"No minimum" is one of the most-searched investing-app phrases. The reality is that almost every modern app has $0 minimum to open. The question that actually matters is whether the app has a monthly subscription that creates an effective minimum.
How we ranked these
Slyce is on this list because $0 monthly subscription matters for the no-minimum profile specifically — small balances are where subscription drag bites hardest. We're honest about where Slyce isn't the best fit (some niches that benefit from subscription apps' breadth).
Criteria, in order:
- True $0 minimum — both opening balance and ongoing balance.
- Fee structure that doesn't penalize small balances. Subscription versus no-subscription is the key distinction.
- Fractional share support — required to make small dollar amounts actually buy meaningful exposure.
- Honest tradeoffs. Where each app's "no minimum" claim is real and where it has effective minimums via fees.
1. Slyce — $0 minimum, $0 subscription
What it offers: open with no deposit. No monthly fee. Fractional shares on every supported public company[1].
Pricing: $0 per month.
Where Slyce wins for no-minimum: the math is the simplest on this list. $0 in, $0/month, and per-purchase mechanics that scale with whatever you spend.
Where Slyce doesn't win: no IRA at launch. For tax-advantaged retirement specifically, you'd open a no-fee account at Fidelity / Schwab / Vanguard.
2. Robinhood — $0 minimum, $0 subscription base
What it offers: open with no deposit. $0 monthly base. Self-directed brokerage with fractional shares[2].
Pricing: $0 per month base.
Where Robinhood wins for no-minimum: $0 base tier is genuinely $0 — no balance requirement, no monthly fee. The Robinhood Retirement IRA is also $0 minimum.
Where Robinhood doesn't win for no-minimum: Robinhood Gold (paid tier) has a monthly fee, but the base tier is the no-minimum offering. Self-directed nature means you have to actually place orders.
3. Fidelity / Schwab / Vanguard — $0 minimum, $0 subscription, more features
What they offer: standard self-directed brokerage with $0 minimum and $0 monthly fees. Full IRA support, custodial accounts, mutual funds, ETFs, fractional shares.
Pricing: $0 per month for self-directed accounts.
Where these win for no-minimum: bank-grade safety with no fees at all. If you want the full account-type breadth (IRA, Roth, custodial, taxable) at one place with $0 minimum across all of them, the major brokerages deliver.
Where these don't win for no-minimum: no automation. The apps assume some investing literacy. Best for the user who'll actually log in and place orders or set up auto-buys.
4. Acorns — $0 minimum but a subscription
What it offers: open with no deposit. Round-ups on linked-card purchases[3].
Pricing: monthly subscription with tiers.
Where Acorns fits for no-minimum: technically $0 minimum, so it qualifies for the search query. The diversified-ETF approach is real automation.
Where Acorns doesn't fit for no-minimum honestly: the subscription creates an effective minimum. A $3/month subscription on a $30 balance is 10% in year one. The "no minimum" claim is technically true but the math punishes very small balances. Slyce vs Acorns walks the broader head-to-head.
5. Stash — $0 minimum but a subscription
What it offers: open with no deposit. Stock-Back® on debit-card swipes[4].
Pricing: monthly subscription.
Where Stash fits for no-minimum: $0 minimum to open, fractional shares. Stock-Back® mechanic doesn't require a minimum balance.
Where Stash doesn't fit for no-minimum honestly: same subscription issue as Acorns. Plus the Stock-Back® mechanic requires using the Stash debit card, which is a separate friction point.
What about Betterment?
Betterment has a $0 minimum to open but charges either a percentage-of-assets fee with a monthly minimum or a flat-fee structure (varies by tier)[5]. For small balances, the percentage fee with monthly minimum effectively imposes a ~$200 minimum to avoid the fee being more than the returns.
For balances above about $500–$1,000, Betterment's percentage fee starts to make sense as a robo-advisor service. Below that, the math doesn't work.
What "no minimum" usually means in practice
Three categories of "minimum":
- Opening balance minimum. Almost universally $0 across modern apps.
- Per-deposit minimum. Most apps allow $1 or even sub-$1 contributions via fractional shares. Some apps batch round-ups until the pile crosses $5 — that's not technically a minimum but it delays the buy.
- Effective minimum via fees. A $3/month subscription means contributing less than ~$36/year is a net loss. That's the most-common form of "minimum" that hides in apps marketed as no-minimum.
For genuine $0-minimum-with-no-strings-attached, the honest list is short: Slyce, Robinhood (base), Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard.
Verdict for no-minimum
- Want $0 minimum, $0 subscription, automated: Slyce.
- Want $0 minimum, $0 subscription, self-directed: Robinhood (base tier) or Fidelity / Schwab / Vanguard.
- Want $0 minimum and willing to absorb a subscription for round-ups or Stock-Back®: Acorns or Stash.
- Want $0 minimum and willing to wait until balance grows past ~$500 for robo-advising to make sense: Betterment.
For the broader auto-investing context, see the broader auto-investing app ranking. The spend-to-own guide walks the long-term arithmetic for small recurring contributions.
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Frequently asked
- What does 'no minimum' actually mean?
- Three different things, depending on the app: no minimum to open the account, no minimum per deposit, and no minimum balance to maintain the account. Most modern apps have zero on all three. Where the differences matter is in fees that effectively create a minimum — a $3/month subscription on a $50 balance is a 6% drag in year one alone.
- Can I really start with $1?
- Yes. All the apps on this list support fractional shares, so a $1 deposit can buy a fractional share of any company on the platform. The question is whether the math makes sense — at very small balances, monthly subscriptions consume a high percentage of the account.
- Are there minimum balance requirements at full-service brokerages?
- Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard all support $0 minimum brokerage accounts. Some specific products inside those brokerages (certain mutual funds, advisory accounts) have minimums, but the basic brokerage account opens with no required initial deposit.
- Why do some apps charge subscriptions if the minimum is $0?
- The subscription is the revenue model. Acorns, Stash, and Betterment charge subscriptions or percentage-of-assets fees because that's how the business sustains itself. Apps that don't charge subscriptions earn revenue elsewhere — Slyce earns on payment-network rebates, Robinhood earns on payment for order flow and securities lending.
- Should I use an app with no subscription even if the features are thinner?
- At small balances, yes. The compounding math works against subscription apps for small portfolios because the fee is a fixed-dollar drag against a percentage-based return. Once your balance grows, the percentage drag shrinks. For small starting balances, prioritize $0 monthly fee over feature breadth.
Keep reading
Slyce Editorial
Published May 3, 2026 · Updated May 3, 2026