Acorns can best be described as an investing and saving app with a mission to, "look after the financial best interests of the up-and-coming, beginning with the empowering, proud step of micro-investing." The company was initially founded in 2012, by father and son duo Walter Cruttenden III and Jeffrey Cruttenden, who then launched the Acorns app a few years later in 2014 for both iOS and Android devices.

Acorns is best known for their micro investing strategy which helps you automatically invest your spare change every time you make a purchase. When you first open an account, Acorns will use robo advising technology to recommend one of 5 investing portofolios made up of ETFs from investing firms such as BlackRock and Vanguard.

Once you have registered with Acorns, you can link either a credit or debit card to your account. When you make a purchase using that card, Acorns will automatically "round up" your purchase to the nearest dollar and invest it into your portfolio. You can also make manual contributions to your portofolio in addition to automated investing.

Since its founding in 2012, Acorns has also expanded to offer additional financial services in addition to micro investing including banking services, a retirement account, investing accounts for your kids, and educational content.

Acorns exploded in popularity from what they call Round Ups. As the name implies, Acorns will automatically "round up" your purchase to the nearest dollar and invest the difference. In other words, when you buy a coffee for $4.75, Acorns will round up that purchase to $5, and invest the difference of $0.25.

All you have to do is connect your existing debit or credit card to your investing account, or use the Acorns Debit Card. Your money is invested into one of 5 prebuilt investing portfolios based upon your age, risk tolerance, and investing timeline.

In addition to their Round Ups feature, Acorns also has two other investing options. Acorns Early allows you to set up a custodial investing account on behalf of your kids to help them get a jump start on investing while they are young. You can set up an account for every child you have, and gift them the account when they are of age, which is usually 18 years old.

On the flip side of Acorns Early, there is Acorns Later. Acorns Later is a feature to help you save for retirement by investing in a IRA (individual retirement account). These accounts are specifically designed for retirement and often come with tax advantages.

A basic checking account is available to all Acorns customers. The account has no fees, allows you to get your paycheck 2 days early with direct deposit, and is FDIC insured up to $250,000. The account also comes with Acorn's Debit card which works in tandem with your investing account using the Round Ups feature.

You can earn bonus investments from Acorns simply from shopping at your favorite brands. You can earn these rewards by shopping directly through the Acorns app, or by installing a Safari or Chrome Browser extension and shopping online. Once you have earned a reward, Acorns will deposit your reward within 60 to 90 days of your purchase to allow time to return a purchase as needed.

Finally, Acorns has an educational library that contains videos, articles, and tips to help both new and experienced investors. Most of the articles are easy to read and are fairly simple making it another great tool if you are just getting started investing.

Acorns offers three monthly subscription tiers depending upon what you need. Each of the higher tiers includes the features of the previous tier(s).
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Acorns has good customer support overall and offers three primary channels of support. First, you can opt to use the live chat feature 24/7 on both the app and Acorns website. Second, you can submit an email ticket request to Acorns customer support team. Finally, Acorns does offer phone support for urgent requests from 5 am to 7 pm PST, seven days a week.

The biggest advantage of Acorns is the round ups feature. Having an app that invests on your behalf into a recommended portfolio every time you make a purchase is a game changer. Additionally, because Acorns is built around the concept of starting small as you invest, the entire app is very easy to use and is great for beginners.

The biggest disadvantage of Acorns is the high fees. Although paying just $3 to $9 a month for an investing service seems reasonable, it is actually quite high. Let us explain. Lets say you have $100 in your investment account. Even if you are paying for the lowest subscription tier at $3 per month, you are being charged the equivalent of a 3% fee.

Acorns loosely falls into the category of a robo advisor. Standard fees for a robo advisor typically fall around 0.25%, which is why a $3 to $9 per month fee can be quite high especially on low account balances. Over time, the fees will become smaller relative to your account as your balance grows, but if you are just starting or if you have a low account balance, the fees can eat away at your account.  

Acorns is right for you if: