14 Best Investment Apps if You Don't Know Where to Start

Think your phone can't help you build wealth? Think again. The same device you use to scroll Instagram can now give you access to the stock market and fractional shares for the price of a coffee!

Gone are the days when you needed a fancy brokerage account and thousands of dollars to start investing. Today's apps offer everything from $5 minimums to completely free accounts. You can let a robo-advisor handle everything while you sleep, or pick your own stocks during lunch breaks.

Apps are already eating up hours of your day, so why not choose one that actually helps you grow? That's where Headway fits in. While you're figuring out which stocks to buy, you might want to actually understand what you're doing first. We turn the world's best investing books into 15-minute reads you can knock out anywhere. Warren Buffett's wisdom while you wait for coffee? Done. Personal finance advice during your commute? Easy.

Want to invest smarter, not just faster? Download Headway and get your first week free. Now let's dive into the apps that can actually grow your money.

Quick answer: What are the five best apps for investing in 2025?

1. Headway — Best for financial education and learning. Get 15-minute summaries of top self-growth books to build your knowledge before you invest.

2. Robinhood — Best for active traders. Commission-free trading with an intuitive mobile interface, perfect for frequent stock, ETF, and crypto trading.

3. Wealthfront — Best for hands-off automated investing. Professional portfolio management with tax-loss harvesting for busy investors who want set-it-and-forget-it solutions.

4. Stockpile — Best for families and gifting. Fractional shares starting at $5 make it easy to teach kids about investing and give stocks as gifts.

5. Acorns — Best for automatic saving and investing. Round up your purchases and invest spare change automatically into diversified portfolios.

14 best investment apps for beginners

We tested these apps so you don't have to. Some shine with low fees, others make buying your first Apple stock dead simple. Each one earned its spot for different reasons. Ready to find your match?

1. Acorns — best investing app for saving

Acorns is one of the easiest investing apps out there. If you like your investments and dividends being automated and are interested in a more hands-off approach to your financial life and investment journey, this mobile app is for you. Once you set up your investment bank account, you can set your investing life on cruise control.

Why you might love this app: The Acorns app works by rounding up the total of your purchases to the next dollar and then investing that difference into an ETF portfolio (an ETF is an exchange-traded fund and tends to be more secure than investing in a single stock due to diversification). This low-cost app costs a modest $3 per month for a personal account. Link your debit card and credit cards, let the app round up your spare change, and watch your retirement savings climb! 

Best for: Individuals who struggle to save consistently and beginners seeking automated investing.

Getting started: No minimum to open an account, but you need $5 to start investing. Link your bank account and cards, then roundups begin automatically. Account setup takes about 5 minutes online or through the app.

2. Headway — best app for financial education

You're probably wondering why an app about books has topped our charts for the 14 best investment apps of 2025. That's because our Headway app is unparalleled in its summarized insights from the top non-fiction books. 

We select titles from reputable lists, such as The New York Times bestsellers, Amazon bestsellers, and the Harvard Business Review, to deliver users the best and most accurate content.

Headway is the perfect solution for new investors looking for comprehensible educational resources and insightful investment advice and education on the stock market, cryptocurrency, and financial planning. On the Headway app, you can listen to or read the main insights from the world's best investors and financial thinkers in less than fifteen minutes. 

Why you might love this app: The Headway app's highly personalized approach picks every piece of bite-sized content according to your needs and goals. If you are looking for investor education, Headway will provide you with the best content, such as John Bogle's famous book, 'The Little Book of Common Sense Investing'.

Check out our book lists like 45 Best Financial Literacy Books of All Time and 38 Best Books on How to Make Money, for some book summary inspiration.

Best for: Beginners who want to learn the basics of investing and anyone looking to build financial literacy through expert insights.

Getting started: To get started, simply download it from the App Store or Google Play, create an account, and choose your areas of interest. Click here to discover the Headway app and start your financial literacy journey today!

3. Wealthbase — best investing app for games and contests

Looking to have a little bit of fun on your investing journey? Wealthbase is one of the best investing apps in the world of stock market and stock trading games. This investing app marries the concept of social media with stock picking. On Wealthbase, you can access your friends and colleagues' feeds, what individual stocks they are picking, and daily updates on who is winning. 

Why you might love this app: You can set up games with friends that span from 15 days to just 12 hours. This investing app enables you to trade cryptocurrency. It serves as a great starting point for beginner investors who want to understand risk tolerance and how their time horizon, investment strategy, and stock trading align to build an investment portfolio. 

Best for: Social investors who like competing with friends and beginners who want to practice without real money.

Getting started: Completely free to download and use with no fees, commissions, or account minimums. Start with $100,000 in virtual cash for simulated trading in stocks, ETFs, and crypto. No real money required – purely educational and social gaming experience. 

4. Ellevest — best investing app for socially responsible investing

Do you want to invest with the environment and our future in mind? Ellevest is one of the best investing apps for its top-rated robo-advisors and mission to support female investors. Although anyone can download and use Ellevest, the app focuses on investments that positively impact women.

This user-friendly trading platform creates financial investment portfolios that account for the differing circumstances of women, such as their investing strategy and tendencies, and lower lifetime earnings. 

Why you might love this app: Ellevest is one of the best stock trading apps to successfully incorporate ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing and supports companies with female leaders, affordable housing, community services, and high sustainability standards. If you want to invest your money towards something you feel good about, Ellevest, with its range of investment options, is a great option.

Best for: Women investors seeking portfolios designed for their financial circumstances and investors who want professional management with a values-based approach.

Getting started: Important Note: Ellevest discontinued its digital robo-advisor service in April 2025, transferring existing clients to Betterment. New accounts can no longer be opened for automated investing. Ellevest now focuses only on private wealth management for clients with $500,000+ minimum. Must be 18+ years old (19+ in AL and NE), U.S. citizen/resident with permanent U.S. residential address, Social Security number, and U.S. bank account.

5. Betterment — best investing app for a tax-friendly portfolio

Betterment was one of the first investing apps to offer a robo-advisor (a financial planning service made up of automated algorithms). Since then, Betterment has expanded to become one of the top investment apps that manage investment accounts with taxes in mind. This minimizes your losses and allows your portfolio to be professionally managed at a low cost.

Why you might love this app: Betterment is one of the best investment apps for beginners as it offers a high-yield savings account, retirement account management, investment advice, and phone support from certified financial advisors, and no minimum investment is required. 

This investment app is personalized to each user, calibrating the best stocks, your range of investments in relation to your risk tolerance, and your time horizon, or when you may need access to your money. You can choose to invest with higher risk, craft a socially responsible portfolio, or plan to build a safety net within a few years with minimal risk. 

Best for: Tax-conscious investors who want professional management and beginners who want access to financial advisors.

Getting started: No minimum deposit required. Pricing starts at $4/month for balances under $20K, or 0.25% annually with $250+ monthly deposits or $20K+ balance. Account setup is quick and fully digital.

6. Stash — best investing app for beginners 

Stash is one of the top apps for investing if you are brand new to the financial world. If you want to learn the ropes of investing through a mixture of market news, educational content, games, and practical investing, Stash is for you.

Why you might love this app: This beginner investing app allows you to customize your financial goals based on your focus and actively track your progress in real-time. With zero inactivity fees and a $5 investment minimum, Stash is a low-stakes choice when it comes to investment apps. 

Check out this trading app if you want to work with value-based investing and investment strategy suggestions to build your portfolio.

Best for: Complete beginners seeking guided investing education and investors looking for both automated and DIY options.

Getting started: No minimum to open an account, $5 minimum to start investing. Monthly subscription starts at $3. Setup requires a U.S. bank account, Social Security number, and answering questions about your investment preferences.

7. Wealthfront — best investing app for automated investments

In terms of investing apps, Wealthfront is one of the largest independent robo-advisors. All you need to do is deposit money into your account, and Wealthfront manages your portfolio to help you reach your pre-determined financial goals. The app's ease of use and hands-off approach are why it is one of the best investment apps for beginners.

Why you might love this app: With hundreds of ETFs to choose from, this app strategically puts your money into funds based on your risk tolerance and desire for liquidity. Wealthfront also offers features like tax-loss harvesting, effectively covering the 0.25% annual management fee, making your transactions virtually commission-free. 

With comprehensive financial planning tools and a thoughtful, user-friendly mobile experience that optimizes functionality, Wealthfront is one of the best investment apps on the market.

Best for: Hands-off investors who want professional management and people with larger portfolios who benefit from tax-loss harvesting.

Getting started: $500 minimum deposit to open an automated investing account ($1 minimum for cash accounts).  Must be 18+ years old with a U.S. Social Security number, a permanent U.S. residential address, and currently reside in the U.S. Requires a U.S. phone number that can receive SMS messages for verification. 

8. Fidelity — best investing app for managing all your money in one place 

Fidelity Investments is one of the best investing apps if you are looking for a fully integrated financial experience. Fidelity allows you to open an investment account, a retirement account, a checking account, a savings account, a credit card account, and a place to pay your bills. 

Why you might love this app: Getting all of your finances in one concise location is helpful for the beginner investor to learn about budgeting. Fidelity also offers numerous educational resources on its investing platform so users can learn while they go. 

With over 3,500 mutual funds for users to choose from, no account minimum, no fees, and commission-free trading, this investing app checks all the boxes for getting your finances in order.

Best for: Investors who want all their financial services in one place and beginners who want extensive educational resources.

Getting started: No minimum deposit to open an account, but you need $10 to start investing with Fidelity Go. Account opening is fully digital and requires personal information, including Social Security number and bank account details.

9. Robinhood — best investing app for traders

Do you want a more hands-on approach to your investment portfolio? Robinhood is the best investment app for active traders who want to buy and sell their stocks, crypto, ETFs (exchange-traded funds), and options easily. 

The simple, user-friendly interface makes the Robinhood investment app easy to use and offers consistent market news stories that keep investors informed on what is happening in the stock market. 

Why you might love this app: Robinhood is a great option for experienced investors seeking simple and consistent investment options, as well as free trading and the ability to deal with fractional shares of individual stocks. For new investors, we recommend opening a beginner platform or learning the basics of investing before trading frequently. 

Best for: Active traders want a simple interface for stock trading, and investors interested in fractional shares and crypto trading.

Getting started: I can't find specific minimum deposit requirements for Robinhood. Check their app or website for current account opening details.

Getting started: No minimum deposit to open an account. Must be 18+ years old, U.S. citizen/permanent resident/valid visa holder, with a legal U.S. residential address (within 50 states, Puerto Rico, or U.S. Virgin Islands) and a valid Social Security number. Account approval typically takes less than an hour, with instant bank verification for deposits up to $1,000.

10. Stockpile — best investing app for gifts

This family-centric investing platform app empowers families to invest in their current financial goals and learn how to invest in their future. Stockpile allows its users to buy fractional shares of stocks to grow their investment portfolios gradually. 

Why you might love this app: A standout feature of Stockpile is its gift-giving capability. This allows users to send monetary gift cards to their fellow Stockpile friends and family. 

With no monthly fees and a gifting feature that helps young investors get started, Stockpile is a great option for novice investors looking to open an account and build a diversified portfolio to save for retirement. 

Best for: Families who want to teach kids about investing and beginners who want to start with small amounts through fractional shares.

Getting started: No minimum deposit to open an account, but you need $5 to start investing with fractional shares. Must be 18+ years old, a U.S. citizen/permanent resident/valid visa holder, with a U.S. residential address and a valid Social Security number. A monthly membership fee of $4.95 applies to all accounts. 

11. Public — best investing app for company information

This investing app is geared towards the eager new investor. If you want to learn business basics and delve into the financial life of the companies you are investing in, Public is the app for you.

Why you might love this app: Public allows you to trade stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrency. It also boasts a “town hall” feature that includes meetings with business leaders and a podcast titled 'Public Live' for more real-time market news.

Users are also given access to a social feed where they can discuss their stock picks and investment options with friends and other investors.  

Best for: Social investors who want to discuss their picks with others, beginners who want to learn about the companies they're investing in, and individuals who enjoy community-driven investing platforms.

Getting started: Must be at least 18 years old with U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or a valid visa. Stock investments have a $5 minimum per trade. Account setup is done online through an app. 

12. Fundrise — best investing app for real estate

If you are interested in investing in commercial real estate but do not want to take on the huge financial commitment and investment strategy it requires, Fundrise may be the app for you. This investing app gives users information about deals managed and sourced by experts in the field. Your first deposit automatically becomes a diversified portfolio as your dividends are reinvested.

Why you might love this app: Fundrise provides users with information on potential deals that they can participate in. The investing platform boasts an impressive track record on deals sourced through its platform — 80% return over seven years for the average investor! 

Another great feature is that Fundrise allows you to reinvest your dividends in the property. Even new investors can benefit from this innovative investment platform.

Best for: Investors interested in real estate without buying property directly and people seeking diversification beyond stocks and bonds.

Getting started: A minimum of $10 to start investing in their standard plans, with a minimum of $1,000 for IRA accounts. The setup is done online and typically takes five minutes to complete your investor profile.

13. Webull — best investing app for advanced features on a budget

Want professional-grade trading tools without the hefty fees? Webull stands out among investing apps for offering sophisticated features typically found on expensive platforms, all completely free. This makes it perfect for beginners who want to grow into more advanced trading without having to switch apps later.

Why you might love this app: Webull offers commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs, and options, plus fractional shares starting at just $5. The app includes advanced charting with 50+ technical indicators, paper trading with $1 million virtual money to practice strategies risk-free, and real-time market data. You can even trade during extended hours and access detailed company research and analyst ratings.

With both a simplified  'Webull Lite' mode for beginners and a full-featured version for advanced users, you can switch between interfaces as your confidence grows. The platform also includes a social community where you can follow other investors and share strategies.

Best for: Beginners who want to transition into advanced trading and individuals who prefer practicing with paper trading before using real money.

Getting started: No minimum deposit to open an account, but fractional shares start at $5. Account opening requires U.S. citizenship or a valid visa, a Social Security number, and bank account information. Setup takes about 10 minutes online.

14. SoFi Invest — best investing app for personalized financial guidance

Tired of investing apps that leave you guessing about your financial future? SoFi Invest combines commission-free trading with access to real financial advisors — something most other apps charge extra for or don't offer at all. This makes it ideal for beginners who want professional guidance alongside their investment journey.

Why you might love this app: SoFi offers commission-free trades on stocks, ETFs, and options with no account minimums or contract fees. What sets it apart is free access to certified financial planners for 30-minute consultations (SoFi Plus members get unlimited sessions). 

You can invest in fractional shares starting at $5, participate in IPO offerings, and choose between self-directed investing or automated portfolio management. The app also provides access to alternative investments like private credit and real estate funds for more advanced diversification. 

Best for: Beginners who want access to financial advisors and people who prefer all-in-one financial services.

Getting started: No minimum deposit to open an account, $5 minimum to start investing with fractional shares. Setup requires basic personal information, including your Social Security number and bank account details. Account approval takes 1-3 business days.

Build your investing knowledge with Headway

We hope this listicle has inspired you to delve into the financial planning world and download a beginner investing mobile app. It can be difficult to take the leap since there is always a level of risk that comes with investing.

The Headway app is a great place to start if you are hesitant. Open the Headway app and search for “investing” or “stock market” in the Headway app, and hundreds of titles full of educational resources will come up—from Stock Investing for Dummies to The Psychology of Money. With easy-to-understand 15-minute audio and book summaries, you can learn essential financial information and gain investment advice from some of the world's most intelligent investors and advisors. 

Download the Headway app to embark on your financial education journey today.