Stash vs. Robinhood [2024]: Which Matches Your Investment Style?

If you're looking for the best investment app for you, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of options out there — especially if you’re just learning how to invest money. Whether you’re a novice or a pro, we’re here to help you find the right investment platform for you.

Stash¹² and Robinhood are two especially popular trading platforms because both aim to make investing affordable. There are important differences between Stash vs. Robinhood, and this guide will help you decide which is best for you based on your situation.

Stash vs. Robinhood

Minimum investment	$1	$0
Account fees	$3 to $9 per month	None
Asset classes	32 asset classes	4 asset classes
Account types available	Personal banking account Taxable account Traditional or Roth IRA Custodial account	Taxable account FDIC-insured spending account Traditional or Roth IRA
Features	Stock-Back® rewards (if you have a debit account with Stash)3 Fractional shares Automated investing options	Robinhood Cash Card with weekly bonuses on round ups Access to more than 5,000 stocks Fractional shares Commission-free trades
Best for...	Investors who don't mind paying a small monthly fee for automated savings, the chance to earn rewards, and personalized advice	Investors looking for no-fee stock trading and who want the option to buy stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies
	Visit Stash Paid Non-Client Promotion FinanceBuzz doesn’t invest its money with this provider, but they are our referral partner. We get paid by them only if you click to them from our website and take a qualifying action (for example, opening an account.)	Visit Robinhood

How does Stash work?

Stash is an online broker that aims to simplify investing. With Stash, you can choose among thousands of different individual stocks, bonds, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) to invest in. And because Stash has no minimum balance requirements and offers the chance to purchase fractional shares, it's very affordable to get started. In fact, you can invest with as little as $1 and buy a portion of a share of almost any investment Stash offers.

With Stash, you have the option to pick your own investments. Don’t be intimidated, though. Stash offers a wealth of educational material on its website, and you have the option to get advice from a real person if you need it.

Investors who choose the Growth or Stash+ tiers will also have the option to invest in Stash's Smart Portfolios. These carefully designed portfolios enable you to be diversified and regularly invest in your portfolio without having to make all your own investment decisions. Stash will also rebalance your portfolio for you, as well as reinvest your dividends.⁴

Stash also offers opportunities for automated investing. You can make automated transfers from your bank on a set schedule; round up transactions on your Stock-Back® Card to the nearest dollar so you can invest your change.⁶

The biggest downside of Stash is that there's a cost to using it. You can choose a Growth account for $3 monthly or a Stash+ account for $9. If you want the chance to invest in a tax-advantaged retirement account, such as a traditional or Roth IRA, you have to commit to one of these monthly fees.⁷

However, if you also do your banking with Stash, you get access to a cool feature called Stock-Back® rewards.³ With this feature, you earn portions of stock shares when you use your Stock-Back® Card at public companies, including Amazon and Starbucks. And if you shop at a company that doesn't participate, you'll get Stock-Back® rewards in a default stock or an ETF.

Visit Stash

… or read our detailed Stash review.

How does Robinhood work?

Robinhood, like Stash, is a brokerage that allows you to make your own investment choices — unlike a robo-advisor that invests for you. With Robinhood, you have the option to buy stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies. It offers a different array of investments than Stash.

Robinhood also has no minimum account balance requirement and offers the chance to invest in fractional shares. With fractional shares, you can buy small pieces of companies or ETFs, and you don’t need to spend a fortune to buy full shares of stock.

Robinhood also gives you access to individual retirement accounts (IRAs). You can open a Robinhood Retirement account as a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. You even get a 1% match on all qualified deposits up to the annual IRA contribution limits. 

Perhaps the biggest perk Robinhood offers is its lack of fees. There are no trading or management fees, unless you sign up for Robinhood Gold. Gold gives you access to professional research reports, enables you to trade on margin, and allows you to make larger instant deposits than the standard account. You get all these features for $5 per month.

Whether you opt for Gold, you can buy and sell assets commission-free, no matter how often you trade.

Visit Robinhood

… or read our detailed Robinhood review.

4 important differences between Stash and Robinhood

Although Stash and Robinhood have some similarities — including no minimum balance requirements, access to a mobile app, and the chance to trade fractional shares — there are important differences between the two. Here are four key differences:

1. Features: With Robinhood Gold, you can invest on margin, whereas Stash doesn't offer margin accounts. Stash offers Stock-Back®³; Robinhood does not. However, keep in mind that Robinhood also recently added a cash card with a similar round up feature, along with capped weekly bonuses on those round ups. 
2. Fees and pricing: Stash charges a monthly fee of at least $3.⁷ Robinhood provides fee-free accounts and can be a more affordable option if you're prioritizing low-cost investing.
3. Support: Stash makes it easy to get personal investing advice, whereas Robinhood doesn't offer this kind of guidance. Both Robinhood and Stash provide educational materials online as well.
4. Investment options: Stash allows you to invest in stocks, cryptocurrencies, bonds, or ETFs; Robinhood offers stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies.

Stash vs. Robinhood: which investment app should you choose?

If you want to invest in bonds, Stash is likely the better option, as these aren't available with Robinhood. And if you want personalized advice from investment professionals, Stash offers it, but Robinhood does not.

If, on the other hand, you're looking for a brokerage account with no monthly fees, Robinhood is a better bet. You don't have to sign up for Robinhood Gold, so you can invest your money fee-free with Robinhood. If you're interested in how to buy cryptocurrency and want to invest through an app, then both Stash and Robinhood offer crypto options. And if you're hoping to trade on margin, you can do so with Robinhood, but not Stash. 

FAQ about Robinhood vs. Stash

Bottom line on Stash vs. Robinhood

As a new investor, it's important to find an affordable broker or online brokerage that offers a mix of good investment options. And although it can be intimidating to get into the stock market and learn how to invest money, both Stash and Robinhood are good options if you want to pick your own investments and purchase fractional shares. 

But if you'd prefer a little more hands-on help, Betterment and Wealthfront could be better investing apps for you. Or if you're particularly interested in opening a custodial account, then you might want to check out Acorns. These are all among the services that made our list of the best investment apps.