5 Best Investment Apps for the United States (2025)

Learning about 5 of the best investment apps for the United States is a great way to expand your financial literacy and improve your ROIs. There are numerous options available for making mobile investments today. However, not all are created equal. Choosing a bad investment app can result in avoidable losses. As such, it’s recommended you stick with reputable platforms.  Here’s what you need to know.

What Makes an Investment App Right For You?

The first thing to understand is that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to investment apps. You will have separate needs and look for different features depending on several factors, such as your overall goal and technical understanding.

What’s Your Experience Level?

The first step to determining the best investment app is to look at your level of financial understanding. There’s no need to pick an app with tons of features that you will never use. It’s wiser to find an app that supports the options you need and does it well. This strategy will ensure that you get the most from your time spent.

How Do You Like to Invest?

Understanding how you like to invest is a key consideration. Are you an active or passive investor? Do you enjoy waking up and checking the markets daily, trading, and keeping tabs on new developments? Or, do you prefer to automatically build wealth over time and with minimal daily effort?

What Types of Assets Do You Want to Invest In?

Another crucial component to consider is what type of assets you want to invest in. Some apps are great for building retirement but have no cryptocurrency options, and vice versa. Some apps offer access to advanced DeFi (Decentralized Finance) options like staking, but have no support for traditional investment options like stocks and bonds.

Determining the type of investments you want to make is going to make selecting the best app a lot easier. Those with a limited technical background may opt to stick with stocks and savings accounts, while those who have a higher risk appetite may venture into decentralized assets like NFTs (Non-fungible Tokens). There are also happy mediums like crypto ETFs that offer exposure without the regulatory risks.

5 Best Investment Apps for the United States

Once you answer the questions above, you’re ready to start looking for the best investment app to meet your needs. These apps have a reputation for security, delivering on their promises, and offering user-friendly interfaces. Here are 5 of the best investment apps for the United States (in no particular order).

1. Acorns: Best for Beginners

The micro-investing App Acorn entered the market in 2012. It was founded by Walter Wemple Cruttenden III and Jeffrey James Cruttenden to automate retirement investing for the masses. The Acorns app launched on iOS and Android in 2014 to great reviews. Since its launch, it has grown to be one of the most popular investment apps available, with millions of clients and +$6.4B in assets under management.

Notably, Acorns sought out many experts to help achieve their goal of democratizing investing. For example, the initial portfolio options were created working with Harry Markowitz. Markowitz is a Nobel laureate. He helped to ensure the app’s offerings were superior to competitors.

The decision to work with industry heavyweights paid off in numerous ways for Acorn. For one, the company quickly secured financial support from heavy hitters like BlackRock, PayPal, and NBCUniversal. This momentum led to the company announcing plans to host an IPO in 2021. However, the firm later rescinded its plans, instead opting to wait for optimal market conditions.

The Acorns mobile app is unique in many ways. The protocol enables users to automatically build their investments by simply making everyday payments. The way it works is that you make a payment using Acorn, and the app automatically rounds the payment up to the next dollar. The added change is then deposited in your savings account.

This low-intensity investment strategy turned out to be a great fit for millions of Americans seeking to build wealth. Notably, the app helped to lower the technical and financial barriers to investing. Also, it has no minimum account balance to open, and only a $5 balance is required to start investing in any of its 5 portfolios.

2. Ally Invest: Best All-in-One Platform

Ally Bank, a subsidiary of Ally Financial (ALLY +1.59%), entered the market in 1919 as an auto financing platform named GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation). The US-based investment firm began expanding its financing options to include appliances and even railway cars in the 1940s and 50s.

In the 1960s, Ally Bank entered the insurance industry, where it did well. Twenty years later, the company expanded again into mortgages. This maneuver again strengthened the company’s positioning and helped it to build financial support in the private and institutional sectors. In 2014, Ally Invest went public.

Three years later, Ally Bank acquired TradeKing Group. This maneuver improved the company’s technical capabilities, enabling it to launch Ally Invest. This automated investing protocol streamlines retirement investing and is one of many new features that the Ally Invest app supports.

Today, the protocol enhances investors’ capabilities and provides access to financing, home loans, and wealth management options. The app is known for its user-friendly interface, low fees, and personalized support. Unlike competitors, Ally Invest provides users who have more than $100k in investments on the app access to a dedicated human financial advisor.

Additionally, the robo-advisor option, which all users gain access to, offers some helpful features that can simplify your strategy. For example, you can set up daily rebalancing to streamline management and ensure your portfolio remains relevant during market volatility. The main things to consider when thinking about Ally Invest are that it’s ideal for those seeking to make significant stock investments, and there is a $100 minimum to trade.

3. Robinhood: Best for Active Traders

Robinhood (HOOD +2.57%) makes the list despite having a bit of a controversial past in the last few years. This popular trading and investment app entered the market in 2013. It was founded by Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatta after they saw the Occupy Wall Street movement. Their goal was to make investing in stocks and bonds as easy as online banking.

Notably, the two named the company Robinhood after the mythical figure who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. In 2017, the Robinhood app launched. It’s considered one of the easiest apps for new users to navigate and offers a nice selection of traditional and decentralized investment options, including stocks, Bitcoin (BTC -0.8%), and other cryptocurrencies.

Robinhood offers commission-free trading on U.S. exchanges, which has helped it secure the top spot as a reliable and accessible option. The app makes it easy for anyone to buy, sell, and store their crypto investments. Also, users gain access to a secure crypto wallet and other helpful features like a VISA Debit card and FDIC-insured savings accounts.

Robinhood’s decision to begin supporting cryptocurrencies in 2018 was a smart maneuver. It helped the company secure more investors, which drove momentum into their 2021 IPO. The company has continued its innovative spirit, recently launching an institutional-focused trading platform called Robinhood Legend.

Notably, Robinhood took a lot of flak for its decision to halt trading during the GameStop fiasco. This incident was halted to protect the interests of brokers who work directly with the app. Since that time, the app has worked to regain customer trust. Today, it boasts +25.8M customers and $221B in assets under management.

4. Public: Best for Fractional & Alternative Assets

Public is an investment and portfolio management app that entered the market in 2019 as Matador. The company’s founders, Jannick Malling and Leif Abraham, sought to make investing more approachable to the masses. They believed that through educational content and access to advanced financial tools, anyone can become financially literate.

New York City-based Public was built from the ground up to support investors, traders, and analysts. It offers features like commission-free trading across several asset classes, including stocks, ETFs, and fractional shares. Notably, the fractional shares concept enables users to gain fractional exposure to high-value stocks.

Fractional shares allow the average person to diversify their portfolio and access some of the most exclusive and expensive investment options. This approach has made Public a favorite of millions of investors today. Additionally, the company received support from some heavy hitters in the industry, including  Greycroft, Accel, Tiger Global, and Lakestar, alongside its +1M users.

The Public app offers traders direct access to a wide array of traditional and new-age assets, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The company includes a risk context alongside all investments. This context provides an in-depth breakdown of the risks each asset includes. This maneuver helps to raise financial literacy and ensure that users stay within their risk appetites.

Public users can trade stocks, bonds, treasuries, options, ETFs,  and cryptocurrencies. Notably, the platform supports several types of accounts, including high-yield cash, treasury, and investment accounts. Additionally, it offers locked-in yields for its investment bonds. All of these features make Public a smart choice for serious investors.

5. Vanguard: Best for Retirement Planning

Vanguard entered the market in 1975. It was founded by John C. Bogle to offer access to low-cost index funds. The company pioneered this approach in 1976, when it launched the first index fund open to public investors. The Vanguard 500 Index Fund tracks the S&P 500 in real time, providing exposure to these assets without direct ownership.

Since its launch, Vanguard has seen considerable growth. The company now has offices in Australia, Amsterdam, Paris, and London. It offers a mix of financial products today, ranging from multi-asset investment options to retirement IRAs and more.

Vanguard consistently offers new options for its users. For example, its Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX) provides exposure to the entire stock market as a single asset. Other options include actively managed mutual funds and bonds. These products make investing for retirement easier.

Users can select between several account types, including an educational savings account. This account provides helpful tips to grow your savings and achieve your retirement goals. There are also retirement, institutional, and individual accounts. Best of all, it’s all managed from the mobile app, meaning you always have direct access to the status of your funds.

In 2024, Vanguard launched the Personal Advisor Services feature. This option allows users to integrate the most advanced technology into their investment strategy. Gain access to more advanced analytics to gain a deeper insight into the market and much more.

Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Investment App

When you look at the options in this list, it’s easy to see that there could be scenarios where you might choose to utilize multiple apps to achieve your investment goal. This strategy will allow you to obtain the best of both worlds. However,  understand that the more apps you use, the greater the workload. As such, it’s recommended to start with one of these options and build from there.

Learn about other cool investments here.