Personal Finance · head to head
Venmo vs Acorns
The short version
- Only Venmo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Venmo instant transfer costs 1.75 percent with a minimum fee of 0.25 USD and a maximum of 25 USD, while the free standard transfer takes 1 to 3 business days; Acorns a flat monthly subscription regardless of balance, so $3 a month on Bronze is a heavy percentage on a small account
- They diverge on capability: Venmo covers Money transfers, Acorns covers Round-up investing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Venmo and Acorns actually diverge.
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 Venmo
- Money transfers
- Bill splitting
- Social feed
- Transaction history
Only in Acorns
- Round-up investing
- Automated investing
- Portfolio management
- Recurring investments
- Credit cards
Both cover
- Bank accounts
- Debit cards
- Web support
- IOS support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Venmo
- Splitting bills and reimbursing friends in the United Statesnot Acorns
- Accepting payments through a Venmo business profilenot Acorns
- Buying and holding cryptocurrency inside the payments appnot Acorns
Acorns
- Automated investing of spare change from everyday purchasesnot Venmo
- Retirement saving through Acorns Later IRA accountsnot Venmo
- Checking and high-yield savings alongside investingnot Venmo
- Custodial investing and debit cards for children through Acorns Earlynot Venmo
- Earning cashback that is invested rather than bankednot Venmo
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Venmo
- Instant transfer costs 1.75 percent with a minimum fee of 0.25 USD and a maximum of 25 USD, while the free standard transfer takes 1 to 3 business days
- Sending money funded by a credit card carries a 3.00 percent fee
- Cryptocurrency fees are tiered by trade size, from 2.20 percent on purchases of 1.00 to 74.99 USD down to 1.50 percent above 1,000 USD
- Business profile payments cost 1.9 percent plus 0.10 USD, and Tap to Pay costs 2.29 percent plus 0.09 USD
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Venmo
Free- FreeFree
- P2P transfers
- Bill splitting
- Mobile app
Acorns
On request- Lite$4.99/month
- Round-up investing
- Automated portfolio
- Plus$9.99/month
- All Lite features
- Checking account
- Dollar-based investing
- Premier$19.99/month
- All Plus features
- Premium investing
Which should you pick?
Choose Venmo if
- You need money transfers.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want bill splitting.
Choose Acorns if
- You need round-up investing.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want automated investing.
Questions people ask
- Is Venmo or Acorns better?
- Neither clearly leads. Venmo starts at Free and Acorns at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Venmo or Acorns?
- Venmo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Venmo and On request for Acorns.
- Does Venmo or Acorns run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Venmo for free?
- Yes. Venmo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Acorns starts at On request.
- What is Venmo best used for?
- Venmo is most often used for splitting bills and reimbursing friends in the united states, accepting payments through a venmo business profile, buying and holding cryptocurrency inside the payments app. Of those, splitting bills and reimbursing friends in the united states and accepting payments through a venmo business profile are not what Acorns is typically brought in for.
- What can Venmo do that Acorns cannot?
- Venmo covers Money transfers, Bill splitting, Social feed, Transaction history. Acorns covers Round-up investing, Automated investing, Portfolio management, Recurring investments. Both handle Bank accounts, Debit cards, Web support, IOS support.