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Robinhood and M1 Finance are excellent platforms for online investing. Which one is better for you depends on your level of experience and investing goals.
Both M1 Finance and Robinhood allow you to invest in stocks and ETFs, including fractional shares, with commission-free trading. M1 provides intelligent automation that supports passive, long-term investing, while Robinhood’s generous trading hours make it a good option for high-risk active trading.
Before you invest, find out exactly what investment assets Robinhood and M1 offer, and check out each platform’s fees, minimums, account types, and other similarities and differences in the side-by-side comparison charts below.
M1 Finance VS Robinhood
M1 Finance and Robinhood are both excellent platforms in their own right, but their features, fees, and services make M1 the best choice for long-term passive investors ang beginner investors, while Robinhood may be a good option for more experienced investors looking to make active manual trades.
Available Investments
Both platforms provide stock and ETF investing, including fractional shares. Robinhood additionally offers options and crypto investing, while M1 enhances its brokerage service with intelligent automation.
M1 Finance VS Robinhood Investment Options
| M1 Finance | Robinhood | |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| Stocks And ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional Shares | Yes | Yes |
| Options | No | Yes |
| Crypto | Coming Soon | Yes |
| Automated Deposits | Yes | Yes |
| Intelligent Automation | Yes | No |
M1 Finance offers stocks, ETFs, and fractional share investing — and is launching crypto investment options soon.
Although its selection of investment assets isn’t as wide as Robinhood’s, its customers enjoy the benefit of intelligent automation features such as automated trading and dynamic rebalancing.
M1’s trading hours are limited and vary according to which type of account you open (standard or premium), but after-hours trading may not be a priority for M1 clients since its focus is on long-term investing.
M1 investment options:
- Stocks and ETFs (including fractional shares)
- Crypto coming soon
Robinhood provides investors with a wider range of investment choices, including stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, options, and crypto.
On Robinhood, all transactions are handled manually by you, the investor. The platform provides real-time trading and generous hours that include pre-market, market, and after-hours trading.
Robinhood investment options:
- Stocks and ETFs (including fractional shares)
- Options
- Crypto
If your investing strategy includes short-term trading or if you’re looking to begin investing in cryptocurrency immediately, Robinhood is the better choice since it caters to active traders and provides a wider range of investment assets, including crypto.
If you’re looking to earn higher profits through long-term investments or if you prefer a passive approach to investing over the time demands of active trading, M1 Finance is the better choice, thanks to automation options and strategic portfolio templates that cater to long-term investing goals.
If you’re new to investing, M1 is the better choice by a longshot.
Its focus on long-term investing lowers your risk, and its pre-built portfolio templates and intelligent automation can help you quickly put together a robust portfolio suited to your goals.
If you’re an experienced investor interested in active trading, Robinhood may be a good option for you.
Account Types, Minimums, And Fees
Robinhood and M1 Finance standout among all other finance platforms, thanks to their commission-free, fee-free trading and low minimum account requirements.
M1 provides a wider range of additional banking services, but Robinhood has no minimum deposit required to open an account and charges no inactivity fee.
Account Fees - M1 Finance VS Robinhood
| M1 Finance | Robinhood | |
|---|---|---|
| Fees/Minimums | | |
| Trades | $0 | $0 |
| Sign Up | $0 | $0 |
| Commission | $0 | $0 |
| Account Minimum | Initial deposit - $100, $0 minimum afterwards | None |
| Inactivity | $20 for accounts with up to $20 and 90 days without activity | None |
| Retirement | Traditional/Roth/SEP IRA | Coming Soon |
M1 Account Types
- Brokerage account (individual & joint), $100 minimum deposit to open an account, no minimum balance requirements afterward. $20 inactivity fee for accounts up to $20 with no activity for 90 days
- M1 Plus, a premium account for $125/year that provides additional ways to earn, access, and receive perks & discounts
- Retirement accounts, including Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA
- Checking account with rewards credit card
- Trust accounts
- Custodial accounts
- Loans
Robinhood Account Types
- Brokerage account (investing), no minimum investment or deposit requirement.
- Robinhood Gold, a premium account for $5 a month that gives you a margin account plus Morningstar analytics
- Retirement accounts coming soon
- Robinhood Cash account provides you with a cash card that allows you to earn bonus stock and crypto rewards.
M1 offers more types of accounts, including plenty of personal banking options, but Robinhood has no minimum deposit requirement and will never charge you an inactivity fee.
Similarities – M1 Finance VS Robinhood
M1 Finance and Robinhood share a lot of similarities, including:
- Both charge $0 commissions and trading fees
- Both offer stock & ETF investing, including fractional shares
- Both offer recurring investment deposits
- Both are expanding soon; Robinhood will add retirement accounts and M1 will add crypto investing
- Both offer some type of rewards credit card
- Both are compatible with IOS, Android, and desktop computers
Despite their similarities, the platforms have clear differences and each focuses on serving a different type of investor.
Differences – M1 Finance VS Robinhood
Both platforms provide enhanced features that provide advantages to investors.
Differences Between M1 Finance VS Robinhood
| M1 Finance | Robinhood | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
| Minimum Deposit Required | Yes | No |
| Intelligent Automation | Yes | No |
| 24/7 Trading | No | Yes |
| Crypto Investing | No | Yes |
| Options | No | Yes |
| Retirement Accounts | Yes | No |
| Prebuilt Portfolio Templates | Yes | No |
| Custom Pies | Yes | No |
Featured Partners
M1 Advantages
M1’s portfolio pies and intelligent automation give investors an edge when planning and managing their investment portfolios.
INVESTMENT PIES
M1 makes it easy to build a portfolio with visually-based “pies” that represent your investments. You can build a customized investment pie or choose from pre-existing expert and community pies designed to meet specific investing goals.
Pies are a collection of portfolios consisting of stocks and ETFs that support different investment goals. A pie is a group of stocks, and each “slice” represents and individual stock or another pie. You can have up to 100 total slices in your portfolio.
- Expert Pies are pre-made portfolios that support different investment goals. Investors can choose from more than 60 pre-made expert pies.
- Custom Pies allow you to customize your own pie.
- Community Pies are portfolios made up of groups of publicly traded companies led by Black, female, or LGBTQ+ executives.
INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION
M1’s intelligent automation uses advanced technology to help you meet your investment goals.
- Auto investment: Automatically allocate funds from every deposit to ensure that your portfolio stays focused on your goals. Auto-invest saves you time and helps you avoid manual calculations.
Auto-invest is turned on by default, and if you allow it to stay on, M1 will automatically invest your contributions whenever you have $25 or more in your M1 account. - Dynamic rebalancing: Rebalancing keeps your portfolio focused on your goals even as securities prices fluctuate. Following the the target percentages in your pie(s), it reallocates funds to keep your portfolio on track with your original goals.
Simply tap “rebalance” from any of your portfolios to get started, and M1 will buy underweight slices and sell overweight slices get your portfolio back in line.
Dynamic rebalancing only takes place when you choose to do so by tapping “rebalance” to start the process.
Robinhood Advantages
Robinhood’s real-time trading and generous trading hours make it the best choice for active traders.
REAL-TIME EXTENDED TRADING HOURS
Most markets are open between 9:30 am – 4:00 pm on business days, but on Robinhood, you can also trade during pre-market hours and after hours.
Extended, real-time trading hours on Robinhood:
- Pre-market hours: 7:00 – 9:30 am
- Standard market hours: 9:30 am – 4:00 pm
- After hours: 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Orders made outside of the hours listed above are queued, and fulfilled at or near the beginning of extended hours or near market open, depending on your instructions.
CRYPTO INVESTING
On Robinhood, you can buy and sell the following types of crypto:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Bitcoin SV (BSV)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Compound (COMP)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Polygon (MATIC)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- Solana (SOL)
- Uniswap (UNI)
Crypto trading is commission-free, and you get started investing in your choice of cryptocurrency for as little as $1.
ADDITIONAL INVESTMENT OPTIONS
- Options investing: Reserve the right to buy or sell stocks at a specific date for a specific price.
- Margin investing: borrow cash from Robinhood to purchase stocks and ETFs.
Robinhood’s real-time extended trading hours and additional investing options (crypto, options, and margins) give its investors a solid advantage, especially when their goal is to earn money from active trading.
M1 Finance VS Robinhood – Which Is Better For You?
In most cases, whether Robinhood or M1 is best for you will depend on your investment strategy.
If your investment strategy isn’t that clear-cut or if you’re still undecided about which platform is best for you, you’ll find the following pros and cons lists, with further details about each platform’s services, helpful.
M1 Finance Pros and Cons
M1’s $5 billion in assets and half million verified users might seem small compared to Robinhood.
However, it’s one of the fastest growing finance platforms in the world and its intelligent automation makes it an excellent fit for long-term investors looking for a “hands off” approach to investing
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M1 excels at intelligent automation and in its wide range of complimentary banking services. However, its limited trading hours and current lack of crypto investing opportunities may make Robinhood a better choice for some.
Robinhood Pros And Cons
With $98 billion in assets and 22.8 million verified users, Robinhood is the better choice for investors who prefer to earn profits from trading activity or who want to dive into crypto investing immediately.
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Robinhood excels at creating an ideal environment for active traders and making it easy for new clients to sign up without any fees or minimums.
However, its lack of automated trading, portfolio pies, retirement accounts, and personal banking services may make M1 a better choice for some investors.
Inexperienced and young investors may not be a good fit for Robinhood due to high risks involved in active trading.
Which Is Better – M1 Finance VS Robinhood Final Thoughts
Generally, Robinhood is best for experienced, active traders and M1 Finance is best for long-term investors, passive investors, and beginners.
M1 excels at intelligent automation, and its customers can enjoy a truly passive approach to long term investing, thanks to automated trades and dynamic rebalancing.
Additionally, its visual “pie” approach provides investors with expert templates to help meet their investing goals.
Robinhood is the absolute best choice for experienced investors interested in day trading, thanks to its real-time and extended trading hours. It also provides a handful of investments that M1 does not, such as crypto, options, and margins.
If you’re interested in long-term, passive investing, or if you are new to investing, we recommend M1 Finance.
If you’re interested in active trading and have experience balancing the risks, we recommend Robinhood.
