We’re doing more and more on our phones every day, and that includes investing. If mobile trading matters to you, two names worth comparing are Robinhood and Stash.
Robinhood is a free-trading app that’s ideal for investors who want to trade stocks, options, exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrency on a barebones platform without paying commissions or fees. The Stash app aims to make the process of finding and selecting investments — specifically exchange-traded funds and individual stocks — easy and approachable for beginners to build their portfolio.
Here’s more on how they compare.
Robinhood vs. Stash
Robinhood is best for:
- Frequent stock, options or ETF traders.
- Individual taxable accounts.
- Margin accounts and cryptocurrency.
Robinhood at a glance
| Overall | |
| Account minimum | $0; $2,000 for Robinhood Gold margin account (regulatory minimum). |
| Stock trading costs | Free. |
| Options trades | Free. |
| Account fees (annual, transfer, closing, inactivity) | No annual, inactivity or ACH transfer fees. $75 ACAT outgoing transfer fee. |
| Number of commission-free ETFs | Over 2,000 ETFs. |
| Number of no-transaction-fee mutual funds | None. |
| Tradable securities | • Stocks. • ETFs. • Options. • Cryptocurrency. • American Depositary Receipts for over 250 global companies. |
| Trading platform | Web platform is purposely simple but meets basic investor needs. |
| Mobile app | Mobile trading platform includes customizable alerts, news feed, candlestick charts and ability to listen live to earnings calls. |
| Research and data | Free but limited. |
| Customer support options (includes website transparency) | Email support Monday - Friday. |
| Promotion | Refer a friend who joins Robinhood and you both earn a free share of stock. |
Learn more: Read our full Robinhood review
Stash is best for:
- New investors who want guidance selecting investments.
- Tax-advantaged and taxable individual retirement accounts.
- Thematic or impact investors.
Stash at a glance
| Overall | |
| Account minimum | $5 |
| Account subscription fee | $1/month ($3/month to add a retirement account; $9/month to add custodial accounts and other services). Stash is not a robo-advisor and doesn't have discretion to manage customer accounts. |
| Investment expense ratios | Expense ratios average 0.30% for ETFs; no investment fee for stocks. |
| Account fees (annual, transfer, closing) | No annual, inactivity or outgoing transfer fee. |
| Portfolio mix | About 60 ETFs and about 150 individual stocks available. |
| Accounts supported |
|
| Tax strategy | Not available. |
| Automatic rebalancing | Not available. |
| Human advisor option | Not available. |
| Tools | Stash offers a retirement calculator, and Stash Coach helps expand your investing prowess with guidance, challenges and trivia. |
| Customer support options (includes website transparency) | Phone support Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern, and Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern; email support. |
| Promotion | First month free. |
Learn more: Read our full Stash review
Curious about other options?
If you want to start investing but need more advice on who to invest with, see our 2019 roundup of the best brokers for beginning investors. It compares today’s top online brokerages across all the metrics that matter most to investors just starting out: fees, minimum balances to open, and investor tools and resources.
