3+ best Acorns alternatives & competitors in 2025

Research the best alternatives to Acorns, compiled using a range of criteria, including cost, security, and user reviews.
Written by
Updated on Jul 15, 2024
Reading time 5 minutes

Acorns is a micro-investing app that allows you to start investing with as little as $5. Founded in 2012, the platform offers a range of ready made portfolios in addition to its round up feature, making investing easy for anyone. 

Compare the cost of investing and the range of available markets to learn if you can trust Acorns or whether it’s better to find the best Acorns alternative. 

Quick take: best alternatives to Acorns 2025

  1. eToro: Best for beginners, copy-trading & demo-account
  2. Plus500: Best for international trading*
  3. Public: Best for AI analysis

Top 10 Acorns alternatives & similar sites

We found 6 online brokers for users based in

1. eToro. Best for beginners, copy-trading & demo-account

4.5
Ratings

$100

Min. deposit

0% commission

Fees

3,600

No. assets

Yes

Demo account

Overview

We love eToro because it’s a trading platform built with beginners and casual traders in mind. The platform combines an interactive, social trading experience with an easy-to-use interface, making it ideal for novice traders.

The far-reaching catalog of more than 5,500 stocks and ETFs includes big names like Apple and Tesla, as well as smaller companies with high growth potential. You can start trading with as little as $10 using fractional shares if you’re on a tight budget.

One feature we particularly appreciate is the ability to interact with eToro’s 35 million users on any asset, market, or portfolio page. If you find traders whose strategies match your risk tolerance, you can copy their portfolios automatically using eToro’s flagship copy trading functionality. This is a great way to learn and potentially benefit from the expertise of more experienced traders.

If you don’t feel comfortable investing your cash straight away, you can use a free demo account, credited with $100,000 virtual dollars. This offers plenty of opportunities to try out a trading strategy that works for you across stocks, crypto, and options trading markets.

Highlights

Fees & Costs

Pros & Cons

eToro offers real assets only, no CFD products. eToro securities trading offered by eToro USA Securities, Inc. (‘the BD”), member of FINRA and SIPC. Investing involves risk, and content is provided for educational purposes only, does not imply a recommendation, and is not a guarantee of future performance. Invezz.com is not an affiliate and may be compensated if you access certain products or services offered by the BD.

2. Plus500. Best for international trading*

4.5
Ratings

$100

Min. deposit

From 0.8%

Fees

2,800

No. assets

Yes

Demo account

Overview

We love Plus500 because it is one of the industry’s most transparent and reliable brokers. Its fees are clear and you’ll know exactly what you will be paying before you make a trade. Its technology driven platform gives access to futures contracts for some of the biggest indices.

Plus500 has something for all types of traders, no matter what level of experience. Its low margin requirements (starting at $100) and different contracts make it a top choice for day traders. At the same time, its trading academy is packed with educational content, perfect for beginners just starting. 

For accurate instrument availability, visit plus500.com.

The fees: Plus500 charges a commission of $0.49 per Micro contract and $0.89 per Standard contract (per side). There is an Auto-Liquidation fee of $10 per contract. Other exchange fees may be applicable and can be found on the CME group website. 

*Based on a comparison of 60+ leading brokers and trading platforms.

Highlights

Fees & Costs

Pros & Cons

This information is NOT relevant to EU residents who are to be serviced by EU subsidiaries of the Plus500 Group, such as Plus500CY Ltd, authorized by CySEC (Reg. 250/14). Different regulatory requirements apply in Europe, such as leverage limitations and bonus restrictions.

3. Public. Best for AI analysis

public.com logo
4
Ratings

$20

Min. deposit

Spreads

Fees

9,000

No. assets

No

Demo account

Overview

We love Public because it makes use of cutting-edge AI technology to enhance your trading and investing experience. Public’s AI-powered feature, Public Alpha offers personalized insights and recommendations through its natural language interface in real time. 

Public’s AI technology helps you make more informed decisions by analyzing massive amounts of data and providing actionable insights. These AI-driven insights are easily accessible and give users access to the latest advancements in financial analysis and trading. 

Not only do can you use AI to help your investments, Public is one of the lowest cost brokerage firms out there. You can invest in stocks and ETFs commission free. You can also buy and trade fractional shares and if you want to diversify, you can explore a range of alternative investments including music and film royalties. 

The fees: There are no fees for investing in stocks during regular trading hours in the US – 9.30am-4pm EST. There is a $2.99 fee for trades outside of regular hours. 

Highlights

Fees & Costs

Pros & Cons

Cryptocurrency execution and custody services are provided by Apex Crypto LLC (NMLS ID 1828849) through a software licensing agreement between Apex Crypto LLC and Public Crypto LLC. Crypto trading on Public platforms is served by Public Crypto LLC and offered through APEX Crypto. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved before trading.

Compare similar apps to Acorns

We have assigned each Acorns alternative a rating to give you an idea of the overall service each trading platform provides. The score, alongside a snapshot of some important features, allow us to quickly summarise Acorns’s top competitors.

AcornseToroTrading 212Nutmeg
Minimum deposit$5£10£1£100
Trading feesYesYesNoYes
Tradable assets10 portfolios3,000+12,000+4 portfolios
Supported assetsStocks, Bonds, ETFsCrypto, stocks,
forex, indices,
ETFs, NFTs
Stocks, forex
commodities, ETFs
Stocks, ETFs
Demo accountNoYesNoNo
Invezz rating3.94.63.73.7
Visit site > Visit site > Visit site > Visit site >

How the best Acorns alternative was found

We found alternative stock brokers to Acorns by reviewing what most closely matched Acorns in terms of the business model, licensing & operations, cost of trading, target audience, and financial markets available.

We ranked each alternative on these factors while taking into account all available user-reviews across services like Trustpilot, Reviews.io, and Sitejabber, to find the services that offered similar apps to Acorns.

Here are some more of the features we used to identify the best Acorns alternatives.

  • Best low fee Acorns alternatives. The main cost of using a stock broker comes from trading fees or commissions but there may be other fees as well. We considered the overall cost of using a different trading platform, including inactivity fees, spreads, and conversion fees.
  • Best Acorns alternatives for beginners. Beginner-friendly Acorns alternatives provide an intuitive app and trading experience that helps you make your first steps in trading. The most important feature it must offer is a free demo account, while features like copy or social trading can be useful as well.
  • Best Acorns competitors with similar products. We picked out trading platforms where the markets and number of assets available most closely resembled Acorns. Good Acorns alternatives offer a large, varied range of financial products.
  • Most secure Acorns alternative. All the Acorns competitors we recommend are regulated by top tier financial regulators to protect you and your money. We also look for similar apps to Acorns that are transparent about their finances and how they store customer funds.
  • Best Acorns competitors with highest user reviews & customer ratings. Real life experience of using a trading platform is important. We identified the most popular platforms by comparing those with the best average ratings and most positive user reviews.

Best low fee alternatives to Acorns

You don’t want to switch trading platforms only to pay more for the service. Here’s how Acorns alternatives compare in terms of how they make their money:

AcornseToroTrading 212Nutmeg
Trading feesYesYesNoYes
Inactivity feesNoYesNoNo
Rollover/overnight feesYes, on CFDsNoNo
Withdrawal feesNoYesNoYes
SpreadsYesYes, on certain assetsYesNo
Conversion feesYesYes, for non-USD currenciesNoNo

Best Acorns alternative for beginners

Acorns is targeted towards beginners, so any competitor should provide a helpful experience to new users as well. Here is a comparison of beginner-friendly features available from Acorns’s competitors:

AcornseToroTrading 212Nutmeg
Free demo accountNoYesYesNo
Video tutorialsNoYesNoNo
Copy tradingNoYesNoNo
Trading academyNoYesYesNo

Acorns competitors with similar products

An Acorns alternative should allow you to invest into a similar range of stock assets and financial markets. That way, you can invest in the same products even if you switch brokers. Here’s how the competitors compare to Acorns:

AcornseToroSkillingNutmeg
Currencies49180+
Stocks311712,000+
ETFs2231712,000+1,800+
Indices20
Commodities2627
Cryptocurrencies73

Most secure Acorns alternative

Regulation is important because it offers you financial protection in the event that something happens to the broker, like a bankruptcy. Here are how the top alternatives fare against Acorns in terms of regulatory protection.

AcornseToroTrading 212Nutmeg
Africa regulationFSAS
Asia regulation
Australasia regulationASIC
European regulationFCA, CySEC, DNB, AMF, OAM, MFSAFCA, CySEC, FSAFCA
North American regulationFINRA, SECFinCEN, FINRA
South American regulation

Best Acorns competitors with highest user reviews & customer ratings

We gathered data from independent review platforms to show what the experience of using a Acorns alternative was like for other people. 

This information can be a useful tool to help you decide which trading platform to use, but remember that there are many reasons why someone might have a good or bad experience with a service – and not all of them are the platform’s fault.

AcornseToroTrading 212Nutmeg
Trustpilot2.34.44.63.7
Reviews.io3.01
Sitejabber12.072.03.7

FAQs

01

Does Acorns actually make you money?

02

Can I trust Acorns?

03

Is it good to invest in Acorns?

04

What is the downside of Acorns?

05

How much is Acorns per month?


Sources & references