Acorns vs Stash (2026): $4 to $12 a Month, Which Fee Fits a Small Balance

Short answer: Acorns Bronze at $4 a month is the cheaper app for a small balance, and Stash only makes sense once you will use its retirement match or its stock-back card. Bronze costs $48 a year, which is 9.6% of a $500 balance and 0.48% of $10,000. The Stash Plan costs three times that each month, or $108 billed yearly, so 21.6% to 28.8% of that same $500. Prices read on both firms' pricing pages on 26 October 2026.

The buyer behind this comparison has a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, wants an app that invests spare change or a small weekly deposit, and is deciding whether a flat subscription is worth it at all. Neither app charges a percentage on the basic brokerage account, so the whole cost question is the monthly fee divided by what you hold. We read Acorns' pricing page and Stash's pricing page, which carry the subscription prices, the match terms and the fine print on Stash's managed-portfolio fee.

Finpresso data: our analysis turns each plan's subscription into an annual percentage of a $500, $2,000 and $10,000 balance, as of 26 October 2026, using only the prices the two firms print. The dollar and percentage figures are our arithmetic; a plan's fee is 12 times its monthly price unless the firm prints an annual price, and Stash's managed-portfolio charge is added where the balance qualifies for it.

Plans and prices side by side

Two things in the table decide most cases. Acorns sells three price points and Stash sells one, so Acorns can be a third of the price or exactly the same price depending on the tier. And Stash is the only one of the two that prints a percentage fee: its Smart Portfolio, the automated option that competes with Acorns' core product, carries a 0.25% annual charge once the balance reaches $1,000, which Acorns' pricing page does not have.

What each fee is as a percent of your balance

A flat fee is cheap on a big balance and expensive on a small one, so the useful figure is the fee as a share of what you hold. Our arithmetic below assumes the balance sits in the firm's automated portfolio for a full year.

At $500, every plan on this page costs more than a tenth of the balance in a year, and the Stash Plan or Acorns Gold cost more than a quarter of it. A saver at that level who wants an app at all should be on Bronze and treat that fee as the price of the habit, not as an investment fee. At $2,000, Bronze is in the range a managed fund charges, and the top tiers are still 5% to 7%.

At $10,000, the picture flips: Bronze is under half a percent, and even Stash billed monthly is 1.69% with the managed-portfolio charge included. The balance where each plan reaches one percent of the balance a year is a useful marker. Bronze crosses it at $4,800, Silver at $9,600, Stash billed yearly at $10,800 before the managed charge, and Gold or Stash billed monthly at $14,400. Below those balances the subscription is the biggest drag on returns; above them it fades.

Stash's managed-portfolio charge changes the comparison with Gold, which costs the same each month. At that balance a Smart Portfolio pays $25 a year on top of the subscription, so the Stash Plan billed monthly is $25 dearer than Gold at that balance and the yearly plan is $11 cheaper. The charge is calculated daily and collected every three months, and it does not apply to a self-directed Stash portfolio, so a buyer who picks stocks and ETFs on Stash pays only the subscription.

What the matches are worth against the fee

Both firms offset the fee with a retirement match, and the terms are where they differ. Stash matches 3% of eligible IRA contributions, worth up to $225 a year, and its footnote says the match applies to net contributions completed within a month and carries an early removal fee. Acorns Gold also matches 3%, worth up to $225, but only on new contributions during the first year, and Silver's 1% match is first-year only as well. A Stash subscriber who maxes an IRA earns the match every year; an Acorns Gold subscriber earns it once.

The arithmetic for a saver who contributes $3,000 a year to an IRA: the match is $90, which covers most of Stash's yearly price or two-thirds of Acorns Gold's fee in year one. From year two the Acorns match stops and Gold is a full fee against nothing, while Stash keeps paying $90 against its fee. A saver who will not fund an IRA gets nothing from either match and should compare the plans on the fee alone.

Stash adds a second offset, the Stock-Back card, which pays up to $120 a year in stock on debit spending, with the top rate at bonus merchants and all rewards capped at $10 a month before the rate drops to 0.125%. Acorns' version is Round-Ups, which invests spare change from purchases rather than paying a reward, so it moves your own money rather than adding to it. Acorns Silver and Gold pay 3.59% APY on Emergency Savings, which the firm's footnote dates to 22 September 2026 and marks as variable.

What you give up on the cheapest plan

Acorns Bronze is a full account, not a trial. It includes the diversified portfolio, Round-Ups, the Later IRA, Acorns Checking with no overdraft fees and 55,000 fee-free ATMs, bonus investments from partner brands and the Learn library. What it lacks is any match, any Emergency Savings APY, the kids' account, and the ability to add individual stocks and ETFs, which Acorns reserves for Gold.

That last gap is the one that sends buyers to Stash. Stash lets any subscriber choose their own stocks and ETFs in fractional shares from $5 or less, alongside or instead of the Smart Portfolio, and offers custodial accounts for children on the same plan. Acorns charges Gold prices for both. A buyer who wants to pick stocks pays the same either way, and at that price Stash's recurring match and card rewards beat Gold's first-year match. The Acorns review and the Stash review cover what the portfolios hold and how the apps work day to day.

Stash sells one plan and a 7-day trial, so there is no cheaper tier to fall back to; its pricing page says the subscription is due whether or not you open a brokerage account, as long as you receive its counseling services. Acorns prints no trial, and its monthly price is the only billing option on the page, so there is no annual discount to match Stash's 25%.

Price a subscription against the balance it will sit on, not against the perks list. Subscribe here.

Verdict by buyer type

A saver with under $2,000 who wants an automated portfolio should take Acorns Bronze. It is the lowest fee on this page by a wide margin, and the top-tier plans would cost 7% or more of the balance every year. Skip Silver and Gold at this level unless the Emergency Savings APY or the first-year match is the point.

A saver who funds an IRA every year should price the Stash Plan billed yearly. Its match recurs, worth up to $225 against the yearly fee, while Acorns' match is a year-one offer on Silver and Gold. The managed-retirement charge applies if Stash runs the IRA, so a self-directed IRA on Stash is the cheaper version.

A buyer who wants to pick stocks pays the same on either app. Stash billed yearly is $36 cheaper, pays the match and card rewards every year, and charges nothing extra on a self-directed portfolio. Acorns Gold wins only for a family that wants the kids' account, the will and the life insurance together, or for a saver who will keep the balance in the automated portfolio and values Acorns' Round-Ups.

A balance above the top of our table makes the fee question fade, and at that size the comparison shifts to the automated competitors that charge a percentage instead: the best robo-advisors list and the Betterment and Wealthfront reviews cover them. A buyer who wants a free brokerage with no subscription at all should read the best investing apps list and Fidelity vs Robinhood, and the Robinhood Gold cost page prices the one subscription that competes directly with these two.

How we compared

We read Acorns' pricing page and Stash's pricing page, including both firms' footnotes, on 26 October 2026. Acorns prints three monthly plans and no annual price; Stash prints one plan, monthly or at $108 a year, plus an annual percentage charge on qualifying Smart Portfolios and on managed retirement accounts. The percentage table divides a year of each plan's fee by the balance, adds Stash's managed charge where the balance qualifies, and ignores ETF expense ratios, which both firms say you bear on top. Match values use each firm's printed cap of $225 a year. Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 73 personal finance tools in its personal finance ranking as of 26 October 2026, and neither of these two apps is in that catalog, so no Toolradar rating appears here.

FAQ

Is Acorns or Stash cheaper in 2026?

Acorns is cheaper on its Bronze plan at $48 a year, against the Stash Plan at three times that monthly or $108 billed yearly. Acorns Gold and the Stash monthly plan cost the same, and Stash adds its managed-portfolio percentage on Smart Portfolios above its threshold and on managed retirement accounts. On a self-directed Stash portfolio the subscription is the only charge.

What percentage of my balance does the fee take?

Our arithmetic on a $500 balance: Acorns Bronze takes 9.6% a year, Silver 19.2%, Gold and Stash billed monthly 28.8%, and Stash billed yearly 21.6%. On $2,000 the range is 2.4% for Bronze to 7.45% for Stash monthly with the managed-portfolio charge. On the largest balance in our table it is 0.48% for Bronze and 1.69% for Stash monthly, and Bronze reaches 1% at a balance of $4,800.

Does Stash charge a percentage fee?

Yes, in one case. Stash's pricing page says Smart Portfolios with balances of $1,000 or more and managed retirement accounts carry a 0.25% annual advisory fee on top of the subscription, calculated daily and charged every three months. A self-directed portfolio on Stash pays only the subscription. Acorns' pricing page lists no percentage fee and says there are no transaction fees on its plans.

Which retirement match is better, Acorns or Stash?

Stash's is better for anyone who contributes every year, because its 3% match on eligible IRA contributions, up to $225 a year, recurs, subject to an early removal fee. Acorns Gold and Silver match only on new contributions during the first year of the subscription. A $3,000 annual IRA contribution earns $90 on Stash each year and $90 on Acorns Gold once.

Can I pick my own stocks on Acorns or Stash?

On Stash, yes on the single plan, in fractional shares from $5 or less, alongside an optional Smart Portfolio. On Acorns, only on Gold, the top plan, which lets you add individual stocks and ETFs to the diversified portfolio. Bronze and Silver subscribers hold the Acorns-built portfolio only.

Is there a free plan or trial?

Stash offers a 7-day trial on its plan and no free tier. Acorns prints no trial and no free tier; Bronze is its entry. A buyer who wants to invest without a subscription should compare the free brokerages in the best investing apps list linked above.

This page is general information, not personalized financial advice. It compares subscription fees and printed perks, not whether either portfolio suits you, and investments can lose value. Confirm current terms with Acorns and Stash before you sign up.

Cite this: Finpresso, "Acorns vs Stash (2026): $4 to $12 a Month, Which Fee Fits a Small Balance", November 2026.

Finpresso prices the subscriptions and fees behind personal finance apps. Join at finpresso.com.

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