Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Acorns vs NerdWallet

Acorns 4.7★ · Free to download 65
Winner NerdWallet
NerdWallet 4.8★ · Free to download 75

NerdWallet is generally preferred for comprehensive financial tracking and education, while Acorns is better suited for hands-off, beginner investing.

Full reviews: Acorns · NerdWallet

Acorns excels as an entry-level investment app, making saving simple with automatic round-ups, but faces significant criticism for customer service and account access issues. NerdWallet is praised for organizing finances and providing educational content, though recent updates have introduced bugs and removed popular budgeting features.

Head to head

Features & Functionality edge: NerdWalletR8R11R14R19
Acorns Acorns is highly regarded for its simplicity in saving and investing, especially for beginners, with features like automatic deposits and round-ups R8R11R14. However, some users desire more advanced investment options like options contracts and detailed stock charts . There are also complaints about the app's banking features, including slow transfers and issues with direct deposit R19.
NerdWallet NerdWallet is valued for its ability to organize all finances in one place, track net worth, and provide financial education . However, recent updates have removed or altered key budgeting features, such as the 50/30/20 rule and detailed spending comparisons, frustrating many users R61R67R72R78. Users also report issues with linking certain accounts, like HSAs .
Ease of Use & Reliability tieR3R14R24R25
Acorns Acorns is generally considered easy to use for saving and investing R14R24. However, many users report significant issues with logging in, such as forgotten passwords and PINs R3R25, and problems with two-step verification . The app is also criticized for bugs and glitches R25, and some users find the cancellation process difficult .
NerdWallet NerdWallet is often praised for its ease of use in setting up and organizing finances . However, recent updates have introduced numerous bugs, crashes, and slow performance . Users also report issues with bank account connectivity and a clunky interface, especially on iPad .
Customer Service & Support edge: NerdWalletR9R17R23R33
Acorns Acorns receives overwhelmingly negative feedback regarding its customer service. Users report unhelpful representatives, long wait times, lack of follow-up emails, and difficulty resolving issues like account access, money transfers, and subscription cancellations R9R17R23R33.
NerdWallet NerdWallet's customer service is less frequently mentioned in reviews, but some users report difficulties with password resets and an overly complicated account closure process via chatbot . There are also complaints about ignored unsubscribe requests for marketing emails R79.
Price & Value edge: NerdWalletR13R45R55R59
Acorns Acorns is free to download, but users complain about subscription fees, with one user noting a $12 monthly fee for the investment plan, totaling $144 annually, which can quickly diminish small savings R59. There are also reports of unexpected charges after cancellation R13 and fees associated with transferring money out R55. Some users feel the app has become a "cash grab" with segmented subscription tiers R45.
NerdWallet NerdWallet is free to download and many users appreciate its free offerings, finding it a great value for tracking finances and gaining financial knowledge . However, some users feel the app has become an "advertising platform" with non-stop ads and pay-walled features, pushing users towards loans, credit cards, and other services R79.
Pick Acorns if

You are a beginner investor looking for a simple, hands-off way to save and invest through automatic round-ups and deposits R8R14.

Pick NerdWallet if

You want a free app to organize all your finances in one place, track your net worth, and access financial education, even if it means dealing with some ads and recent feature changes .

Evidence note: Acorns has a significantly larger number of ratings, but recent reviews for both apps show a negative trend concerning bugs, customer service, and feature changes. The free-to-download nature of both apps means some negative reviews for Acorns relate to subscription fees that are part of its business model.

Frequently asked

Does Acorns have hidden fees?
Acorns is free to download but charges subscription fees for its investment plans, with one user noting a $12 monthly fee for the investment plan, which can amount to $144 annually R59. Users also report unexpected charges after cancellation and fees for transferring money out R13R55.
Can I use NerdWallet for budgeting?
NerdWallet previously offered popular budgeting features like the 50/30/20 rule and detailed spending comparisons, but recent updates have removed or altered these, leading to user frustration R61R67R72R78. While it still tracks spending, the granular budgeting functionality is less robust than before.
Is it hard to get money out of Acorns?
Many Acorns users report significant difficulties and delays when trying to withdraw money or transfer retirement accounts, citing issues with customer service, account locks, and complicated processes R17R19R23R39.
Does NerdWallet sell my personal information?
Some NerdWallet users report receiving numerous spam calls and marketing emails after using the app to look into financial products like debt consolidation loans, leading them to suspect their information was sold R79R94.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R8] Acorns 5/5 · US Awesome: Great investment tool for all ages! If u want to teach or learn how investing works try it.
  2. [R11] Acorns 5/5 · US Great investment app: Great investment app. Good for saving money, forgetting about it and letting it grow. A lot more budget friendly than other options too
  3. [R14] Acorns 5/5 · US Great Investing App: Great investing app for beginners. Acorns makes saving and investing simple with automatic deposits and round-ups. The interface is easy to use, and it helps build good financial habits over time. A great choice for anyone starting their investment journey.
  4. [R19] Acorns 1/5 · US Worst bank and investment platform: They lie about early direct deposit times. Their transfers take longer than they state. They keep your money hostage as long as possible. The absolute worst scam app/bank/investment platform on the App Store.
  5. [R3] Acorns 3/5 · US Password never remembered: Having to reset my password and pin EVERY SINGLE TIME I attempt to log in is exactly why i’m done with this app. It helped with saving but I got so tired of having to reset my password over and over. Fix it.
  6. [R24] Acorns 5/5 · US Savings: Acorns is extremely easy to use and I’m thrilled how much I’ve been able to save
  7. [R25] Acorns 1/5 · US Too many pop-ups: Whenever I try to do something I get so many pop ups and questions. I've created a PIN multiple times, but it keeps forgetting it. It makes me set up a new one. There's so many bugs and glitches that I dont trust the app refrain further use.
  8. [R9] Acorns 3/5 · US Not as self intuitive: I love this program and it is a great idea. I do wish that it had more support and or instructions to understand how to set up things. How things are working. And perhaps better support as well for my customer service support perspective.
  9. [R17] Acorns 1/5 · US Closed long time checking and savings no reason: My checking and savings were suddenly placed under review leaving me unable to access my money I was told to review could take one to three business days, but no one could explain why my accounts were restricted or provide me any meaningful detail details. I uploaded the request requested identity documents immediately and contacted Support multiple
  10. [R23] Acorns 1/5 · US WARNING - Do not use Later Accounts: If you ever imagine yourself transferring/rolling over retirement accounts from Acorns to another institution, be prepared to deal with an unfathomable level of incompetence by the Acorns representatives. Over a month after initiating a transfer, dozens of calls, and several emails, $20k of mine is still lost in the void after being “successfully” transferred t
  11. [R33] Acorns 1/5 · US Don’t trust these people with your money.: This app is one I’ve been investing into for over a year, as a minimum wage worker I really have sometimes put myself in a tough spot so I can grow financially with my savings. I felt it was worth it. The app has locked me out and customer service has been severely disappointing and unhelpful. They keep asking me to upload documents on the website you onc
  12. [R13] Acorns 1/5 · US God Awful: If you cancel your subscription, they continue to charge you if you don’t use the app for long enough. I cancelled my subscription 3 months ago (confirmation emails saying it was cancelled and everything) and checked my bank statements for this past month and they charged me again!!! I regret giving these people my bank info, god only knows what they’re going to keep doing with it.
  13. [R45] Acorns 1/5 · US Deceitful cash grab: Used Acorns years ago, and was happy with it then. Recently returned to find the app’s become just another multi-subscription tier cash grab. Everything that used to come free has been segmented into 3 different subscription tiers with little inherent value relative to price per tier. Not what it used to be.
  14. [R55] Acorns 1/5 · US Scam: Acorns is a big scam. I invested 5$ everyday and 35$ once monthly. I want to move money to a different brokerage. But acorns has made it so difficult. I had some money invested in Merrill, that transfer was so smooth. But acorns takes so long to transfer and has so many transactions and charges a bomb while transferring. I will not recommend acorns to anyone.
  15. [R59] Acorns 1/5 · US Takes $12 Monthly for the Investment Plan: This app doesn’t care if you save, because its model is to take your savings. It takes forever to gather a solid amount of $, and when you do the app’s investment plan takes $12 every month from the investments you “saved” (which turns into $144 every year for the company). Even if your balance is just $50, it will take $12 every month from your “saved”
  16. [R61] NerdWallet 1/5 · US Terrible update: Removed the only reason I downloaded this app. For a budgeting option. And then put in some garbage news stories and investment tab nobody asked for. Edit: nice they added it back, too bad I moved on to rocket money
  17. [R67] NerdWallet 2/5 · US New budget layout is bad: I hate the new budget layout - so much so that I am going to look for another app or go back to manual tracking. I need to be able to zoom out across multiple months and years and see how my earning and spending trends across multiple periods with different granularity. Now I can only see spend for each month or YTD and it completely removed the income view.
  18. [R72] NerdWallet 3/5 · US Bring back 50/30/20: I’ve used several competitors before but what kept me with NW was the 50/30/20 rule and their simple UI - everything I needed in one neat spot. The 50/30/20 budgeting feature single-handedly kept me as a customer. I saw GREAT improvements using this. I’ve given these new versions some time but nothing compares to the old Nerd Wallet. Very disappointed and looking for alternati
  19. [R78] NerdWallet 3/5 · US Less useful: It’s never had a lot of functionality in terms of budgeting but it’s become even less useful over time. Like they actively took out the more granular budgeting features and replaced with over broad charts not good for much. mostly good for passively tracking your accounts for issues. Looking for a new way to handle my budgeting
  20. [R39] Acorns 1/5 · US You’ll never get your money out: When I was young and dumb I set up a “later account.” When I got older I wanted to consolidate accounts (and stop paying the $3 a month fee). I’ve done everything I can think of to try and get my money out, without creating a taxable event, and it’s impossible. They don’t sync with anything, their support sucks, and make you jump through a million loopholes (some o
  21. [R79] NerdWallet 2/5 · US Predatory, spammy financial app: I’m giving 2 stars because you can actually get a loan through this app, it just will be at an extremely predatory rate. They will also start sending you 3-5 marketing emails a day, and in my case have so far ignored my unsubscribe requests. I suspect they also sold my email address to other spammy, predatory financial services because I started receiving a bunch s
  22. [R94] NerdWallet 1/5 · US Sold my info to scammers: I have loved using NerdWallet for the last few years as their articles have been very informative and the recommendations for savings accounts and credit cards have been helpful. Unfortunately I recently used the app (and only this app) to look into a debt consolidation loan. After going through the usual recommendation process my phone has been spammed with multiple call

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store