When it comes to Cash App Investing vs. Robinhood, both are designed to be low-frills brokerage platforms. And both are primarily targeted at younger investors who want to buy and sell stocks easily. Cash App added brokerage capabilities within the past few years to complement its other financial offerings, such as person-to-person money transfers and direct deposit. On the other hand, Robinhood pioneered the no-fee brokerage platform model and is largely considered to be the reason most of the industry has adopted $0 commission stock trading.
There are some unfortunate similarities among the two that will be nonstarters for many investors. For example, neither platform offers mutual fund investing. So, if you want a more full-featured broker, you're probably better off looking elsewhere. But if you're looking for a user-friendly and low-frills approach, our Cash App Investing vs. Robinhood review can help you decide if one of them is right for you.
Cash App Investing vs. Robinhood: At a glance
| Offer | Robinhood | Cash App Investing |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars. 4.0/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
| Commissions | $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; $5 monthly for Robinhood Gold | $0 for stocks, fees vary for cryptocurrencies N/A N/A |
| Account Minimum | $0 | $0 |
| Next Steps | Open Account for Robinhood Read Full Review | Read Review |
Cash App Investing vs. Robinhood: Commissions & fees
When it comes to fees, these two brokerage platforms are pretty close. Both have commission-free stock and ETF trading, just like most of the brokerage industry. Both have no account maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements. Plus, the fee to transfer stock out of an account is the same with both brokers. And neither offers mutual fund investing at this time, so there's no need to compare fees in this area.
There are two key differences worth noting:
- Robinhood is one of the only platforms where you can trade options commission free. Cash App Investing doesn't offer options at all.
- Robinhood offers commission-free cryptocurrency trades, while Cash App Investing only offers Bitcoin and charges a fee for every transaction.
| Cash App Investing | Robinhood | |
|---|---|---|
| Stock & ETF Commissions | $0 | $0 |
| Options Commissions | N/A | $0 |
| Crypto Commissions | Varies | $0 |
| Mutual Fund Commissions | N/A | N/A |
| Account Transfer Fee | $75 | $100 |
| Account Maintenance Fee | $0 | $0 |
Data sources: Cash App and Robinhood.
Cash App Investing vs. Robinhood: Investments available
These two platforms are on (almost) equal footing for investment options, but with a few big differences. As mentioned earlier, Robinhood offers commission-free options trading, while Cash App Investing doesn't facilitate options at all. And while both platforms offer cryptocurrency trading, Cash App Investing offers Bitcoin only while Robinhood offers several different cryptocurrencies through its platform.
LEARN MORE: Best Options Trading Platforms
The biggest takeaway is that both Cash App Investing and Robinhood are largely designed for investors who want to be able to buy and sell stocks in any dollar amount. (Both allow fractional share trading.) Robinhood is designed more for traders, with options and several other cryptocurrencies available, while Cash App Investing is designed to allow people to easily buy and sell stocks and Bitcoin.
Neither platform offers:
- Mutual funds
- Bonds
- Deposit products like CDs, futures, or forex trading
Both are rather low-frills in nature, so if any of those investment types are a key component of your strategy, you're probably better off looking elsewhere.
READ MORE: Best Stock Brokers
| Cash App Investing | Robinhood | |
|---|---|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Fractional shares | Yes | Yes |
| Options | No | Yes |
| Mutual funds | No | No |
| CDs | No | No |
| Bonds | No | No |
| Futures | No | No |
| Crypto | Yes (Bitcoin only) | Yes |
| Currencies | No | No |
Data sources: Cash App and Robinhood.
Cash App Investing vs. Robinhood: Account types available
Both Cash App Investing and Robinhood are on similar footing when it comes to standard (taxable) brokerage accounts. You can't open a joint account on either platform, and neither offers a robo-advisory service. There are also no custodial or college savings accounts offered by either platform, although Robinhood has said it would like to offer additional account types in the future.
One key differentiator is that Robinhood recently started allowing customers to open traditional and Roth IRAs to save for retirement. Other platforms offer several different types of retirement accounts beyond these, but Cash App Investing doesn't support retirement accounts on its platform at all.
READ MORE: Best IRA Accounts
Another major difference is that Robinhood allows investors to use margin (borrowed money) to make trades. Robinhood offers a premium membership service called Robinhood Gold, which costs $5 per month. Robinhood Gold allows customers to access superior margin rates (8% as of January 2024, versus 12% for non-members), plus with Gold, the first $1,000 in margin used is interest free.
It's also worth noting that while neither technically offers a checking or savings account, both offer money management solutions. Cash App itself is designed to do pretty much everything a checking account can do, although it doesn't pay any interest. Robinhood's cash sweep feature allows users to earn interest on their uninvested cash and provides access at an extensive ATM network. So, if you're looking for more of an all-in-one financial solution -- as opposed to simply a place to invest -- neither of these platforms are a best-in-breed option. But Cash App Investing has a bit of an edge, as being a "checking alternative" is one of the platform's core competencies.
LEARN MORE: Best Robo-Advisors
| Cash App Investing | Robinhood | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable brokerage | Yes | Yes |
| Joint tenant | No | No |
| Margin | No | Yes |
| Robo-advisor | No | No |
| Traditional IRA | No | Yes |
| Roth IRA | No | Yes |
| Other IRA | No | No |
| Custodial | No | No |
| Checking | No, but has a checking alternative | No, but has a debit card |
| Savings | Yes | No, but has a cash sweeps program |
| Credit card | No | No |
Data sources: Cash App and Robinhood.
Cash App Investing vs. Robinhood: Mobile app and trading platforms
If you're looking for a user-friendly way to buy and sell stocks, you'll find that both platforms excel in this department. Both are designed to be simple to use but also have limited functionality compared to full-service brokers. For example, you won't find any sophisticated trading tools, and educational resources are in short supply with both. Robinhood has a slight edge here: it offers beginner-friendly how-to-invest articles, and Robinhood Gold members get advanced market data and limited Morningstar research.
On the other hand, both have highly rated apps:
- Cash App is rated 4.8 out of 5 on the Apple App Store and 4.6 out of 5 on the Google Play store.
- Robinhood's ratings are 4.2 on the Apple App Store and 4.1 on the Google Play store.
READ MORE: Best Stock Brokers for Beginners
Final take
As you can see, both of these brokerage platforms excel in certain ways and can be quite appealing to investors who want a low-cost and user-friendly way to buy and sell stocks. There are a few major differences between the two, so the best choice for you depends on what features matter most to you.
In a nutshell:
- If you want an all-in-one solution for most of your financial life that also offers stock-trading capability, Cash App Investing could be right for you.
- If you want to trade options or cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin, or you want to keep fees to an absolute minimum, Robinhood could be worth a closer look.
Alternatives to Consider
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.
| Account | Fees | Account Minimum | |
|---|---|---|---|
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; $5 monthly for Robinhood Gold | $0 | Open Account for Robinhood |
Rating image, 5.0 out of 5 stars. 5.0/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 commission for online U.S. stock and ETF trades; trade fractional shares for as little as $1 | $0 | Open Account for Fidelity |
Rating image, 4.0 out of 5 stars. 4.0/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 per trade | $0 | Open Account for J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing |
FAQs
Both Cash App Investing and Robinhood are generally designed to make it easy for people to buy and sell stocks. Cash App Investing simply offers stock trading and Bitcoin investing, while Robinhood has some additional features, such as retirement accounts, options trading, margin investing, and several other cryptocurrencies. If any of these features are important to you, you'll probably be better off with Robinhood.
The main disadvantage of using Robinhood as opposed to a more traditional online broker is the general lack of features. For example, Robinhood doesn't allow customers to open joint accounts, and doesn't offer custodial brokerage accounts or any retirement accounts beyond the basic traditional and Roth IRAs. It also doesn't offer mutual fund investing, bonds, or any type of robo-advisory services.
Our Brokerages Experts
By:Matt Frankel, CFP®
Writer, Analyst
Matt is a Certified Financial Planner™ and investment advisor based in Columbia, South Carolina. He writes personal finance and investment advice for The Ascent and its parent company The Motley Fool, with more than 4,500 published articles and a 2017 SABEW Best in Business award. Matt writes a weekly investment column ("Ask a Fool") that is syndicated in USA Today, and his work has been regularly featured on CNBC, Fox Business, MSN Money, and many other major outlets. He’s a graduate of the University of South Carolina and Nova Southeastern University, and holds a graduate certificate in financial planning from Florida State University.
By:Cole Tretheway
Cole Tretheway is a full-time personal finance writer whose articles have been featured on The Ascent and The Motley Fool. He has a degree in English with a Certificate in Professional and Technical Communication from California Polytechnic University, SLO.
Fact CheckedAshley Maready
Writer and Editor
Ashley Maready is a former history museum professional who made the leap to digital content writing and editing in 2021. She has a BA in History and Philosophy from Hood College and an MA in Applied History from Shippensburg University. Ashley loves creating content for the public and learning new things so she can teach others, whether it's information about salt mining, canal mules, or personal finance.
