8 best investment apps in July 2025
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No matter what's on your financial to-do list, there's an app that can help you get it done. The best investing apps can help you quickly fund, analyze, optimize and manage your portfolio with a few swipes.
Below we highlight the top investment apps for a range of investors, whether you're looking to trade stocks quickly, get real-time market updates or want a service to handle routine tasks on autopilot while you sleep.
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Best apps to help you grow, manage and track your investments
The companies below excel at providing both stock trading and broader money management services across their platforms. (See our individual reviews of each for details.) But it's their user-friendly, richly featured apps that earned them a spot on Bankrate's best investment apps list.
- Betterment — Best app for automated investing
- Acorns — Best app for micro-investing
- Wealthfront — Best app for portfolio management
- Fidelity Investments — Best app for managing money all-in-one
- Robinhood — Best app for active trading
- Stock Rover — Best app for stock research
- Charles Schwab — Best app for beginners
- Fundrise — Best app for direct investment in real estate
Betterment — Best app for automated investing
Betterment is one of the largest and most popular robo-advisors, and for good reason. The app provides professionally managed portfolios using a selection of ETFs that are calibrated against your own risk tolerance and when you need the money. It does all of this for a much smaller price than you'd pay a traditional financial advisor.
Why we like it:
- Once you set up a Betterment account and answer a few questions about your investment goals, you can kick back while the pros do the rest of the work.
- The app lets you set investing goals (e.g. retirement, near-term cash safety net, etc.) and adjust the amount of risk you're willing to take to meet them.
- A robust (and free) cash management account — which includes a debit card and checking account — enables you to manage more of your money life in one spot.
Who is it best for?:
- You like having a professionally managed portfolio for a low cost, along with a cash management account.
Acorns — Best app for micro-investing
More and more brokers are offering the ability to buy fractional shares of stock for small-dollar amounts. The Acorns app goes even smaller, automatically investing your spare change every time you make a purchase on a linked debit or credit card.
Why we like it:
- Link a debit or credit card to your account, and Acorns will round up the total on purchases to the next dollar and invest that difference into one of a few ETF portfolios.
- Acorns chooses your portfolio based on the targeted time until your retirement (calculated as age 59 ½), becoming more conservative as you near that age.
- The entry-level Acorns Bronze service (for $3 per month), includes a taxable investment account, an individual retirement account (IRA) (traditional, Roth or SEP), a metal debit card and more.
- For the $12 a month Gold plan, you’ll get the benefits of the lower tiers plus the ability to buy individual stocks, a 3 percent match on IRA contributions during year one and an investment account for kids.
Who is it best for?:
- You like getting automatic investments while you’re spending without worrying about it. You like retirement investing without the hassle.
Wealthfront — Best app for portfolio management
You could handily manage a good portion of your financial life using Wealthfront. Automated portfolio management (in both taxable accounts and IRAs) is the robo-advisor's core offering. But the app can also serve as command central for no-commission stock and fund trading, bill payments (via its highly-rated cash management account) and more.
Why we like it:
- Wealthfront offers hundreds of ETFs to construct your portfolio and takes into account how much risk you want to take as well as when you’ll need the money.
- As you deposit money, Wealthfront will add it to your portfolio and keep your account balanced and on target toward your goal.
- Commission-free stock and ETF trading (as well as fractional share investing) is available if you want to self-manage a portion of your money.
- Wealthfront's high-interest cash management account (which includes a debit card, check writing, bill pay and more) rounds out the app's utility. There is no monthly fee, and it's available even if you don't sign up for an investment account.
- As the name suggests, Wealthfront's Automated Bond Ladder takes the hassle of managing one on your own. With it, you get exposure to low-risk U.S. Treasurys with varying maturity dates at a 0.25 percent advisory fee.
Who is it best for?:
- You're looking for a hub for multiple investment needs, including robo-managed assets and self-managed money (access to free stock and ETF trading).
Fidelity Investments — Best app for managing money all-in-one
You could easily manage your entire financial life using Fidelity Investments' app. Fidelity offers a lot more than just investment accounts. (Although on that front has one of the most expansive lineups in the industry, including the basics (taxable brokerage accounts, IRAs) as well as custodial accounts, HSAs and retirement accounts for businesses and its highly rated robo-advisor service. On the banking side, you can access checking and savings accounts and even its credit card offerings.
Why we like it:
- You can get all your finances in order with one company on one dashboard, and never feel like you’re missing a thing.
- You’ll get solid research on ETFs and mutual funds, tons of articles on budgeting, investing and personal finance and webinars, too.
- If you ever need help, you’ll be connected with a courteous and helpful Fidelity rep in short order.
Who is it best for?:
- You want all your financial accounts under one roof, and you enjoy being treated like a valued customer.
Robinhood — Best app for active trading
Robinhood is the app to have if you like a streamlined, no-nonsense interface to trade stocks, ETFs, options or cryptocurrency. You’ll get to do it all with no commission (even on options and crypto, though there is a built-in markup) using a slick mobile interface that makes quick work of it all.
Why we like it:
- You can access a stock’s page from a search bar at the top of the screen and then pull up charts and vital statistics.
- The stripped-down app is simple to navigate, and after a while you’ll move intuitively from screen to screen as you trade the market.
- A feed that aggregates stories from news and investing sites, so that you keep on top of what’s going on.
- After you’ve decided what you want to trade and enter the number of shares to buy or sell, swipe up and the order is on its way.
Who is it best for?:
- You like trading stocks (as well as ETFs, options and cryptocurrency) for free and having a simple way to quickly do so.
Stock Rover — Best app for stock research
Stock Rover is the app to use if you’re looking to access detailed financials and research reports on thousands of publicly traded companies and funds. You’ll be able to screen for stocks and funds, chart valuations over time and access what seems like an endless amount of data.
Why we like it:
- The depth of resources here is immense, with data on more than 10,000 publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Canada as well as coverage on 3,000 ETFs and tens of thousands of mutual funds.
- Screen for stocks and funds based on detailed financial criteria, then export data to a spreadsheet.
- Keep your research in order with screeners, watch lists, tags and even create-your-own financial metrics.
Who is it best for?:
- You like to get into the fine details of your investments, access research reports and screen for stocks and funds.
Charles Schwab — Best app for beginners
You might overhear seasoned investors singing the praises of Charles Schwab's high-powered thinkorswim app. But the broker also offers a separate app — Schwab Mobile — that's great for beginners just learning the ropes.
Why we like it:
- Schwab Mobile provides tons of research and education, helping newer investors get up to speed on topics such as investing and personal finance.
- Access to fractional shares (Stock Slices) of any company in the Standard & Poor's 500 lets start investing with as little as $5, commission-free, of course.
- Schwab is also great for mutual fund investors, with more than 4,000 no-load and no-transaction-fee funds (meaning no commission to buy or sell), one of the largest selections in the industry.
- You’ll also get highly responsive customer service that gets your questions answered quickly.
Who is it best for?:
- You like investing with a friendly company that starts off in the right direction and then helps you along the way.
Fundrise — Best app for direct investment in real estate
Using the power of crowdfunding, the Fundrise app allows individual investors to invest directly in commercial real estate with virtually any amount of money. The app provides information about potential deals, allowing you to select the ones you’d like to participate in for as little as $10 to start. Bringing more money to the table buys access to even more select deals, just be mindful that your investment may be locked in for years. (Explore other ways to invest in real estate without buying property.)
Why we like it:
- The low minimum investment makes it easy to invest in commercial real estate without the huge upfront financial commitments that are usually required.
- You can get access to a range of development projects (industrial, office, build-for-rent, single-family, multifamily) that aren’t generally available or otherwise accessible to less well-heeled investors.
- The app allows you to reinvest your dividends.
Who is it best for?:
- You’re looking to invest in real estate using deals sourced and managed by an expert without having to make massive financial commitments.
How to choose an investment app
Here are four things to consider when choosing an investment app:
1. Your financial needs
Think about what you want to accomplish by using an investment app. Do you need an educational tool or are you looking to actually trade and invest? Many apps offer the same basic functionality at first glance. Identifying the features you value most will help you focus on the differences that matter most to you.
A few leading questions to get you thinking:
- What are your investment goals? If you’re saving for retirement, you’ll want to find an app that offers an IRA.
- How much time do you plan to spend investing? Several apps let you actively buy and sell stocks, but if you’re looking for a more passive approach, a robo-advisor might be a better fit.
2. The type of account you need
Taxable investment accounts are standard at almost every app. Most — but not all — also support IRAs (tax-advantaged retirement accounts).
If you're hoping to open anything other than a traditional or Roth IRA (e.g., a SEP IRA), check the offerings. Same goes if you're hoping to open a joint account or a custodial account.
3. Prices and fees
Fees can eat into your investment returns, but it's easy to avoid them if your aim is to trade stocks and funds on your own. Commission-free trading is the industry norm these days. Low account minimums also make it easy to avoid most account fees.
Robo-advisors typically charge a management fee based on your invested assets but few, if any, other fees.
More specialized apps such as real estate platforms or research services charge fees for their services. So you'll want to see if the services justify the fees you're paying.
4. Available investments and asset classes
Investment apps typically allow you to buy stocks, but they may also let you invest in other assets, too. So you'll need to determine if it lets you invest in what you want to buy. Fundrise, for example, lets you invest only in real estate, while a robo-advisor may let you buy stock funds but not individual stocks.
If you’re interested in trading things like cryptocurrencies, you’ll want to make sure that’s a feature offered by the app or broker — not all brokers offer crypto trading.
Using investment apps: A 7-step guide to get started
A big part of the appeal of investment apps is how easy they make it to put your money to work in the stock market.
Once you choose and download an app, you’ll need to…
- Set up your account: Prepare to provide some personal information, including your address and Social Security number. Because banks and brokerages are regulated businesses (and report to the IRS, they require more info about you than, say, a gaming app.
- Link your bank account: This is the fastest and cheapest way to get money into your account. The app will walk you through this step which involves providing an account number and routing number to move money back and forth.
- Fund your account: How much you actually invest depends on your own financial situation and needs. The good news is that many investment apps have very low minimum investment requirements to get started. Decide how much money you want to invest and transfer funds from your bank to your investment app.
- Set up automatic ongoing contributions: The key to achieving ongoing investing success and building wealth is to add money regularly over time. Many apps allow you to set up recurring contributions on a weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule. In fact, the amount you start with matters much less than your saving and investing discipline over time.
- Explore all the app has to offer: Take some time to get the lay of the land. Check out any educational features (tutorials, simulated trading options) to grow your knowledge.
- Start building your portfolio: This is the exciting part. Choose investments that align with your goals and budget. Most apps offer trading in stocks, bonds, ETFs and mutual funds. Aim for diversification to spread your risk. But don’t feel any pressure to invest all of your money at once. With zero-commission trading you can pick up shares at any time without paying extra fees. And if the app you choose offers fractional share investing, you can start with virtually any amount of money.
- Monitor your portfolio: Finally, you’ll want to periodically check in on your investments and see how they’re performing. You’ll be able to track your progress and make adjustments as needed within the app.
Using an investment app is a great way to learn more about the markets and start growing your portfolio. Just remember, investing involves risk, so don't invest any money you can't afford to lose.
Investing app FAQs
Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.