIC
Methodology
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers and robo-advisors by assets under management, along with emerging industry players, using a multifaceted and iterative approach. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgments on which ones will best meet your needs.
DATA COLLECTION AND REVIEW PROCESS
We collect data directly from providers, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. Our process starts by sending detailed questionnaires to providers to complete. The questionnaires are structured to equally elicit both favorable and unfavorable responses from providers. They are not designed or prepared to produce any predetermined results. The questionnaire answers, combined with product demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
RATING FACTORS
Evaluations vary by provider type, but in each case are based upon the weighted averages of factors that include but are not limited to: advisory and account fees, account minimums and types, investment selection, investment expense ratios, trading costs, access to human financial advisors, educational resources and tools, rebalancing and tax minimization options, and customer support including branch access, user-facing technology and mobile platforms.
Each factor can involve evaluating various sub-factors. For instance, when gauging the investment selections offered by robo-advisors, 80% of the score is based on the potential for diversification (how well-diversified a resulting portfolio of investments could be) combined with the availability of specialty portfolios and level of customization for investors. Expense ratios form an additional 10% of the score, and low or no management fee the remaining 10%.
FACTOR WEIGHTINGS
The weighting of each factor is based on our team’s assessment of which features are the most important to consumers and which ones impact the consumer experience in the most meaningful way. The factors considered, and how those factors are weighted, change depending upon the category of providers reviewed.
Provider categories include: Best Brokers for Stock Trading, Best Brokers for Beginners, Best Brokers for Day Trading, Best Brokers for Options Trading, Best Discount Brokers, Best Brokers for Free Trading, Best Investment Apps, Best Brokers for Penny Stocks, Best IRA Brokers, Best Robo-Advisors, Best Financial Advisors, Best Real Estate Platforms, Best Brokers for ETFs and Best Brokers for Mutual Funds.
INFORMATION UPDATES
Writers and editors conduct our broker and robo-advisor reviews on an annual basis but continually make updates throughout the year. We maintain frequent contact with providers and highlight any changes in offerings.
THE REVIEW TEAM
The review team comprises seasoned writers, researchers and editors who cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds, alternative investments, socially responsible investing, financial advisors, retirement and investment strategy on a daily basis. In addition to NerdWallet, the work of our team members has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, USA Today, Bloomberg News, Nasdaq, MSN, MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance and other national and regional media outlets.
The combined expertise of our Investing team is infused into our review process to ensure thoughtful evaluations of provider products and services from the customer perspective. Our writers and editors combine to have more than 70 years of deep experience in finance, ranging from a former Wall Street Journal reporter to a former senior financial advisor at Merrill Lynch.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
While NerdWallet does have partnerships with many of the reviewed providers, we manage potential conflicts of interest by maintaining a wall between our content and business operations. This wall is designed to prevent our writers and the review process from being influenced or impacted by our business partnerships. This way, all reviews can provide an unbiased review that serves the interests of our users.
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Best Investment Apps of October 2021
Frequently asked questions
Shockingly little. Thanks to micro-investing apps like Acorns and Stash, you can kick-start an investment portfolio with small amounts of money — just your spare change, in fact. Acorns, for example, sweeps a linked credit or debit card account, rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the change. Stash offers a similar opt-in feature that rounds up purchases to deposit money in a user's account.
Beyond the micro-investing apps, the amount of money you’ll need to begin investing after you open your account depends on the assets you intend to buy. Individual stock shares range from as little as a few dollars to hundreds or even thousands of dollars per share. Mutual funds often have minimums of $1,000 or more, but exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are essentially mutual funds that trade like a stock, and they can often be purchased for less than many mutual funds. Don’t forget, too, that some brokers charge trading fees every time you buy or sell an investment. The good news there is that many brokers now offer free trades.
Many of NerdWallet’s picks for best apps have account minimums of $5 or less, so you can open an account right away and over the internet. Here’s more on what a brokerage account is and how to open one.
The apps above are good choices for stock traders, but to see a narrower list focused specifically on trading, check out our picks for the best stock apps.
For new investors, working with a robo-advisor is a nice solution. Robo-advisors, like Acorns, build and manage portfolios for you so you don't have to choose any investments yourself.
While the idea of buying individual stocks might be exciting, building a portfolio of stocks requires a fair amount of research and discipline. ETFs offer instant diversification in that they contain shares of multiple companies (dozens, even) like a mutual fund, but trade like individual stocks. (Check out this full explainer on ETFs.)
If buying individual shares of companies is something you’d like to do, see our guide on how to buy stocks.
The mobile trading experience varies by broker — and so do the range of available assets. Among the picks for best apps, Acorns offers only ETFs, while TD Ameritrade’s offerings include individual stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, options and currency (or forex).
Just as FDIC insurance insures bank accounts, SIPC insurance insures the money you have in your brokerage account (or robo-advisor account) up to $500,000. $250,000 of that total can be applied to protect cash that you haven’t yet invested. All of NerdWallet’s picks for best apps are members of the SIPC.
However, it’s important to note that investments you make in your account can potentially fall in value or even decrease to zero, and investment losses are not covered by any type of insurance. (Here’s more on SIPC insurance and what it does and doesn’t protect.)
