Acorns Checking account review
- Fee
- From $3 per month
- APY
- N/A
- Minimum deposit to open
- $0
Our verdict
Use your Acorns debit card to invest spare change and earn bonus investments, but it costs $3 to $12 a month.
The Acorns Checking account combines a traditional checking account with the convenience of investing with Acorns. You can access a checking, investing and optional retirement account. All three accounts sync together to let you make transfers seamlessly and invest spare change from debit card purchases. But this service comes with an unavoidable monthly fee, and we're surprised to see no savings component.
Best for: Those who use Acorns' round-ups investing feature and want a checking account for seamless transfers.
Pros
-
No minimum opening deposit or overdraft fees
-
SmartDeposit invests a portion of your paycheck
-
Round-ups invest your spare change after every purchase
Cons
-
Must have an Acorns investment account to open
-
Unavoidable fee of up to $12 a month
-
No interest-bearing savings or joint accounts
-
Less-than-stellar customer service
Who is the Acorns Checking account best for?
The Acorns account is best for anyone who needs a new checking account and is considering investing with Acorns. With its automated tools, including real-time round-ups and SmartDeposit, you can put your investing on autopilot by instantly investing your spare change or a portion of your paycheck. And transfers between Acorns accounts are seamless, allowing you to maintain a holistic view of your investment, retirement and bank account.
What we like about the Acorns Checking account
The Acorns Checking account makes investing easy and convenient. For example, with round-ups, Acorns automatically rounds up your transaction to the nearest dollar every time you use your debit card. Once you’ve rounded up at least $5, Acorns invest it in your Acorns investment account.
Another Acorns Checking automated tool is Smart Deposit, which lets you invest a percentage of your direct deposit as soon as you get it. Choose to transfer the money into your investment, retirement or kid’s investment accounts.
And finally, the Acorns Checking account has no minimum balance, overdraft or ATM fees.
Gold accounts get Acorns Early (formerly GoHenry) for free
If you opt for the Gold membership for $12 per month, you’ll get a free Acorns Early account. Acorns Early is a top, kids’ banking app and debit card that’s meant to help parents teach their kids financial literacy – and normally, the cost starts at $5 per month.
Acorns Early is suited for kids aged six to 18, and comes with strong parental controls with automated chore and allowance features, educational tools and games.
Where it falls short
Acorns Checking has an unavoidable monthly fee: You’ll pay $3, $6 or $12 a month for Acorns, but this flat fee covers your investment account, retirement account, checking account and potential kids’ accounts. And keep in mind that you’ll need to open an Acorns investment account before you can open its checking account.
Another disadvantage of Acorns is that it doesn’t offer any interest-bearing accounts, such as a savings account. While Acorns is inching toward a one-stop shop financial solution, without a high-yield savings account, you’ll need to go elsewhere to earn APY.
Acorns is also lacking in customer service, with several customers reporting issues about getting the run-around when inquiring why they’ve been locked out of their accounts. We also had a similar experience each time we spoke to a representative. Instead of answering our question directly, they copy-and-pasted irrelevant marketing information from their website. One representative abruptly ended our chat, and another refused to share the Acorns Checking Account Checking Agreement, stating that users receive it only after they’ve signed up. All to say, Acorns is also lacking in transparency.
Acorns Checking plans and cost
To access Acorn’s checking account, choose from one of its three plans. Each offers a range of features with prices starting at $3 per month
| Plan | Monthly cost | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | $3 |
|
| Silver | $6 | Everything in the Bronze plan, plus:
|
| Gold | $12 | Everything in the Silver plan, plus:
|
Acorns Checking account fees and access
| Type of fee | Fee details |
|---|---|
| Monthly service | Starts at $3 |
| Opening deposit | $0 |
| ATMs | $0 for domestic and international ATMs |
| Debit card fees |
|
| Overdraft or nonsufficient funds | $0 |
| Wire transfers | Not supported |
Compare Acorns Checking to other checking accounts
Narrow down checking accounts by weighing monthly fees, opening deposit requirements and APY. Select Compare on up to four products to view them side by side.
What is the Finder Score?
The Finder Score crunches over 300 checking accounts from hundreds of financial institutions. It takes into account the product's monthly fees, overdraft fees, opening deposit, customer support options, ATM network and features — this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts analyze hundreds of checking accounts against what we consider is the best option: no monthly fees, no overdraft fees, a large ATM network of 50,000 or more, additional features outside of typical banking services, and the optional perk of earning interest. Accounts that are nearly free to maintain and use are scored the highest, while accounts with costly fees and few features are scored the lowest.
How to open an Acorns Checking account
If you’re not a current Acorns user, you must first open its investment account before you can apply to the checking account.
Customer experience
Acorns doesn’t have a great track record for reviews. It holds a 1.1 out of 5-star rating on the Better Business Bureau and a 2.3 out of 5-star rating on Trustpilot.
Customers who haven’t had issues with their accounts vouch that Acorns features more than justify the monthly cost. On the other hand, the main complaints include account freezes and poor customer service.
Checking account ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
We analyze top checking accounts and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include: monthly fees, the ease at which monthly fees can be waived, the breadth of ATM access, ATM and overdraft fees, and customer service.
Your reviews
Kimberly Finder
Writer
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