You must know nothing about investing, but you want to know how to start. So, you landed on my Acorns App review to know about this platform.
I am just like you who explore the opportunity to make my money well invested for the future self, so I did some digging and would like to share all the findings in this article. I am sure you can make a better decision if you read to the end.
Before we start, I need to let you know something.
- You won’t see me requesting you to click a link that directs you to join Acorns since it’s not my intent here, and you won’t see me selling how good this platform is just to get you to become one of my referrals. What I share today is based on my researches online and my true experience with Acorns. I am trying my best to give you an honest and unbiased review.
- A big run of applause for your diligence to do researches online and this is the first step to filter out the bad programs and keep our hard-earned money safe in our pockets. Congratulations.
Let’s know more about Acorns further down.
Disclaimer: As the owner of Smileaffiliatesuccess.com, I have tracked down special deals for products, tools, and services mentioned herein. When you click my affiliate links on this page to make a purchase, I may get a small commission, and you will definitely get a great bargain. This is a win-win advantage for both of us.
What Is Acorns App?
-Summary of Acorns App-
Product Name: Acorns App
Founders: Walter and Jeff Cruttenden(father and son duo), launched in 2014
Product Type: Micro-investing application
Price: $1, $2, or $3 per month with your spare change
Rating: 90 / 100
Recommend: It depends on your purposes. For your investment for retirement, YES! If to generate a stable passive income stream, NO!
Acorns app is launched by Walter and Jeff Cruttenden in 2014, and they specialize in micro-investing and robot-investing. You may choose one of its prebuilt portfolios to invest and connects a debit or credit card to your bank account. Once linked, the app will automatically take care of your investment.
As of 2019, Acorns had over 4.5 million users and over $1.2 billion in assets under management. It reveals that people love the concept of mindless investment and how easy it is to convert your changes into investment.

What’s inside Acorns App?
Acorns Invest
It takes about 5 mins to finish your account setup and choose the portfolio that suits your financial status for the micro-investing. You may access to Acorns Invest to check on which portfolios your spare changes go into.
Acorns created the portfolios with the Nobel Prize-winning economist – Dr. Harry Markowitz. You only need to answer some simple questions about investment goals and risk preferences, and the app will determine the portfolio for your spare changes.
Acorns Later
There are so many ways to save for your retirement, but Acorns Later is the easiest among all. Acorns recommends an Individual Retirement Account(IRA) and portfolio that’s right for you.
You can start investing as little as $5 with Acorns Later. You can also set the recurring contribution every month then forget about it. Acorns Later will automatically run your investment until you invest $1 million with Acorns Later.
Acorns Spend
Acorns Spend is like your checking account with a debit card, which saves and invests when you shop. As of this writing, you could use this debit card to shop at 350+ different partner companies and also invest your round-ups in real-time. It also provides users the spend strategies to maximize your savings, which is easy and smart.
Acorns Found Money(Earn)
This is a unique feature! You could shop with those 350+ partner companies, and they are investing in your Acorns Invest account by cashing backs. You don’t hear me wrong!
The amount of money you earned will flow into your Acorns Invest within 60-120 days of your purchase. You can check the Found Money in the history screen of the app for the current status.

Acorns Referral Program
I am not referring you to join Acorns, don’t take me wrong. But you can leverage this feature to make $150 for 3 Acorns Referrals by end Apr 2020. Feel free to check HERE for the bonus that varied every month. Normally, it’s $5 for each referral.
What Types Of Portfolio Does Acorns Provide?
Acorns offer five types of portfolios, and those are based on the level of risk that you can handle.
-Conservative-
- 40% Short Term Government Bonds
- 40% Ultra Short Term Corporate Bonds
- 20% Ultra Short Term Government Bonds
-Moderately Conservative-
- 24% Large Co. Stocks
- 4% Small Company Stocks
- 4% Real Estate Stocks
- 30% Government Bonds
- 30% Corporate Bonds
- 8% International Large Co. Stocks
-Moderate-
- 29% Large Co. Stocks
- 10% Small Company Stocks
- 3% Emerging Market Stocks
- 6% Real Estate Stocks
- 20% Government Bonds
- 20% Corporate Bonds
- 12% International Large Co. Stocks
-Moderately Aggressive-
- 38% Large Co. Stocks
- 14% Small Company Stocks
- 4% Emerging Market Stocks
- 8% Real Estate Stocks
- 10% Government Bonds
- 10% Corporate Bonds
- 16% International Large Co. Stocks
-Aggressive-
- 40% Large Co. Stocks
- 20% Small Company Stocks
- 10% Emerging Market Stocks
- 10% Real Estate Stocks
- 20% International Large Co. Stocks
How Much Do I Need To Open An Account?
There is no minimum amount to open an account. However, to start investing with Acorns, your round-ups or one-time investments must add up to at least $5.
Acorns Pricing
It depends on your purposes when you first join Acorns. Each one costs so low that I don’t find any big differences between all the options.
- Acorns Basic $1 per month: Includes Acorns Invest, the investment application.
- Acorns Plus $2 per month: Includes Acorns Invest(the app) and Acorns Later.
- Acorns Premium $3 per month: The most popular plan which includes Acorns Invest(the app), Acorns Later, and Acorns Spend.
How Do I Withdraw Money From Acorns?
Once you invest money on Acorns, you can also withdraw money from the iOS, Android, or the web app. If you request before 11 am on a market day, it will be processed typically on the same day. If you request later than 11 am, it will be processed the following day that markets are open. Check HERE for the step-by-step guide to withdraw your money!
Who Is Acorns App For?
- People want to start learning investment for the very first time.
- People that want to have the easiest way to save for retirement.
- People that cannot save any money every month, yes, I am talking about you! Some of my friends run out of money before the month ends, so doing Acorns might help them to save some changes to survive each month.
For me, I will not use this platform to make money since it’s not the first intent of Acorns. I will let you know my alternative to make money online in one minute.
Ugly Truth About Acorns App
TOP#1 Not A “Make Money Quick” Platform
Acorns app is a good platform for people who want to do micro-investment to learn the basic knowledge of investment. It’s not a make-money-quick platform.
If any programs ensure you make money quickly, you need to be cautious since there is no such thing on the Internet. It’s ALL scams. To generate a stable passive income stream from the Internet takes time, effort, and patience. If you dedicate to your plan and stick to it, there might be a chance that you can achieve your goal.
TOP#2 Mainly For Investment
Just like what I mentioned in the previous paragraphs, Acorns app helps you to do micro-investments such as $1, $2 or $3 plan per month. It’s unlikely you can make a HUGE improvement for your financial status in a short time.
So, please keep in mind that the Acorns app helps you turn your spare changes into a micro-investment without too much time needed to follow up.
What I Liked About Acorns App
TOP#1 Low Stress & Low Cost To Start
Will you say $5 is too expensive to start your investments? For me, no, that’s extremely low!
On the other hand, $1, $2 or $3 per month for a micro-investment is also low for me. Therefore, it’s definitely low-stressful when people use the Acorns app to learn some knowledge of investment. I believe everyone could start learning investment by Acorns app, and it’s close to an educational app for investment, don’t you think so?
TOP#2 No Extra Fees REQUIRED
You only need to choose Acorns Basic($1), Acorns Plus($2), or Acorns Premium($3), and there are no overdraft, minimum balance, direct deposit minimums, or card replacement fees.
And, Acorns Spend customers have an unlimited free or fee-reimbursed ATM nationwide, meaning no extra ATM fee needed for every use, or Acorns will reimburse your fee.
TOP#3 Easy to Navigate on Acorns App
Acorns app is easy and comprehensive, and it doesn’t take much time to know where the information is. It feels like Acorns does a lot of works to optimize user experience that everyone could use it effortlessly.
Also, with Acorns’ automated system, it takes the complexity of investment out of your head. Nothing you need to worry about!
Can You Make Money With Acorns?
Yes, you can, but just a little!
If you calculate the total expense for a $3 plan, it would be $36 for a whole year. So, with this little investment, it won’t make a huge influence on your financial status. It will be only enough to teach you some concepts of investments, right?
Is Acorns App A Scam?
No, Acorns is not a scam nor a pyramid scheme. It offers three types of plans that suit people’s requests for micro-investment, and people can use this app for shopping and turn spare changes into investment too.
If you want to only use Acorns for investment, it guides you on the right track, but it’s not for the experienced investors or people who want to generate passive income streams. You can take this as your side hustle, and consider my alternative below to make money online:
My Alternative Way to Make Money Online
My alternative way to make money online is through Affiliate Marketing because it has the below advantages that I LOVE:
- You don’t even need to buy any physical or digital products and sell to someone face to face.
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- You are not restricted to only promote the products from a specific company. You can promote anything you like!
You need to create a website, YouTube channel, or Facebook/Instagram with quality content that makes your target audience trust you then purchase through your affiliate links. If they do purchase, you earn commissions. Simple as that!

The platform I am using is Wealthy Affiliate. The reasons are all the WA training courses, LIVE training sessions every Friday night, 24/7 SiteSupport, and the world-famous/awards-winning WA community!
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I hope you enjoy this review and you are more than welcome to share ideas or leave your comments below. I will reply as soon as I can, thanks.