Updated 2026-02-15 · 5 min read
Acorns charges $3-12/month to automatically invest your spare change. Sounds tiny, but on a small balance, that fee is devastating. If you have $500 invested, the $3/month Bronze plan is a 7.2% annual fee — compared to 0.03% at Fidelity or Vanguard. Here's the math and how to cancel.
Acorns' flat fee sounds cheap but is secretly massive on small balances:
• $500 balance → $36/yr fee = 7.2% annual fee
• $1,000 balance → $36/yr fee = 3.6% annual fee
• $5,000 balance → $36/yr fee = 0.72% annual fee
• $10,000 balance → $36/yr fee = 0.36% annual fee
A Vanguard index fund charges 0.03%. On a $1,000 balance, Vanguard costs $0.30/year vs. Acorns' $36-144.
Closing your Acorns account triggers a taxable event. All your investments are sold, and any gains are subject to capital gains tax. If you've had the account for less than a year, gains are taxed as regular income. Check your gains before closing — if they're under $200, the tax impact is minimal.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | $3 | $36 | Investing + Round-Ups |
| Silver | $6 | $72 | + Checking + Emergency Fund |
| Gold | $12 | $144 | + Family (kids), custom portfolio |
| Feature | Free Alternative |
|---|---|
| Round-Up investing | Set up $5/week auto-invest on Fidelity (same result, $0 fee) |
| Automated investing | Fidelity, Schwab, or M1 Finance (all free) |
| Checking account | SoFi Checking (4.5% APY, no fees) |
| Emergency fund | Any HYSA (Marcus, Ally, SoFi — all 4.4%+) |
| Kids investing | Fidelity Youth Account (free, ages 13-17) |
Instead of closing and selling everything, you can transfer your investments to another brokerage via ACAT transfer. This avoids the tax event. Contact your new broker (Fidelity, Schwab, etc.) and they'll pull your Acorns account over — usually free on their end. Acorns may charge a $50 transfer fee.
Acorns is great for building the investing habit, but terrible for actually growing wealth. On balances under $5,000, the fee percentage is absurd. Open a free Fidelity account, set up a $25/week auto-investment into a total stock market index fund (FZROX — 0% expense ratio), and cancel Acorns. Same strategy, $0 fees.
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