Acorns Review 2024 (2024)

User Experience

Desktop

Investors can easily set up an account online in just a few minutes. Account users can also conveniently log in via desktop computer to check the status of their account and make changes. Users are also able to download the free Chrome extension to unlock special savings and bonuses while shopping at their favorite brands.

Mobile

Acorns offers apps for both iOS and Android. Functionality mirrors that of the desktop, so viewing and making changes to your account can be done easily from your smartphone. However, there are a few things that can be done on the mobile app that cannot be done on the desktop, such as depositing a check. Since depositing a check cannot be done at an ATM, users must log in to their app to upload pictures of the check and enter the amount.

Customer Service

There are several ways that investors can contact Acorns with questions or issues:

• Help Center: Search a topic and review results based on matching keywords.
• Live Chat: Investors can ask questions in a live chat via the website or through the app, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Email: Investors can submit an email ticket with non-urgent questions
• Telephone: 855-739-2859, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET (5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT), 7 days a week.

Security

Acorns has several security measures in place to keep investor account information safe and secure.

• Two-factor authentication: Acorns requires all accounts to have two-factor authentication for security purposes. While investors cannot disable this account security feature, they can update or change their email or phone verification.
• Optional verification through Social Security Administration’s eCBSV service: Verifying your identity through SSA’s eCBSV service is not a mandatory step to opening an Acorns account, but it does provide an extra layer of account protection.
• SSL encryption: Acorns’ website and app are secured with 256-bit encryption.
• Account alerts: Investors will be notified about unusual account activity to help secure their accounts against fraud.
• Automatic logouts and ID verification: Account safeguards are in place to help prevent unauthorized access.

Acorns is a member of SIPC, meaning that securities in your account are protected up to $500,000. Additionally, Acorns checking accounts are FDIC protected up to $250,000 because Acorns’ banking partners, Lincoln Savings Bank and nbkc bank, are both FDIC members.

Education

Acorns offers several articles and videos to help investors understand basic investing and to grow their knowledge. Personal Plus and Premium members also get live Q&A sessions with financial experts, and Premium members have the additional option of taking educational courses.

Commissions and Fees

Acorns has a straightforward fee structure that makes it easy for investors to know what to expect for each account type, with no hidden costs or transaction fees:

• Acorns Personal: $3 per month
• Acorns Personal Plus: $5 per month
• Acorns Premium: $9 per month

Each account type offers investing, banking, earning, and learning options, with the Personal account being basic, Plus offering a few additional perks, and Premium offering even more features, such as GoHenry (banking for kids), $10,000 life insurance for eligible customers, and an option for a no-cost will to help plan for the future.

On the banking side, the company also promises:

• No hidden fees
• No minimum balance fees
• No overdraft fees
• No fees to use any of the 55,000+ ATMs within the AllPoint Network

While the fees are somewhat affordable, as compared to other robo-advisors within the industry, they are relatively high; many companies charge $0 monthly fees. However, standard account features may make the slightly higher fees worth it.

The Bottom Line

Acorns is distinctive among robo-advisors. With the Round-Ups feature, which allows investors to easily invest “spare change” from every credit or debit purchase linked to their account, the company has created a pathway to help those who find it hard to save money. The company also offers a host of additional benefits, including investment bonuses, kids' accounts, life insurance, and no-cost wills to help families plan for the future. Investors who want to take advantage of the life insurance and will options at the $9 per month premium level may find it worth their time, considering the will planning alone is valued at $259.

However, with the lowest member level costing $3 per month, it is necessary for an investor just starting out to determine if they will actually be able to save enough each month by investing spare change or earning enough investment bonuses to outweigh the cost.

What Is Acorns Investing?

Located in Irvine, California, Acorns is a financial technology and services company that offers a unique method of investing by allowing members to invest their spare change from credit or debit purchases by rounding up each purchase to the next dollar. Very simply, once you have linked a debit or credit card to your Acorns account and make a purchase, your spare change will be invested. If you spend $3.75, then $0.25 will be invested. If you have a hard time setting money aside to invest, using the Round-Ups feature with Acorns is a great way to start saving for your future.

Is Acorns Worth it?

Acorns charges monthly membership fees, starting at $3 per month. Even though it is a very easy way to get started investing, if you don’t make enough purchases each month to round up and set aside enough money, the monthly fee could outweigh the benefit. Higher levels of membership, such as the Premium level at $9 per month, include additional benefits of kids’ savings accounts, creating a will, or even the option for life insurance; if those are options that investors need, the value of these items alone is worth more than the fees. Bottom line, each investor needs to examine their needs to determine if Acorns is the right choice.

Where Does Acorns Invest Your Money?

Acorns invests your money in a diversified portfolio of ETFs based on your investing goals and preferences. Acorns offers portfolios based on investing style: Aggressive, Moderately Aggressive, Moderate, Moderately Conservative, and Conservative. Additionally, investors can add ESG and Bitcoin-linked ETFs to their portfolios as well. Premium members can further customize their portfolio with the option to add individual stocks.

How Can I Invest With Acorns?

Setting up an account with Acorns is simple and can be done easily online or through the app. Investors can choose to use the Round-Ups feature or set up recurring contributions to invest each month in the recommended portfolio of ETFs.

Is Acorns Investing Safe?

Investing in the stock market is never guaranteed, but Acorns implements portfolio diversification to mitigate the risk of investing by spreading out the money across several stocks and bonds within the ETFs. Acorns also has several security measures in place to protect account user information: two-factor authentication, an encrypted website, and security alerts.

How We Review Robo-Advisors

Providing readers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of digital wealth management companies, more commonly known as robo-advisors, is a top priority of Investopedia. We used our 2023 consumer survey to guide the research and weightings for our 2024 robo-advisor awards. To collect the data, we sent a digital survey with 64 questions to each of the 21 companies we included in our rubric. Additionally, our team of researchers verified the survey responses and collected any missing data points through online research and conversations with each company directly. The data collection process spanned from Jan. 8 to Feb. 9, 2024.

We then developed a quantitative model that scored each company to rate its performance across nine major categories and 59 criteria to find the best robo-advisors. The score for each company’s overall star rating is a weighted average of the criteria:

• Goal Planning - 21.00%
• Portfolio Contents - 17.00%
• Portfolio Management - 17.00%
• Fees - 15.00%
• Account Services - 10.00%
• Account Setup - 5.00%
• Customer Service - 5.00%
  
• Security & Education - 5.00%
• User Experience - 5.00%

Additionally, during our 2023 research, many of the companies we reviewed granted our team of expert writers and editors access to live accounts so they could perform hands-on testing.

Through this all-encompassing data collection and review process, Investopedia has provided you with an unbiased and thorough review of the top robo-advisors.

Read more about how we research and review robo-advisors.

Separately, our research team conducted a survey of 205 U.S. adults aged 18 to 72 who are current clients of one of 18robo-advisors. While the information collected did not influence the development of our ratings model, it was instrumental in gathering the valuable insights published inInvestopedia's 2023Robo-Advisor Consumer Survey.

Participants in our 2023Robo-Advisor Survey opted into an online, self-administered questionnaire from a market research vendor. Data collection took place between Aug. 30 and Sept. 15, 2023, with 11 video interviews conducted with volunteer respondents from Sept. 7 to Sept. 17, 2023. Multiple quality checks, including screeners, attention gauges, comprehension evaluations, and logic metrics, among others, were used to ensure only the highest quality responses were included.