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Personal Finance · head to head

Acorns vs MoneyWiz

Acorns logo

Acorns

Personal Finance

Invest your spare change

From
$4/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
M

MoneyWiz

Personal Finance

Simple and powerful personal finance app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MoneyWiz has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Acorns a flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account; MoneyWiz there is no free tier; every plan requires a subscription
  • They diverge on capability: Acorns covers Round-up investing, MoneyWiz covers Expense tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Acorns and MoneyWiz actually diverge.

Attributes where Acorns and MoneyWiz differ
AttributeAcornsMoneyWiz
Starting price$4/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
Founded20122011

Identical on both: platforms (Web, IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Acorns

  • Round-up investing
  • Automated investing
  • Portfolio management
  • Recurring investments
  • Debit cards

Only in MoneyWiz

  • Expense tracking
  • Budget management
  • Multi-currency support
  • Financial analytics

Both cover

  • Bank accounts
  • Credit cards
  • Web support
  • IOS support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Acorns

  • Automated investing of spare change from everyday purchasesnot MoneyWiz
  • Retirement saving through Acorns Later IRA accountsnot MoneyWiz
  • Checking and high-yield savings alongside investingnot MoneyWiz
  • Custodial investing and debit cards for children through Acorns Earlynot MoneyWiz
  • Earning cashback that is invested rather than bankednot MoneyWiz

MoneyWiz

  • Tracking personal accounts, budgets and bills across iOS, macOS, Windows and Androidnot Acorns
  • Syncing one finance database across multiple devices through MoneyWiz Cloudnot Acorns
  • Automatically importing transactions through bank syncnot Acorns

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Acorns

  • A flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account
  • The emergency savings account and the 1 percent IRA match need Silver at $6 a month
  • Custom portfolios, Acorns Early for children and Money Manager are Gold tier only at $12 a month
  • There is no free tier

MoneyWiz

  • There is no free tier; every plan requires a subscription
  • Bank sync with over 40,000 banks is Premium only, at 59.99 USD a year or 5.99 USD a month
  • The Standard plan at 29.99 USD a year provides only cloud sync between devices, with no bank sync
  • Subscriptions cap usage at 15 devices and two MoneyWiz Cloud accounts
  • Priority support is restricted to the Premium tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Acorns

$4/month
  • Bronze$4/month
    • Investment account with diversified portfolio
    • Round-Ups spare change investing
    • Acorns Later retirement account
  • Silver$8/month
    • All Bronze features
    • 1% IRA match on first-year contributions
    • Acorns Checking with no overdraft fees
  • Gold$12/month
    • All Silver features
    • 3% IRA match on first-year contributions
    • Investment accounts for kids with 1% match

MoneyWiz

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic expense tracking
    • Multiple accounts
  • Premium$4.99/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Budget forecasting
    • Custom categories

Which should you pick?

Choose Acorns if

  • You need round-up investing.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want automated investing.
Acorns review

Choose MoneyWiz if

  • You need expense tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want budget management.
MoneyWiz review

Questions people ask

Is Acorns or MoneyWiz better?
Neither clearly leads. Acorns starts at $4/month and MoneyWiz at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Acorns or MoneyWiz?
MoneyWiz has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4/month for Acorns and Free for MoneyWiz.
Does Acorns or MoneyWiz run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use MoneyWiz for free?
Yes. MoneyWiz has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Acorns starts at $4/month.
What is Acorns best used for?
Acorns is most often used for automated investing of spare change from everyday purchases, retirement saving through acorns later ira accounts, checking and high-yield savings alongside investing, custodial investing and debit cards for children through acorns early. Of those, automated investing of spare change from everyday purchases and retirement saving through acorns later ira accounts are not what MoneyWiz is typically brought in for.
What can Acorns do that MoneyWiz cannot?
Acorns covers Round-up investing, Automated investing, Portfolio management, Recurring investments. MoneyWiz covers Expense tracking, Budget management, Multi-currency support, Financial analytics. Both handle Bank accounts, Credit cards, Web support, IOS support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Acorns: What's the difference between Acorns Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans?

Bronze at $4/month provides basic investment accounts and Round-Ups investing. Silver adds 1% IRA matching, no-fee checking, and emergency savings at $8/month. Gold includes 3% IRA matching, kids' accounts with 1% match, and tax filing for $12/month. Each tier includes all features from lower tiers.

Source
Acorns: Does Acorns charge hidden fees or commissions?

No, Acorns charges no hidden fees or commissions. Monthly subscription fees start at $4 and are the only recurring charges; all other services included in each tier have no additional costs.

Source
Acorns: What IRA match percentage does Acorns provide?

Silver tier provides 1% IRA match on first-year Later contributions. Gold tier increases this to 3% IRA match on first-year contributions. Both tiers limit matching to first-year contributions only.

Source
Acorns: What's the APY on Acorns Emergency Savings?

The Emergency Savings account offers 3.35% APY as of March 16, 2026, which is described as more than 8.5 times the national average savings rate. This feature is available on Silver and Gold tiers only.

Source
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