Compare Commission-Free Trading Apps — Start Investing With as Little as $1
Getting started with investing has never been easier or more affordable. The best investing apps of 2026 offer commission-free trading, fractional shares starting at just $1, and educational resources designed specifically for beginners. Whether you want a hands-off approach with automated portfolios or prefer to pick your own stocks, there is an app that matches your investing style.
We have compared eight of the most popular investing platforms for beginners, evaluating each on costs, minimum investments, available features, educational resources, and ease of use. Every app on this list supports fractional share investing, which means you can buy a piece of expensive stocks like Amazon or Berkshire Hathaway without needing thousands of dollars.
The most important thing is to start investing early and consistently. Even small amounts grow significantly over time thanks to compound interest. Our Compound Interest Calculator can show you exactly how much your investments could grow. The difference between starting at 25 versus 35 can be hundreds of thousands of dollars by retirement age.
| App | Minimum | Commissions | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity | $0 | $0 stocks/ETFs | Best overall for beginners |
| Robinhood | $0 | $0 stocks/ETFs/options | Best mobile-first experience |
| Acorns | $0 | $3-$12/mo subscription | Best for automated micro-investing |
| Public | $0 | $0 stocks/ETFs | Best for social/community investing |
| SoFi Invest | $0 | $0 stocks/ETFs | Best ecosystem with banking + investing |
| Webull | $0 | $0 stocks/ETFs/options | Best free advanced trading tools |
| Stash | $0 | $3-$9/mo subscription | Best for themed/values-based investing |
| M1 Finance | $100 | $0 (free) / $5/mo Plus | Best for automated portfolio management |
When choosing your first investing app, consider three factors: your investing approach, how much you want to start with, and which features matter most to you. If you want a completely hands-off experience, Acorns or M1 Finance handle everything automatically. If you want to learn by picking individual stocks, Fidelity or Robinhood provide the best combination of tools and simplicity.
For most beginners, we recommend starting with Fidelity due to its comprehensive features, zero-fee index funds, excellent research tools, and strong regulatory reputation. However, if you are primarily a mobile user who values simplicity, Robinhood's clean interface is hard to beat. The key is to pick one app, open an account, and start investing consistently — even if it is just $25 per week.
Remember that investing involves risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. Diversification through index funds or ETFs is generally the safest approach for beginners. Use our Stock Screener to research individual stocks, and our ROI Calculator to evaluate potential investments before committing your capital.
While most apps now offer zero-commission trading for stocks and ETFs, it is important to understand other potential costs. Some apps like Acorns and Stash charge monthly subscription fees instead of per-trade commissions. ETFs and mutual funds have expense ratios (annual fees) that are deducted from your returns. Fidelity's FZROX and FZILX funds have expense ratios of literally zero, making them the cheapest index funds available.
Be aware of payment for order flow (PFOF), where brokers sell your trade orders to market makers. While this enables free trading, it may result in slightly less favorable execution prices on your trades. Public is the only app in our comparison that does not use PFOF, instead offering optional tipping.
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