mplyBest For: Acorns is perfect for hands-off passive investors who like automated investing, and for people who would like to start investing but struggle with saving money each month.

Bottom Line: We recommend everyone to use Acorns. The Round-Ups feature is incredible, and you don’t even notice how fast it will collect around $50-100 per month like this. Moreover, if you combine this amount with the Found Money feature, which rewards you often quite well, then these numbers and compound returns will start to add up. You would be surprised who much money you might make with a couple of years like that.

Acorns Full Review​

How does Acorns work?

When you use the Acorns app, your spare change is automatically invested in a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Key features to understand here are Round-Ups and Found Money.

Round-Ups

When you purchase with a credit or debit card, the amount is rounded up to the next dollar, and the change is invested. Round-Ups are transferred from Acorns Core-linked accounts when the total amount of change reaches at least $5. The money transferred is from the checking accounts users link to Acorns. These same accounts will be used when a withdrawal is made.

In other words, the money will be sent from an Acorns Core account to the linked checking account(s). When the Round-Ups reach at least $5, the amount is transferred from your bank account and then invested in real-time.

You can choose to invest daily, weekly, or monthly. You can make a one-time investment to give your account a boost if its value is low. An investment is made using the money in your Acorns account. There are various ETF portfolios to choose from, depending on the asset classes you prefer.

How does the Round-Ups feature work?

Once you register and have your account approved, the initial deposit will be withdrawn by Acorns. After that, your account will be ready for investing.

The Round-Ups transfers always come from the spare change from your daily purchases. It will be added to the Round-Ups balance. You are the one who decides what types of transactions to include in your Round-Ups. You can opt to make it automatic, which means all your transactions will be eligible for Round-Ups. You can also massively boost your account by depositing your cash reward bonuses.

Found Money

If you shop with Acorns” Found Money partners, they automatically invest in your Acorns account. On average, it takes 90 days for the rewards to arrive in your account. The partner list includes Boxed, Airbnb, Walmart, Stitch Fix, Lyft, Sephora, New Balance, Nike, LifeLock, Liberal Mutual Insurance, Groupon, MeUndies, Warby Parker, and Macy’s’s.

There are currently two types of promotions under Found Money: Simply Spend and Tap & Get.

With Simply Spend, you have to make a purchase using the Round-Ups account, while Tap & Get requires transacting via the Found Money link available in the Acorns app. Both promotions come with some conditions attached. These include subscriptions and a particular minimum purchase order.

Therefore, it is essential to follow the requirements to qualify for the Found Money promotions. Acorns invests your money in smart portfolios, enabling you to choose the kind you are comfortable with. The Acorns portfolios range from conservative to aggressive.

How much does Acorns cost?

The Acorns app has three pricing levels.