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Robinhood vs M1 Finance
M1 Finance versus Robinhood for online investing. Compare cost, brokerage fees, IRA
accounts, and differences. Which firm is better in 2025?
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Compare Robinhood vs. M1 Finance
In this article, we’ll discover:
• At Robinhood and M1 Finance, clients can open brokerage accounts with very different trading experiences.
• Only Robinhood offers advisory accounts.
• Cryptocurrencies can be traded at either firm.
Are you thinking about your next investment account? Look no further than Robinhood and M1 Finance. Here’s the full scoop:
Pricing
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
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Robinhood
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$0
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na
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$0 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
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M1 Finance
|
$0
|
na
|
na
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
| Broker Review |
Cost |
Investment Products |
Trading Tools |
Customer Service |
Research |
Overall Rating |
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Robinhood
|
|
|
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M1 Finance
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Promotions
Robinhood:
3% deposit match and up to $200 FREE stock at Robinhood.
M1 Finance:
Fund account within 30 days of joining with $10,000 to get $75 bonus.
Investment Products
Investors at M1 Finance can buy and sell stocks, cryptocurrencies, closed-end funds, and ETFs. There are no other asset classes at this time. Customers place their desired investments into Pies, with trades executed by M1 Finance during trading windows.
Robinhood traders don’t use Pies; they submit orders themselves whenever they want. They don’t have access to closed-end funds but they can trade options, futures, and event contracts. Neither broker-dealer offers trading in OTC (over-the-counter) equities.
Robinhood does offer managed accounts through an automated-investing program called Robinhood Strategies. The company’s computer algorithm picks stocks and ETFs for its robo clients. M1 Finance does not provide any type of portfolio management, although it does have some broker-created Pies on its platform.
Every account needs a registration of some kind. Robinhood has joint, individual, and retirement accounts. M1 has these plus custodial and trust accounts.
Winner: Robinhood
Margin
Margin programs are available at both investment firms in this two-way faceoff. M1 charges a flat
5.9% for margin debits. Although this is a really low rate, Robinhood does even better: a stepped
schedule ranging from 5.25% to 4.2%.
On M1’s and Robinhood’s platforms, the maintenance requirement of individual securities is shown. For
Nvidia, that is 30% at M1 and 25% at Robinhood. Neither brokerage house permits short positions. Robinhood margin customers can trade option spreads.
Winner: Robinhood
Websites
M1’s website lumps the various parts of the company (loans, investing, and savings accounts) into one site with tabs on the left-hand side; these buttons help with navigation. The investing section has lots of useful features with sub-tabs for stocks, funds, and cryptocurrencies. Profiles, though, are pretty sparse. Charts are very elementary, and there really is no trade ticket at all. Users place assets into portfolios (there’s a button for this on an asset’s profile), and M1 takes it from there.
Robinhood customers get a website and a browser platform, both of which have actual trade tickets. These order forms can be used 24 hours a day, and orders actually execute around the clock in many cases. Available trade types include limit, trailing, and stop (M1 only uses market orders).
Charts on the Robinhood site are also quite good with a full-screen mode and several bells and whistles. And we really like analyst ratings from multiple stock researchers. For McDonald’s, we found 38 ratings with the following recommendations:
Winner: Robinhood
Mobile Apps
Up next are mobile applications. The Robinhood app pretty much replicates its website with a lot of the same tools and features. A stock’s profile has icons in the upper-right corner for alerts and a watchlist, both of which can be super helpful. Tap on the Trade button at the bottom of a profile to get either the equity or options ticket.
Over at M1 Finance, we find a similar picture: the company’s website recreated on its mobile app. Tap on the Invest tab in the bottom menu and then the account icon in the upper left to bring up a list of investing sections, including stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. Select “Model Portfolios” to browse through existing Pies that can be purchased.
Winner: Robinhood
Bonus Services
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Available at either brokerage firm in this contest.
Automatic Investing: Recurring purchases can be established at either brokerage house.
Fractional-Share Trading: Possible at either broker-dealer. At M1 Finance, whole-dollar investing is the only possibility. At Robinhood, either whole-share or whole-dollar trades can be used.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: M1 and Robinhood both offer free DRIPs.
IRA Lineups: At either firm, an Individual Retirement Account can be opened. Only M1 has the SEP IRA. Only M1 charges an IRA monthly fee ($3) and an IRA closeout fee ($100).
Initial Public Offerings: Robinhood has them.
Extended Hours: Robinhood customers can trade many assets 24 hours a day. As already mentioned, M1 Finance doesn’t even offer the entire market day.
Winner: Robinhood
Our Recommendations
Stock and ETF Trading: With 24-hour trading and decent software, Robinhood gets the endorsement here.
Beginners: We suggest a managed account through Robinhood Strategies.
Mutual-Fund Trading: Although neither brokerage firm here has mutual funds, Firstrade does.
Small Accounts: M1 Finance has a $50 low-balance fee, which Robinhood doesn’t have. Robinhood Strategies has a $50 minimum. For any IRA, Robinhood is better due to zero IRA fees.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Although both firms have IRAs, neither place is really designed for long-term planning. We would skip both and head to Charles Schwab.
Promotions
Robinhood:
3% deposit match and up to $200 FREE stock at Robinhood.
M1 Finance:
Fund account within 30 days of joining with $10,000 to get $75 bonus.
Robinhood vs M1 Finance: Judgment
While M1 Finance’s boutique investing service is unique and will work for some investors, Robinhood
definitely outperforms in the realm of heavy-duty trading.
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Updated on 9/9/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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