M1 Finance Review

M1 is a self-directed account with an AI advisor attached. You build the portfolio yourself as a Pie of stocks and ETFs, and M1 Advisor answers questions about the holdings with no advisory fee.

The real question is whether the platform fee and the trade schedule cost more than a zero-commission broker would, and that depends on your balance more than on any single trade.

Dupple data: on a $3,000 balance, the monthly fee comes to 1.2% a year.

The same account pays nothing in any billing cycle where total M1 assets reach the waiver threshold on at least one day, so the fee is a balance test, not a flat cost.

Methodology: every figure on this page was read on 10 October 2026 from M1's homepage, its fee schedule (marked last updated October 2026), its platform fee disclosure (updated May 2026), its margin page (rate as of September 17, 2026) and its high-yield cash page (rates current as of January 2026).

Competitor fees come from the Webull, Betterment, Wealthfront and Robinhood pages read the same day. The fee comparisons are arithmetic on those published terms.

M1 Finance is a US investing and borrowing app. Its brokerage and cash accounts are offered by M1 Finance LLC, a FINRA and SIPC member, and its advice comes from M1 Advisory Services, an SEC-registered investment adviser.

M1 says it has more than 400,000 clients and over $14 billion in client assets as of September 2026, and it lists 4.7 stars on the Apple App Store and 4.4 on Google Play, both as of September 2026.

The product built around the platform is the Pie.

You choose from more than 6,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, set a target percentage for each holding, and M1 says those percentages guide future investing.

Fractional shares let a small deposit reach the exact mix, which matters most on small balances.

M1 also runs IRAs, a high-yield cash account and margin loans, and it takes 401(k) and old IRA rollovers without charging to receive them.

Those extras are where the fee and rate caveats sit. For a micro-investing alternative, see the Acorns review.

Trades run on a schedule. M1 places orders once or twice a day in set trade windows, with no limit orders, day trading or extended-hours sessions.

That suits a plan that buys and holds, and it rules out any strategy that depends on timing a fill.

The fee is a balance test. The monthly platform fee is waived for any 30-day billing cycle in which total M1 assets reach $10,000 on at least one day, or while an M1 Personal Loan is open.

M1 counts the settled value across all of its accounts, not one account at a time.

Cash sits in two protections. Cash in the high-yield account earns the stated APY and becomes FDIC-insured only once it is swept to partner banks, up to $4.75 million in total.

Cash that stays in the brokerage account is not FDIC-insured, and it falls under SIPC instead.

Account transfers in are free, transfers out are not. M1 charges no incoming account transfer fee and says a full brokerage transfer by ACATS takes four to seven business days.

Moving the account out costs $100. Direct registration shares are the exception, at $115 per security to move in.

Check the outbound cost before you commit a large account, and read the Robinhood review for how another broker prices its own transfers.

Margin needs $2,000 invested. M1 margin loans open for accounts with at least $2,000 invested per account.

Interest is billed monthly with no late fees. The margin rate is variable: the homepage headlines 5.90%, while the margin page says the loan balance sets the effective rate and that the base rate tracks the Federal Funds Rate.

M1 charges no commission, trading or management fee on self-directed stock and ETF accounts, so the recurring cost is the platform fee. It is $36 a year on any account that never reaches the threshold on one day in a billing cycle.

What the fee costs at each balance. That fee comes to 3.6% of a $1,000 account and 1.2% of $3,000.

Once total assets reach the threshold, the fee disappears for that cycle. M1 never charges the platform fee and the IRA fee in the same month.

Cash and margin, with the numbers. At the 3.35% standard APY, $5,000 in cash earns $167.50 a year, and M1 says account fees may reduce that.

The new-client promo lifts the rate to 4.50% for one year on a qualifying deposit, a 1.15 point boost. At the 5.90% headline margin rate, $2,000 borrowed costs $118 a year, billed monthly.

For active trading costs, see the Interactive Brokers review.

Transfers, paper and regulatory fees. Outgoing account transfers cost $100, a domestic wire or a check costs $25 each, and returned checks, ACH or wires cost $30.

Paper statements cost $5 per 50 pages. The SEC fee on a sale is $0.00002060 of the sale value, or $2.06 on a $100,000 sale, and the trading activity fee is $0 per share through December 31, 2026.

Bakkt charges 1% on crypto trades, built into the price.

Sources, read 10 October 2026: M1 homepage, the M1 fee schedule, the M1 platform fee disclosure, the M1 margin loans page and the M1 high-yield cash account page.

Competitor terms come from Webull pricing, Betterment pricing, Wealthfront pricing, Robinhood Gold and the Robinhood trading page.

M1 fits a long-term investor who clears the waiver threshold and wants to choose the holdings. The waiver removes the monthly fee, trades cost nothing, and a Pie keeps a multi-stock portfolio on target.

A saver who parks idle cash earns the 3.35% APY, though M1's cash page dates that rate to January 2026.

Skip M1 if you trade in and out, need options or short sales, or want a robo-advisor to build the portfolio. Below the threshold, the monthly fee comes to 3.6% a year on a $1,000 balance.

For a small trading-only account, Webull's pricing page lists no account fee, which makes it the simpler choice. If the Gold subscription is the alternative you are weighing, the Robinhood review prices it line by line.

M1 Advisor is the case for staying.

It answers questions about the holdings with no advisory fee, which helps a first-time investor who does not want to pay a planner. Enrollment is opt-in, and M1 says you can cancel the advisory agreement at any time without penalty.