Acorns vs Betterment 2025: Which Robo-Advisor Is Best for You?

If you’re torn between two popular investing apps, this Acorns vs Betterment comparison will help you decide.

Betterment and Acorns are two of America’s most popular robo-advisors. Both promise easy, automated investing—but they work differently. Let’s see which one best fits your goals and budget.

Acorns vs Betterment: Quick Comparison Table

Best For	Micro-investors, spare change savers	Goal-focused investors, larger balances
Pricing	$3, $6, or $12/month (flat fee)	0.25% annually (Digital); 0.65% (Premium)
Account Minimum	$5	$10
Break-Even Balance	$14,400 (to match 0.25%)	Any balance
Tax-Loss Harvesting	❌ No	✅ Yes (TLH+)
SRI Portfolios	✅ Yes (4 ESG options)	✅ Yes (3 SRI options)
Human Advisors	❌ No	✅ Yes (Premium, $100K min)
Unique Feature	Round-Ups spare change investing	Goal-based tracking & tax optimization
Portfolio Size	5-7 ETFs	10-12 ETFs
App Ratings	4.7 iOS, 4.6 Android	4.8 iOS, 4.5 Android

The Verdict Up Front

Choose Acorns if: You struggle to save consistently, have under $14,400, need “forced savings” through automation, want flat predictable fees, or are a complete beginner

Choose Betterment if: You have over $14,400, want tax-loss harvesting (taxable accounts), need goal-based planning, value human advisor access (Premium), or prioritize sophisticated features

Pricing and Fees: The Critical Difference

Fee Structure Comparison

Acorns uses a flat monthly fee model, while Betterment charges an annual fee that can be more cost-effective for larger balances

Acorns Flat Monthly Fees:

• Bronze: $3/month = $36/year
• Silver: $6/month = $72/year
• Gold: $12/month = $144/year

Betterment Percentage-Based Fees:

• Digital: 0.25% annually (or $4/month for balances under $20K without $250+/month deposits)
• Premium: 0.65% annually (requires $100K minimum)

Break-Even Analysis: When Each Is Cheaper

The critical question: At what balance does Acorns become more expensive than Betterment?

Acorns Bronze ($36/year):

• $100 balance = 36% annual fee ❌
• $1,000 balance = 3.6% annual fee ❌
• $5,000 balance = 0.72% annual fee ❌
• $14,400 balance = 0.25% (matches Betterment)
• $20,000 balance = 0.18% (cheaper than Betterment) ✅

Betterment Digital ($0.25% = 0.0025):

• $100 balance = $0.25/year ✅
• $1,000 balance = $2.50/year ✅
• $5,000 balance = $12.50/year ✅
• $14,400 balance = $36/year (matches Acorns)
• $20,000 balance = $50/year (more expensive) ❌

Key Insight: Unless you have more than $14,400 in assets under management (AUM), Betterment’s fees are lower

Total Cost Comparison

Both platforms also charge unavoidable ETF expense ratios:

• Acorns: 0.03-0.25% (except Bitcoin ETF at 0.95%)
• Betterment: 0.06-0.20% average

Total All-In Costs:

At $1,000 Balance:

• Acorns: $36 + $2 (0.20% ER) = $38/year (3.8%)
• Betterment: $2.50 + $2 (0.20% ER) = $4.50/year (0.45%)
• Winner: Betterment by $33.50 annually

At $10,000 Balance:

• Acorns: $36 + $20 = $56/year (0.56%)
• Betterment: $25 + $20 = $45/year (0.45%)
• Winner: Betterment by $11 annually

At $20,000 Balance:

• Acorns: $36 + $40 = $76/year (0.38%)
• Betterment: $50 + $40 = $90/year (0.45%)
• Winner: Acorns by $14 annually

At $100,000 Balance:

• Acorns: $36 + $200 = $236/year (0.236%)
• Betterment: $250 + $200 = $450/year (0.45%)
• Winner: Acorns by $214 annually

Long-Term Fee Impact

Using a starting balance of $100,000, $1,000 contributed monthly over 30 years, and an annualized rate of return of 8%, Betterment’s 0.25% fee costs you $132,700 in fees

Acorns’ flat $36/year would cost only $1,080 over 30 years on the same portfolio—saving $131,620!

However, this analysis assumes you never upgrade tiers or change platforms as your wealth grows.

Investment Philosophy and Portfolio Quality

Portfolio Construction

Both platforms use modern portfolio theory. However, Betterment adds tax loss harvesting to help increase returns

Acorns Portfolios:

• 5-7 ETFs per portfolio
• Developed with Nobel Laureate Dr. Harry Markowitz (Father of Modern Portfolio Theory)
• Asset classes: US stocks, foreign stocks, emerging markets, bonds, real estate
• Simple, straightforward diversification

Betterment Portfolios:

• 10-12 ETFs per portfolio
• More granular asset allocation
• Asset classes: Large/mid/small-cap US stocks, international developed, emerging markets, government bonds, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, REITs
• More sophisticated diversification

Portfolio Variety:

Acorns offers:

• 5 core portfolios (Conservative to Aggressive)
• 4 ESG portfolios (Conservative ESG to Moderately Aggressive ESG)
• Total: 9 portfolio options

Betterment offers:

• Core Portfolio
• 3 SRI portfolios (Broad Impact, Climate Impact, Social Impact)
• Innovative Technology
• Value Tilt
• Crypto ETF Portfolio (1% fee)
• Flexible Portfolio (custom weights)
• Goldman Sachs Smart Beta
• BlackRock Target Income
• Total: 12+ portfolio strategies

Winner: Betterment offers more portfolio variety and sophisticated asset allocation

Tax Optimization: Major Differentiator

Tax-Loss Harvesting

This is one of the biggest differences between Acorns and Betterment

Betterment: ✅ Betterment provides its clients with the fee-free automated tax-loss harvesting. Acorns does not offer any tax-loss harvesting assistance

Tax-Loss Harvesting+ (TLH+) Benefits:

• Available to ALL Digital and Premium clients
• Monitors portfolio daily for tax-loss opportunities
• Average tax benefit: 0.5-1.5% annually
• 69% of TLH users had fees covered by tax savings (2022 data)
• Can offset capital gains and up to $3,000 ordinary income

Betterment also offers:

• Tax Coordination (optimizes asset location across accounts)
• Tax-impact preview tool
• Charitable giving tool (donate appreciated shares tax-efficiently)
• Municipal bonds for high-income investors

Acorns: ❌ No tax-loss harvesting ❌ No tax coordination ❌ No tax optimization tools beyond basic IRA accounts

Tax Impact Example

Scenario: $50,000 taxable account, 24% tax bracket

Without TLH (Acorns):

• Capital gains: $5,000
• Taxes owed: $1,200 (at 24%)

With TLH (Betterment):

• Capital gains: $5,000
• Harvested losses: -$2,500
• Net gains: $2,500
• Taxes owed: $600
• Tax savings: $600/year

Over 10 years, that’s $6,000 in tax savings—far exceeding Betterment’s management fees!

Critical Point: This means that you can potentially earn more with smart investing for tax-loss harvesting with Betterment since the robo-advisor builds a custom tax-coordinated strategy that reduces capital gains taxes

Winner: Betterment by a landslide for taxable accounts

Unique Features

Acorns’ Signature Features

1. Round-Ups (Spare Change Investing)

Round-Ups are Acorns’ most well-known feature. They work when you link a credit or debit card to Acorns after signing up, and then Acorns rounds up transactions from your linked card. Once your round-up amount hits $5, Acorns withdraws money from your bank account and invests it in your portfolio

How It Works:

• Coffee: $4.75 → rounds to $5.00 → invests $0.25
• Groceries: $127.32 → rounds to $128 → invests $0.68
• Gas: $45.89 → rounds to $46 → invests $0.11

Multipliers: Can boost Round-Ups by 2x, 3x, or 10x

Example: 100 purchases/month averaging $0.30 round-up = $30/month = $360/year invested painlessly

2. Found Money (Acorns Earn)

Shop at 450+ partner brands and earn cashback automatically invested:

• Bronze: No match
• Silver: 25% match up to $200
• Gold: 50% match up to $200

3. IRA Matching

• Silver: 1% match on new IRA contributions (first year, must keep 4 years)
• Gold: 3% match on new IRA contributions
• Example: $7,000 annual IRA contribution → Gold adds $210 free

4. Acorns Early

• UGMA/UTMA custodial accounts for kids (Gold tier only)
• Early debit cards for financial literacy
• 1% match on kids’ investments

Betterment’s Signature Features

1. Goal-Based Investing

Goal tracking: This tool helps you set financial goals and monitor your progress. You can customize goals like a family vacation then connect outside accounts, schedule deposits, and calculate how to reach your target with a goal forecaster

Multiple Goals Per Account:

• Retirement planning with Social Security integration
• Home down payment savings
• Emergency fund building
• Wedding planning
• General wealth accumulation

Each goal gets:

• Likelihood of success percentage
• Required monthly contributions
• Timeline adjustments
• Visual progress tracking

2. Human Financial Advisor Access (Premium)

Premium plan ($100K minimum, 0.65% fee) includes:

• Unlimited phone consultations with Certified Financial Planners (CFPs)
• Financial planning for ALL assets (not just Betterment accounts)
• Retirement income strategies
• Backdoor Roth IRA conversion guidance
• Tax-efficient withdrawal strategies
• Priority customer support

3. Portfolio Variety

12+ expert-built portfolios including specialty strategies:

• 3 distinct SRI portfolios (Broad/Climate/Social Impact)
• Innovative Technology portfolio
• Goldman Sachs Smart Beta
• BlackRock Target Income (municipal bonds)
• Flexible Portfolio (custom asset weights)

Account Types

Available Accounts

Both platforms offer:

• Individual taxable investment accounts
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• SEP IRA
• Rollover IRA

Betterment additionally offers:

• Joint accounts
• Trust accounts
• Cash Reserve (high-yield savings: 3.75% APY)
• Betterment Checking
• Solo 401(k) for self-employed

Acorns additionally offers:

• UGMA/UTMA custodial accounts (Gold tier)
• Acorns Checking (all tiers)
• Emergency savings account (Silver/Gold: 3.82% APY)

Winner: Tie—different account types for different needs

User Experience

Mobile App Design

Acorns: Acorns has a beautiful mobile app and a beautiful website. It’s one of the best-designed apps on my phone by a long shot. I’m, of course, not the only one to notice this – they’ve won some sort of design award nearly every year since they opened their doors

App Ratings:

• iOS: 4.7/5 stars (1M+ reviews)
• Android: 4.6/5 stars (750K+ reviews)

Praised for: Gorgeous interface, intuitive design, simple navigation

Betterment: Betterment’s app isn’t nearly as scintillating, and you have to visit their website to see pretty graphs

App Ratings:

• iOS: 4.8/5 stars
• Android: 4.5/5 stars

Praised for: Functional design, goal tracking, comprehensive data (on desktop)

Winner: ROUND WINNER: Acorns. Both Acorns and … Betterment’s app isn’t nearly as scintillating, and you have to visit their website to see pretty graphs

Account Setup

Acorns: Under 15 minutes

• Answer basic risk tolerance questions
• Link bank account
• Link credit/debit cards for Round-Ups
• Choose subscription tier
• Deposit $5 minimum

Betterment: 5-10 minutes

• Comprehensive financial questionnaire
• Set specific financial goals
• Choose portfolio strategy
• Link bank account
• Deposit $10 minimum

Winner: Similar ease, slight edge to Acorns for simplicity

Customer Support

Acorns:

• Phone support: 7 days/week, 5 AM-7 PM Pacific
• Live chat: Limited hours
• Email support
• Help center/FAQ

Betterment: Digital Plan:

• Email support during business hours
• Live chat support
• Help center

Premium Plan ($100K+):

• Unlimited CFP consultations by phone
• Priority customer service
• Email access to advisors

Winner: Betterment Premium for human advisor access; Acorns for 7-day phone support

Pros and Cons

Acorns Pros ✅

✅ Effortless micro-investing through Round-Ups
✅ Flat predictable monthly fees
✅ Cheaper for balances over $14,400
✅ $5 minimum to start investing
✅ Award-winning app design (best in class)
✅ Found Money cashback at 450+ retailers
✅ IRA matching (1-3%)
✅ Kids’ custodial accounts (Gold)
✅ Free for college students (.edu email)
✅ Forces savings habit for those who struggle

Acorns Cons ❌

❌ Extremely expensive for small balances (36% fee on $100)
❌ No tax-loss harvesting (0.5-1.5% annual disadvantage)
❌ Smaller portfolios (5-7 ETFs vs. 10-12)
❌ Limited goal planning (single goal)
❌ No human financial advisors
❌ High transfer-out fees ($50 per ETF)
❌ Recent price increases (20-33%)

Betterment Pros ✅

✅ Tax-Loss Harvesting+ (often exceeds management fee)
✅ Tax Coordination across accounts
✅ 12+ portfolio strategies (most variety)
✅ Sophisticated goal-based planning
✅ Human CFP access (Premium)
✅ Cheaper for balances under $14,400
✅ More diversified portfolios (10-12 ETFs)
✅ Joint and trust accounts available
✅ Charitable giving tools
✅ Free for college students too

Betterment Cons ❌

❌ More expensive for balances over $14,400
❌ Premium tier expensive (0.65%, up from 0.40%)
❌ $4/month fee for small accounts without auto-deposits
❌ Less automatic than Acorns (requires active deposits)
❌ App design not as visually appealing
❌ No Round-Ups feature

Which Platform  Should You Choose? Betterment or Acorns

Choose Acorns If You:

Are a Complete Beginner Acorns might be appropriate for investors who don’t have a lot of money right now but still deserve the opportunity to incrementally build for their financial future. Acorns is also fun to use

Struggle to Save Consistently Money expert Clark Howard: “What you’re paying for is the forced, automatic savings. If [$36] a year gets you to change your habits with money, then it’s a well-spent [$36]”

Have Over $14,400 Invested At this balance, Acorns becomes cheaper than Betterment

Want Predictable Flat Fees No surprise percentage calculations

Are Investing in IRAs Only Tax-loss harvesting doesn’t apply to IRAs anyway

Love Gamification Round-Ups, Found Money, and visual design make saving fun

Choose Betterment If You:

Have Under $14,400 Unless you have more than $14,400 in assets under management (AUM), Betterment’s fees are lower

Invest in Taxable Accounts Tax-loss harvesting can save 0.5-1.5% annually—often exceeding fees

Want Goal-Based Planning Acorns is better for beginners who are looking to save extra money, while Betterment is well-suited for experienced investors that have more capital

Need Human Advisor Access Premium tier provides unlimited CFP consultations

Have Investing Discipline Don’t need “forced savings” through Round-Ups

Value Tax Optimization TLH+, Tax Coordination, and charitable giving tools

Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: College Student with $500

Acorns:

• Fee: $0/year (free with .edu email)
• Round-Ups help build habit
• Best choice ✅

Betterment:

• Fee: $0/year (also free for students)
• Requires manual deposits
• Good choice but less automated

Winner: Acorns—automation is critical when starting

Scenario 2: Young Professional with $5,000

Acorns:

• Fee: $36/year (0.72%)
• Round-Ups add ~$360/year
• No tax-loss harvesting
• Total cost: 0.72%

Betterment:

• Fee: $12.50/year (0.25%)
• TLH saves ~$75/year (1.5% of $5K)
• Net benefit: $62.50/year
• Best choice ✅

Winner: Betterment—lower fees + tax benefits

Scenario 3: Mid-Career Professional with $50,000

Acorns:

• Fee: $36/year (0.072%)
• No tax-loss harvesting (-$750/year opportunity cost)
• Net cost: 0.072% + 1.5% = 1.572%

Betterment:

• Fee: $125/year (0.25%)
• TLH saves ~$750/year (1.5%)
• Net benefit: 1.25% gain
• Best choice ✅

Winner: Betterment—tax-loss harvesting is game-changer

Scenario 4: High-Net-Worth with $200,000

Acorns:

• Fee: $36/year (0.018%)
• No tax-loss harvesting (-$3,000/year)
• Limited features
• Should use different platform

Betterment:

• Fee: $500/year (0.25%)
• TLH saves ~$3,000/year
• Can upgrade to Premium for CFP access
• Best choice ✅

Winner: Betterment (or consider Wealthfront/Vanguard)

Compare

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Final Verdict

Overall Ratings

Acorns: 4.0/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Brilliant for beginners who struggle to save
• Award-winning app design
• Fees prohibitively high for small balances
• Lack of tax-loss harvesting is major weakness

Betterment: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• Clear leader for most investors
• Tax-loss harvesting provides real value
• Comprehensive goal-based planning
• More expensive at high balances but features justify cost

Modest Money concludes that Betterment is a better platform for most disciplined investors that are seriously thinking about their long-term financial security

However, Acorns might be appropriate for investors who don’t have a lot of money right now but still deserve the opportunity to incrementally build for their financial future

The honest truth: If you have the discipline to manually invest regularly, Betterment is objectively better for 90% of investors. Acorns’ real value is behavior modification—paying $36/year to trick yourself into saving. If you need that nudge, it’s money well spent. If you don’t, Betterment’s lower fees and tax optimization make it the clear winner.

Get started:

• Betterment: betterment.com
• Acorns: acorns.com

Disclaimer: This comparison of Acorns vs Betterment is for educational purposes. Investment decisions should be based on your personal situation. All information accurate as of October 2025 but subject to change.