M1 Finance vs Robinhood
Last updated July 2026
M1 Finance
Custom pie-based investing with no advisory fee
Advantages
- No advisory fee on M1 Invest, pay $0/yr on any balance
- Custom Pies let you build fully personalized portfolios with automatic rebalancing
- Fractional shares included
- M1 Borrow: margin at 6.75% on M1 Plus (competitive rates)
- High-yield checking (M1 High-Yield Cash Account paying 5.00% APY as of mid-2026)
Drawbacks
- No tax-loss harvesting (a real gap for taxable accounts)
- Only one trading window per day on the free plan
- M1 Plus is now $3/mo, previously free
- No human advisor access
Robinhood
Investing for everyone
Advantages
- Sleek, intuitive mobile app designed for modern investors
- Fractional shares with as little as $1 per investment
- Robinhood Gold offers margin, higher APY, and research for $5/mo
- Crypto trading alongside stocks and ETFs in one app
- IRA with 1% match on contributions (3% for Gold members)
Drawbacks
- Research and analysis tools are shallow compared to traditional brokerages
- Customer support is primarily chat-based with limited phone access
- No mutual funds, ETFs and stocks only
- Revenue from payment for order flow raises best-execution concerns
M1 Finance and Robinhood both play in investing platforms, but they're aimed at different buyers. M1 Finance is built for dIY investors who want to design their own portfolio with automatic rebalancing. Robinhood is built for beginner and mobile-first investors who want a simple, all-in-one app for stocks and crypto. Which one fits depends on which of those descriptions sounds more like you.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | M1 Finance | Robinhood |
|---|---|---|
| Advisory Fee | $0 | -- |
| Minimum Investment | $100 for taxable, $500 for retirement | -- |
| Rebalancing | Automatic based on your custom pie targets | -- |
| Tax-Loss Harvesting | No | -- |
| Borrowing/Margin | M1 Borrow at 6.75% (M1 Plus) | -- |
| Portfolio Customization | High, fully custom pies | -- |
| Human Advisor | No | -- |
| Cash Account APY | 5.00% APY (M1 High-Yield Cash Account) | -- |
| Trading Commissions | -- | $0 for stocks, ETFs, options, crypto |
| Account Types | -- | Individual, joint, IRA (traditional + Roth), custodial |
| Research & Analysis | -- | Basic charts, Morningstar reports (Gold) |
| Fractional Shares | -- | Yes, starting at $1 |
| Cryptocurrency Trading | -- | Yes, 20+ cryptocurrencies |
| Cash Savings Yield | -- | 4.5%+ APY (Gold); 1.5% (free tier) |
| Customer Support | -- | In-app chat, limited phone support |
| Retirement Products | -- | IRA with 1-3% contribution match |
M1 Finance Wins
M1 Finance takes it overall (8/10 vs 7/10), but Robinhood is still the sharper pick for beginner and mobile-first investors who want a simple, all-in-one app for stocks and crypto.
M1 Finance's standout strength: No advisory fee on M1 Invest, pay $0/yr on any balance. Its biggest drawback (no tax-loss harvesting (a real gap for taxable accounts)) is easier to live with than Robinhood's (research and analysis tools are shallow compared to traditional brokerages). Robinhood isn't out of the running though — its own standout strength is sleek, intuitive mobile app designed for modern investors. If you fit the profile of beginner and mobile-first investors who want a simple, all-in-one app for stocks and crypto, that alone can flip the decision.