Note: We may earn a commission from affiliate links on this page. These do not affect our ratings or recommendations.
Acorns Review At a Glance
- We believe Acorns is legit. We gave it a trust rating of 5.0/5. View reasoning.
- Based on our combined research and user reviews, Acorns seems to be a good financial opportunity for Clients. It has an overall depositor score of 3.8/5. View our research.
What Is Acorns?
Acorns is a fintech platform that offers digital banking and investment services (both automated and self-directed) for members. It aims to make growing wealth as simple as possible with flat-rate fees, round-up savings, automated investing, and more. Founded in 2012, the platform claims to have over 4M paying members.
General Details 📜
| Status: | Active, Legit |
|---|---|
| Helps You: | Invest Money Move Money Store Money |
| Platform Type: | Brokerage Digital Banking Robo-Advisor |
| Opportunities: | Bitcoin ETF Investing Bond ETF Investing Cashback Equity ETF Investing ESG ETF Investing |
Contact Info ☎️
| Socials: | LinkedIn • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • YouTube • TikTok |
|---|---|
| Emails: | support@acorns.com (for general support) |
| Phone: | 855-739-2859 (for urgent support) |
| Support Pages: | Live On-Site Chat • Ticket Submission • Help Center |
Company Details 🏢
| Founded: | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Legal Name: | Acorns Grow Incorporated |
| Also Known As: | Acorns Technology |
| Subsidiaries: | Acorns Advisers, LLC • Acorns Securities, LLC |
| Founders: | Jeffrey Cruttenden • Jason Martell • Mark Dru • Walter Cruttenden |
| Headquarters: | Irvine, California, U.S. |
Who Is Acorns For?
Acorns is for anyone in the U.S. looking for a simple way to start investing and managing their money better. The platform is primarily aimed at those looking for more hands-off money management and straightforward pricing.
Requirements 🔎
| Minimum Age: | 18 years old |
|---|---|
| Supported Locations: | United States |
| Supported Languages: | English |
| Supported Devices: | Android Phone, Computer Browser, iPhone, Smartphone Browser, Tablet Browser |
| Other: | A bank account to link to Acorns, physical address, and SSN or ITIN. Some users may also be asked to upload a government-issued piece of ID (or similar) to verify their identity. |
How Does Acorns Work?
There's 1 type of user on Acorns:
- Clients
Here's how Acorns works for them:
How Acorns Works For Clients
Acorns clients can sign up for Acorns under one of three (3) subscription plans: personal, personal plus, or premium. These plans range from $3-$9/mo, with each plan offering automated investing, roundup savings, a checking account, and a Visa debit card. Additional perks are available on higher-tier plans.
Key Points 🔑
| Costs / Fees: | Acorns requires a monthly subscription, with plans ranging from $3-$9/mo. Additional fees include fund transfer fees ($35 per ETF) and ATM fees for non-Allpoint ATMs. |
|---|---|
| Account Types: | Custodial, High-Yield Savings, Non-Registered, Personal Checking, Personal Hybrid, Roth IRA, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA, Traditional IRA, Visa Debit Card |
| Deposit Options: | ACH Transfer, Check, Direct Deposit |
| Minimum Deposit: | None |
| Pros: |
|
| Cons: |
|
Getting Started 🔢
To become an Acorns client, head over to the Acorns website or download the Acorns app and create an account.
When signing up, you'll be asked for your:
- Online banking log-in info (for investment funding and roundup savings)
- Address
- Social security number or ITIN
- General information about yourself (i.e. financial goals, occupation, earnings, etc.).
Most accounts are approved within one (1) business day.
Intro offer: First month of Acorns Premium is free on signup. Sign up here.
Using The Platform 📈
Acorns offers quite a few different features, here's a breakdown of each of the main pillars:
Investing:
There are two primary ways to invest money on Acorns:
- Robo-advisor automated investing. This is the primary way to invest on Acorns. Based on the financial information from your profile, Acorns will suggest an investment style (ranging from mild to aggressive). They'll then invest your contributions automatically into a diversified portfolio of ETFs.
- Custom portfolio investing. This is only available on the Acorns Premium plan (more info in the pricing section). With a custom portfolio, you can choose from Acorns available list of assets (ETFs and individual stocks) to invest in. You'll then set a target percentage for those assets to take up in your portfolio.
- Example: You could choose to put 5% of your investment money toward ABCD stock. Then, Acorns will automatically put your future deposits toward that stock until it makes up 5% of your overall portfolio.
Investment portfolios are automatically rebalanced anytime funds are added or removed.
There are 3 primary types of accounts you can invest your money in on Acorns:
- Non-registered. These accounts offer no tax benefits.
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Acorns offers Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs, which each offer their own unique tax advantages.
- Custodial UTMA/UGMA. These accounts can be used to invest money for your under 18 y/o children.
Note that account access varies depending on your Acorns subscription tier. Find more info in the pricing section.
Banking:
Along with investment accounts, Acorns also offers banking features, primarily a checking account. This also comes with a Visa Debit card for easy spending.
Higher-tier plans also get access to an emergency fund account (more details in the pricing section).
Funding:
There are three (3) primary ways to fund your Acorns accounts:
- Roundups. Acorns can monitor the purchases made on your linked cards and Acorns debit card to automatically invest your spare change. For example, if you make a purchase for $1.50, Acorns will round that up to $2.00 and take the extra $0.50 and save it/invest it. You can also multiply your roundups to save more.
- Recurring deposits. Simply choose an amount to deposit from your linked account(s), select a frequency, and you're good to go.
- Direct deposit. Have your paycheck deposited directly into your Acorns account.
- Mobile check. Deposit checks through the Acorns app.
Other features:
- Cashback investing. Shop at Acorns partners to earn cashback directly to your Acorns investment account. You can also download the Acorns browser extension to be alerted of cashback offers as you browse the web.
- Job board. Acorns curates different side hustles here.
- Financial education. Watch videos and read articles related to finance and investing.
Pricing 🏷️
Monthly subscription: Acorns offers three (3) plans:
- Acorns Personal ($3/mo). Comes with:
- Automated investing
- Non-registered and IRA account
- Roundups
- Checking account
- Heavy metal Visa debit card
- Cashback offers
- Acorns Personal Plus ($5/mo). Comes with all of the above, plus:
- Mighty Oak visa debit card
- Checking account with 3% APY
- Emergency fund account with 5% APY
- Cashback bonuses
- Live investor expert Q&As
- Acorns Premium ($9/mo). Comes with all of the above, plus:
- Seld-directed stock investing
- Custodial investment account for your kids
- Kids bank account and debit card (GoHenry)
Fees: Additional Acorns fees to be aware of include:
- Fund transfer fees. If you want to transfer your investments to another brokerage, you'll need to pay $35 per ETF.
- ATM fees. If you use non-Allpoint ATMs you'll be charged a fee set by the ATM operator.
Get the FREE 9-Day Guide to Making Money Online
Learn how to make an extra $500+ a month with this FREE beginner's guide. Includes 7 main money-making strategies ranging from easy to advanced + dozens of mini-opportunities in-between.
Unsubscribe at any time. I'll never share or sell your information.
Acorns Videos and Images
For Clients
Our Editorial Acorns Review
Is Acorns Legit?
We believe Acorns is legit. It's been operating since 2012, is owned by a registered U.S. corporation, provides detailed information on how it works, and it has positive reviews across the web. Overall, we have no reason to believe Acorns is a scam.
Green flags:
- Operating since 2012.
- Operated by a registered U.S. corporation (Acorns Grow Incorporated).
- Detailed website and app pages explaining how the platform works and what to expect before signing up.
- Has positive reviews across the web.
Red flags:
- We were able to find a fair share of negative reviews about the platform, but nothing suggesting it to be a downright scam.
Note: All research is done independently and could be wrong or change as new information is gathered. Please do your own due diligence.
Is Acorns Worth it for Clients? Is It a Smart Money Move?
Acorns provides a strong suite of digital banking and investment tools for those looking to grow their wealth in one place in an easy, hands-off way. The flat-rate monthly pricing can be expensive compared to some similar options (especially for smaller investment portfolios), but for the right person, the costs are reasonable for what is offered.
Acorns Statistics
General Platform Statistics
#18,974
Global Site Rank
7.4M+
Avg. Monthly Site Visitors
10M+
Total Signups
700k+
Oak Trees Planted
Data as of January 19, 2024 • Sources: SimilarWeb, Acorns
Acorns Reviews From Clients
No reviews yet. Help out by writing one!
