In recent years, stock trading and robot-advisory choices have grown. While more competition and innovation are good news for investors, determining which platform best meets your needs may be difficult. We carefully looked at these US-based services to find the best venues. The rise of investing applications has paralleled the change in consumer preferences, with an increasing number of individuals preferring to handle their money primarily through tablets or smartphones.
This move has been welcomed by stock trading and robot-advisor firms, which have focused on enhancing their mobile app experiences. In the past, brokers’ desktop trading platforms had more features and options than their mobile trading platforms, but both have become more similar in how they work and what they can do.
This makes it easier for investors to manage their money and keep track of their investment goals because notifications, watchlists, and updates happen at the same time on both mobile and desktop. in various categories to help you figure out which ones are the best on the market.
Related: How To Find A Good Investment Broker.
Best Investing Apps:
Wealthfront
Wealthfront is a robust, digital-only investment solution that provides consumers with full money management options in a beautiful, streamlined interface. The financial coaching, account aggregation, goal setting, investment, and banking tools are user-friendly and easy to use. Self-Driving Money from Wealthfront lets you automate your finances even more by using a rules-based method to move money between accounts while optimizing for your goals. This gives you even more control over your financial journey.
In terms of features, usefulness, and simplicity of navigation, the mobile applications for the Android and iOS platforms are both excellent and on par with the desktop experience. The software is clearly built with the purpose of minimizing superfluous data inputs or typing, instead relying on more user-friendly sliders, drop-down menus, and auto-fill capability.
Advantage:
- Tools for comprehensive financial planning
- The digital-only financial guidance through Path is best in class
- The considered smartphone experience is meant to decrease mistakes and improve functionality.
- Self-driving money allows you easy financial administration via your smartphone.
Disadvantage:
- External account synchronization might be unpredictable.
- There are no discounts for larger balances.
- No human financial advisors
Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade distinguishes itself by providing a mobile trading experience that is more straightforward than the desktop version while keeping a robust feature set. The mobile trading tools are well organized into simple operations and menus.
Advantages:
- Mobile apps that are expertly designed and more streamlined than desktop versions
- The option of choosing between two applications appeals to consumers of diverse backgrounds.
- Charts, updates, and customizations synchronize seamlessly between mobile and desktop platforms.
- Extensive investment options and trading capabilities
Disadvantages:
- Thinkorswim mobile is the only way to draw on charts.
- TD Ameritrade does not allow you to trade fractional shares.
- Some utilities are only available on one platform, making hybrid users difficult.
Interactive Brokers
While TD Ameritrade offers the finest self-directed trading app, Interactive Brokers (IBKR) wins our top app for the active trader category. Sophisticated traders will feel right at home because the mobile experience incorporates all of the fundamental elements of the desktop Traders Workstation (TWS) capability, which is one of the most comprehensive trading platforms available.
Users will also have access to every asset class accessible, including cryptocurrencies for direct coin trading, in addition to unparalleled research, analysis, and strategy tools.
Advantages:
- The mobile user flow has been enhanced for complete options trading.
- Edit multi-leg options transactions with ease.
- In comparison to the competition, this product offers an excellent combination of tools and pricing.
- Beyond choices, the whole range of asset types is available.
Disadvantages:
- Mobile device account registration is not supported.
- There are no price alerts or order notifications available.
- Heavy option traders will not find the mobile experience to be an adequate desktop alternative.
- The app is not designed to trade anything other than options.
Compare The Best Investment Apps
| Company | Fees | Account Minimum | Mobile App |
| Wealthfront | 0.25% for most accounts, no trading commission or fees for withdrawals, minimums, or transfers. | $500 | Android, iOS |
| TD Ameritrade | Free stock, ETF, and per-leg options trading commissions. $0.65 per options contract. | $0 | Android, iOS |
| Interactive Brokers | Maximum $0.005 per share for Pro platform up to 1% of trade value, $0 for IBKR Lite | $0 | Android, iOS |
| Tastyworks | $0.00 stock trades, starting at $1.00 to open options trades $0.00 to close | $0 | Android, iOS |
What Are The Advantages Of Using An Investing App To Trade Stocks?
- Investing apps have taken advantage of rapid mobile technological improvements to make investing and trading stocks easier than ever.
- Most individuals now carry their mobile devices with them all the time, allowing them to respond to market fluctuations and monitor their assets in situations where it was previously impractical.
- The availability of use of mobile trading has also increased market accessibility for individuals of diverse backgrounds, interests, and experience levels.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Using An Investing App To Trade Stocks?
While investing apps are gaining feature parity with desktop versions, there are still significant capability gaps that affect specific types of investors. The gaps vary depending on the investing platform and user preferences, but you may expect certain product changes in terms of charting and analytical capabilities between desktop and mobile trade experiences.
Some investment applications also exclude asset classes or market exchanges available in the desktop version. Another downside of app-based trading is the limited screen size of mobile devices in comparison to full computer monitors. Most of the time, these traits affect active traders, but they can hurt any investor, depending on their trading style and preferences.
What’s The Difference Between Finance Apps And Investing Apps?
The main difference between a financial app and a stock app is that you cannot trade stocks or assets through them, even if you can link your brokerage accounts to the app. Investment applications, on the other hand, allow you to study investments, monitor positions and make new orders without leaving the app.
Finance applications are often limited to displaying your brokerage account balance as part of your overall financial picture. Budgeting apps are some of the most popular financial apps, and we look at them separately from how we look at investing apps.
Methodology.
How Much Should You Invest?
If you just have a few dollars to spare each week or month, a micro-investing software like Acorns is a good place to start. If you just have a few hundred dollars, you may begin with beginner-friendly software that has more functionality, such as Wealthfront or Betterment.
Set some financial priorities before deciding how much to invest. Pay off your debts first, then develop an emergency fund of liquid savings and a budget to support your daily needs.
How To Choose The Best Investment App.
When selecting an investment app, consider the following three factors:
- Low or no commission fees: Too many brokers provide no commissions on trades, forcing you to accept hefty fees.
- Diverse investment options: Some investment applications solely invest in ETFs, which may be sufficient for inexperienced or hands-off investors. Look for applications that provide a variety of alternatives, such as stocks, bonds, options, and mutual funds, for more complicated possibilities.
- Educational resources: In favor of automated investments, many investment apps forego access to a human advisor. It would be helpful if they provided tools such as third-party research and stock analysis to assist you in making your own selections.
Conclusion
Investing is one of the most straightforward methods to increase your money. You don’t need a large income or impressive qualifications to make your money work for you and improve your financial situation.
If you want to start investing, there are various applications that can assist you with only a few clicks. Investing does not have to be difficult. In fact, it may be as simple as opening an app.
The best investment apps can help you build a financial portfolio and give you a better understanding of how the market works. However, not all investment applications are made equal.
We evaluated prices, functionality, and convenience of use while compiling our list of the top investment apps. We also investigated how they assist consumers in creating their own portfolios or investing using algorithms.
These investing applications are among the best available.
