Acorns vs. Fidelity: How the Two Platforms Compare

Choosing between Acorns and Fidelity Investments usually comes down to one question: how hands-on do you want to be? Acorns is an investing app that automatically invests your spare change and recurring deposits into an expert-built, diversified portfolio for a flat monthly subscription. Fidelity is one of the largest brokerages in the U.S., built for people who want to choose and manage their own investments, with a separate robo-advisor called Fidelity Go for those who would rather automate. The right fit depends on how involved you want to be, what you are investing for, and how your costs could change if your balance grows.

This guide compares the two on price, features, account types, and the day-to-day experience so you can see which one matches your situation.

The main difference between Acorns and Fidelity

Acorns and Fidelity are designed for different kinds of investors. Acorns is an investment app that helps you save and invest, whether it is for retirement with Acorns Later, saving with Acorns Emergency Savings, or even investing for the kids in your life. Fidelity is a full-service brokerage with commission-free do-it-yourself trading, plus a separate robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, that charges no advisory fee under $25,000 and 0.35% per year above that.

Put simply, Acorns does the investing for you. Connect your accounts, pick how much to contribute, and the app handles the portfolio, contributions, and rebalancing in the background. Fidelity gives you the keys: Buy and sell individual stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, and mutual funds yourself, or hand the wheel to Fidelity Go if you prefer a managed option. One approach removes decisions. The other adds control. Most of the choice between them comes down to which of those you want.

Acorns vs. Fidelity at a glance

Here is a high-level look at how the two compare before we get into the details. Because Fidelity offers two distinct paths, the table separates its self-directed brokerage from its robo-advisor, Fidelity Go.

How the costs compare

At smaller balances, Fidelity Go can cost less than Acorns, and at larger balances, Acorns’ flat price can work more in your favor. Neither is universally cheaper, so it helps to look at where you are today and where you are headed.

Acorns charges a flat monthly subscription that stays the same no matter your balance. Acorns Bronze is $3/month, Acorns Silver is $6/month, and Acorns Gold is $12/month, with no account minimum and $5 to start investing. Viewed as a percentage of your balance, that flat price keeps shrinking if your balance increases. On Bronze ($36/year), the effective rate is about 0.72% at a $5,000 balance, around 0.25% at $14,400, and roughly 0.07% at $50,000.

At Fidelity, its self-directed brokerage charges $0 commissions on online U.S. stock and ETF trades, with no account minimum. Its robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, charges no advisory fee if your balance is under $25,000, then 0.35% per year once your balance exceeds $25,000. Since Fidelity Go is free below $25,000, it’s a cheaper option on pure cost for smaller balances. Once you cross $25,000, its 0.35% fee begins and grows in dollar terms with your balance, while Acorns’ subscription stays flat. At $50,000, for example, Fidelity Go’s advisory fee would come to about $175/year, while Acorns Bronze would still be $36/year. So the edge tends to flip as balances grow. You can see the full Acorns cost breakdown in our guide on is Acorns worth it.

It’s also worth knowing that the funds you hold carry their own expense ratio, the annual cost charged by a fund and shown as a percentage of your investment. Acorns invests in low-cost ETFs from Vanguard and BlackRock (iShares), and those fund costs are separate from the subscription. Fidelity Go invests in its own zero-expense-ratio Flex funds, so there’s no fund-level cost layered on top of its advisory pricing.

So where does Acorns add value beyond price? In what comes with each subscription. The same monthly price includes Round-Ups®, an 1% or 3% IRA match on Acorns Silver and Gold, Custom Portfolios on Gold, investment accounts for kids with a 1% match on Gold, and automatic rebalancing, all in one place.

The Acorns Later Match is worth a closer look: Silver adds a 1% match and Gold adds a 3% match on new contributions to your Acorns Later retirement account during your first year, which can offset part or all of the subscription depending on how much you contribute. For a deeper look at flat versus percentage-based pricing, see our comparison of Acorns vs. Betterment and Wealthfront. If you want to compare costs on your own, the SEC’s investor.gov has a clear primer on how robo-advisor fees work.

Where Acorns stands out

Acorns is built to make investing happen automatically and consistently, which is its biggest advantage for people who would rather not manage a portfolio themselves. A few features set it apart:

• Round-Ups®, which automatically invest your spare change from everyday purchases so you can invest in the background
• Recurring Investments that let you invest a set amount on a schedule you choose
• Acorns Later Match, a 1% (Silver) or 3% (Gold) match on first-year contributions to your Acorns Later retirement account
• Custom Portfolios on Acorns Gold, which let you add individual stocks and ETFs to your already-diversified portfolio
• Acorns Early Invest and the Acorns Early app and debit card, which help you invest for the kids in your life and teach them money habits
• Money Manager, which splits your money across investing, spending, and saving and
• Emergency Savings, which offers a high APY (annual percentage yield) on money you can set aside in a rainy day fund (Silver and Gold)
   

Acorns is designed so that once you set it up, your investing can keep going in the background, which is especially helpful for staying consistent over time. On average, customers who use Round-Ups® invest about $45/month from spare change alone, which can add up over the years thanks to the power of compounding.

Where Fidelity stands out

Fidelity offers depth and control that other apps could leave out. If you want to make your own investment decisions or hold a wide range of account types, there’s a lot to offer:

• Self-directed trading in individual stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, and mutual funds, with $0 commissions on online U.S. stock and ETF trades
• Stocks by the Slice, which lets you buy fractional shares (portions of a single share, so you can invest a set dollar amount) from thousands of U.S. stocks and ETFs for as little as $1
• Zero-expense-ratio index funds, such as Fidelity’s ZERO and Flex funds, which carry no fund management cost
• Access to human financial advisors, including coaching through Fidelity Go once your balance reaches $25,000
• Tax-loss harvesting on taxable Fidelity Go accounts at $25,000 and above, a strategy that can help reduce your tax bill
• A wide range of account types, including health savings accounts (HSAs) and the Fidelity Youth Account for teens
   

Fidelity is also one of the largest brokerages in the country, serving more than 50 million customers, with deep research tools and a large library of investor education.

Account types, side by side

Both platforms cover the essentials. Acorns and Fidelity each offer a taxable brokerage account and IRAs, including Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs, so you can invest for retirement on either one.

Where they differ is everything around those core accounts. Acorns bundles a brokerage account, an Acorns Later retirement account, Acorns Checking, Emergency Savings, and Acorns Early Invest for kids into a single subscription, so your everyday money tools can live in one app. Fidelity casts a wider net on account types, adding health savings accounts, the Fidelity Youth Account, 529 college savings plans, access to financial advisors, and cryptocurrency through Fidelity Digital Assets.

If you want the most account variety under one roof, Fidelity leads. If you want a focused set of accounts that can work together automatically, Acorns keeps it simple.

What the experience is like

With Acorns, most of the work happens for you. The app recommends an expert-built, diversified portfolio of ETFs based on your goals and risk tolerance. You control how much and when to invest in your accounts. Once it’s set, Acorns invests your contributions automatically and rebalances over time, so day-to-day investing is close to hands-off. That design is meant to help you start and keep going without second-guessing every move.

With Fidelity, you have more control and, with it, more decisions. You choose what to buy, when to buy it, and how to put a portfolio together, supported by strong research tools and education. If you would rather not make those calls, Fidelity Go can also manage a portfolio for you. The trade-off is straightforward: Acorns removes choices to make investing effortless, while Fidelity offers more choices for people who want them.

How your money is protected

On safety, the two are on equal footing. Investment accounts at both Acorns and Fidelity are Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protected up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 for cash claims. SIPC covers the custody of your securities if a brokerage fails. It does not protect against investment losses, since the value of any investment can go up or down. You can read exactly what SIPC covers at sipc.org.

Which one is right for you

Choose Acorns if you want investing to happen automatically and consistently without managing it yourself, if you want to start off investing with spare change, or if you want family tools and an IRA match bundled into one flat subscription. It is a strong fit for beginners and busy people who value simplicity and steady habits over hands-on control.

Choose Fidelity if you want to pick your own investments, trade individual stocks and ETFs, or hold a wide range of account types at one of the largest brokerages in the country. It is a strong fit for do-it-yourself investors and anyone who wants maximum control and research at their fingertips.

You also don’t need to choose just one. Many people use both for different purposes, such as keeping an Acorns account for automated, long-term investing and using a Fidelity account for self-directed trades. There is nothing wrong with letting each platform do what it does best. The most important step is simply to start and stay invested.

Start investing with Acorns. If you’re still deciding, read Acorns vs. Robinhood or see whether Acorns is worth it for your goals.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Acorns and Fidelity?

Acorns is an automated investing app, and Fidelity is a full-service brokerage. Acorns has automated tools that can invest your spare change and deposits into an expert-built, diversified portfolio for a flat monthly subscription. Fidelity lets you choose and trade your own investments commission-free, and also offers a separate robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, for people who want a managed option. In short, Acorns automates investing, while Fidelity gives you more control and more choices.

Does Fidelity have a round-up feature like Acorns?

Spare-change round-ups are a signature Acorns feature, not a core part of Fidelity’s offering. With Acorns, Round-Ups® automatically round up your everyday purchases and invest the difference, which is one of the main ways the app helps you invest consistently. If automatic spare-change investing is what you are after, that is an area where Acorns is purpose-built.

Which is better for hands-off investors versus do-it-yourself investors?

For hands-off investors, Acorns is usually the better match, because it automates the portfolio, the contributions, and the rebalancing so you do not have to manage anything. For do-it-yourself investors, Fidelity is usually the better match, because it lets you choose and trade your own stocks, ETFs, and funds with strong research tools to support your decisions. If you fall in between, Fidelity Go offers a managed option within Fidelity’s ecosystem.

Can I use both Acorns and Fidelity at the same time?

Yes. There is no rule against having accounts at more than one platform, and some investors use both. A common approach is to use Acorns for automated, long-term investing and Round-Ups® while keeping a Fidelity account for self-directed trades or account types Acorns does not offer. Just keep an eye on your overall costs and contributions so you are investing in a way that fits your budget and goals.