Acorns Review: Features, Pricing, More

We all have good intentions of saving money for a rainy day. However, doing so is not always easy or financially viable. This is where Acorns.com comes into play.

This Acorns review looks at what Acorns is and what you stand to gain from using its services.

What Is Acorns And How Does It Work?

Acorns is essentially an investment management solution. It provides a platform for micro-investment by rounding up your transactions made via debit or credit card to the nearest dollar. The spare-change savings are then invested on behalf of the account holder.

Acorns’ socially responsible portfolio options are built by experts. As such, users are guaranteed at least a limited investor assessment. Still, determining the amount of risk you are willing to incur lies solely with the account holder.

So, if you battle to stick to a savings plan or have a hands-off approach to investment, this review of Acorns is for you. For a more active approach to money matters, research Stash savings.

Main Features

Acorns specializes in account management to benefit the bottom line. It is also particularly useful to beginners trying their hand at understanding finance and learning the basics.

Features include:

Acorns App

The Acorns app gives users one-page access to investing, boosting retirement savings, and investing for kids.

Investing and Earning

1. Invest: Access to Personal or Family Acorns accounts allows for the activation of the Round-Ups feature. Set preferences for spare change to be invested in an ETF portfolio mix. Refer to reviews on Acorns investment portfolios for clarity on core and sustainable investment options and the associated risks.

Acorns automated financial advisors on the app ensure that when account rebalancing occurs the investment targets are aligned and internal expense ratios are updated.

2. Later: Invest for retirement with IRAs, Roth IRAs, or SEP plans.

3. Early: Acorns Early, available on the Family pricing plan, permits multiple junior users investment with custom diversification recommended by robotic advisor access.

4. Enjoy automatic rebalancing of your portfolio without the need to invest your time.

5. Earn bonus investments when shopping with Acorns’ partners such as Nike, Macy’s, Walmart, and Hotels.com. Our review of Acorns investment benefits shows that details can be found when downloading the app or installing Safari and Chrome extensions on Google Chrome.

6. Invite a friend for an extra $5 investment or benefit from monthly referral bonuses. Bonus payouts process in 60-120 days.

7. Invest in Bitcoin or its fractional shares.

Banking

An Acorns checking account with a heavy metal debit card activates automatic investment of a portion of every salary payment received, (Smart Deposit) with the Round-Up feature standard.

If you prefer, deposits can be directed into your Acorns checking account to allow for salary payments to be available as much as 2 days earlier than usual.

The Acorns Spend review links this account to investment and retirement savings on the platform.

Additional Details

• FDIC-insured for up to $250,000 + fraud protection
• Fee-free ATMs inclusive
• Contrary to similar investment apps, Acorns does not charge low balance/overdraft fees or commission
• Acorns does not manage Thrift Savings Plans or 401(k) accounts but allows for them to be converted into an Acorns Later IRA account
• Acorns does not provide tax strategies. However, be sure to include dividends and interest in your tax return to prevent triggering an investment expense audit of your accounts.

Resources and Education

Acorns users are given access to financial knowledge sponsored by Acorns in conjunction with CNBC. The content supplied is compiled by financial experts.

Acorns Review Ratings

Ease of Use

1. To sign up to Acorns:

2. Click on the Get the app button.

Alternatively, select the payment option you prefer and start from there.

Next, you’ll see the following screen:

4. Complete required fields and click Create Account.

5. Next, link your account to your bank account or Acorns checking account to activate Round-Ups.

6. Access your account homepage. Click on Invest for Your Future to access the investment options. Your investment will read $0.

7. Click on Round-Ups to personalize your settings.

Examples of what you can do include:

• Set to automatic
• Add a multiplier for faster savings growth
• Link accounts

8. Once you’ve clicked on Link an Account, you can search for your bank in the dropdown list.

9. Click on your bank and follow prompts to log in to your bank account.

10. Toggle to allow transfers.

11. Save the updates.

12. If preferred, set up One-Time Investments next (or alternatively set up Recurring Investment).

13. Additional settings to customize:

• Earn from partners
• Access for cashback options
• If you still wonder, how does Acorns work, access the knowledge bank
• Set up for kids investments
• Complete details on portfolio and upload ID photo for identity verification if prompted

14. Select the type of investment risk preferred:

• Moderately conservative: 40% stocks + 60% bonds
• Moderate: 60% stocks + 40% bonds
• Moderately aggressive: 80% stocks + 20% bonds
• Aggressive: 100% stocks

Plans & Pricing

Acorns benefits and rewards are accessible from the dedicated Acorns app. Select one of the following prescription tiers to start:

All-In-One Personal Plan

When researching for our Acorns investing review, we found this plan to be affordable to accommodate tight budgeting. Benefits include an investment account with Round-Ups, up to 10% bonus investments, and savings to launch retirement plans with potentially lucrative tax advantages.

Users can opt to link to an Acorns checking/investment account for additional advantages.

Family Plan

In addition to all the benefits of the Personal Plan, this tiered option includes an additional early investment account for kids.

Benefits include:

• Multiple users at no extra cost
• Automatic recurring investments
• Financial education
• Exclusive bonus investment opportunities
• Potential tax savings

Customer Support

Almost every Acorns IRA review we consulted stated that Acorns support teams are available 24/7 on their Help Center website. Additionally, users are advised to phone (855)739-2859 if they want access to a human advisor option or to click on Contact Us on the FAQ page.

However, the service seems to be outsourced and reviews on Consumer Affairs and Trustpilot rate customer support to be quite unsatisfactory and unresponsive.

Acorns Alternatives

There is a selection of viable Acorns alternatives available.

Acorns vs Betterment

While Acorns is undoubtedly the better option for beginners who want to save money, Betterment has a better portfolio selection and offers high-yielding savings options.
On the other hand, Betterment charges a 0.25% – 0.40% management fee and does not give the option to round up change for additional savings. It’s more expensive than Acorns, although Acorns account holders with small balances may disagree.

Read the full review of Betterment here. 

Acorns vs Stash

Both these platforms focus on beginner investors. However, whereas Acorns robo advisors select portfolio content exclusively, Stash allows for a more hands-on approach and provides you with opportunities to learn how to invest.

Acorns vs Robinhood

Acorns and Robinhood look similar with regard to their trading cost and account minimum requirements. However, Robinhood allows mobile users to manage personalized investment portfolios themselves, with priority advisor access on Gold Accounts.

Read the full review of Robinhood here. 

Our Acorns retirement review determined that this service is unique in providing the Round-Ups feature together with additional opportunities to earn cashback and bonuses. It motivates new investors to take the first step into saving for the future and learning how to manage their investments.

Is Acorns Worth It?

Acorns is a good place to start if you are new to the game of investment and want minimal input into the process. If you have a decent account balance, the monthly fees are affordable and the Round-Ups feature is a good way to save. However, fees on smaller account balances are just not worth the effort.

If you think that investing is a good idea, but are unsure of how to go about it, this Acorns investment app review should convince you that Acorns may very well be what you need.