SoFi vs M1 Finance (2025)

M1 Finance vs SoFi Invest for online investing. Compare cost, brokerage fees, IRA accounts, and differences. Which firm is better?

SoFi Invest vs. M1 Finance Introduction

Brokerage services and more are available at both M1 Finance and SoFi Invest. If you’re unsure which one to pick, keep reading.

Pricing

Broker Fees	Stock/ETF Commission	Mutual Fund Commission	Options Commission	Maintenance Fee	Annual IRA Fee
M1 Finance	$0	na	na	$0	$0
Sofi Invest	$0	na	$0	$25*	$0

Services

Broker Review	Cost	Investment Products	Trading Tools	Customer Service	Research	Overall Rating
M1 Finance
Sofi Invest

Assets and Account Types

A brokerage account at M1 Finance can be opened as an individual, joint, trust, custodial, or retirement setup. And we do mean brokerage; M1 Finance does not have managed accounts.

M1 Finance vs SoFi

Within its self-directed service, you can trade cryptocurrencies, stocks, closed-end funds, and ETFs once a day at the opening bell (M1 doesn’t let you trade during the entire market session).

SoFi Invest offers self-directed trading all day in the same assets that M1 has plus option contracts. It also has robo accounts that invest in ETFs (mostly from SoFi). Both types of accounts—brokerage or robo—can be opened as individual, joint, or IRA versions at SoFi Invest.

Neither broker charges large fees for these services (SoFi’s robo program is free), although M1 Finance has a $50 inactivity fee. Also, the best experience at M1 comes with a Plus membership, which costs $3 per month. One perk is a second trading window in the afternoon.

Winner: SoFi Invest

Margin Borrowing

M1 Finance runs M1 Borrow, its margin program, and every eligible account is automatically signed up (IRAs aren’t eligible). Up to 40% of the account’s value can be borrowed. Currently, M1’s rate is 6.25%.

SoFi Invest also has margin for brokerage accounts, charging 11%. Accounts aren’t automatically margin-enabled. You must apply for it during sign-up or later on the website.

Both brokers display security margin requirements. On SoFi’s site, it shows both maintenance and initial margins; M1 just shows maintenance. For Microsoft, SoFi requires 35% and M1 requires 25%.

Winner: M1 Finance

Cash Management

Both firms do more than investing. SoFi, for instance, has a big personal-finance department. Its checking and savings accounts have FDIC protection, and the savings account pays 4.5% APY if you have direct deposit. SoFi also has debit and credit cards.

M1 Finance, similarly, offers checking and savings with FDIC insurance. The savings account pays 4% APY, but you must subscribe to Plus for this rate. M1 also has debit and credit cards with no annual fees. Plus subscribers get better cash-back deals on the credit card.

Winner: SoFi Invest

Websites

For trading and account management, both companies have user-friendly sites. SoFi’s website features a trade ticket with three order types—one is recurring. You can set it weekly, biweekly, or monthly.

An asset’s page has a small chart with five years of prices, but there’s no full-screen mode. You can add the security to a watchlist, although SoFi doesn’t offer alerts.

There’s also an option-chain tool for SoFi’s website, but it only covers calls and puts with no pre-installed strategies or multi-leg order capability.

Over on M1 Finance’s site, there are no option chains at all, but the charting is slightly better. A chart can go full-screen, and volume plus events can be shown.

M1 vs SoFi

The downside (or maybe upside) at M1 is that there’s no standard order ticket. M1 itself places trades by grouping customer requests, then sending them during market windows. You just deposit money and M1 picks the time for each trade.

Winner: SoFi Invest

Mobile Apps

It’s the same story on mobile. M1 repeats its web tools in its app, with decent charts but no standard order ticket.

SoFi or M1

The SoFi Invest app mirrors the website, including the trade ticket. On each asset’s page, there’s a Social tab showing what other SoFi users are trading or watching.

Neither broker’s app has mobile check deposit or live news streams.

Winner: SoFi Invest

Additional Services

Initial Public Offerings: SoFi Invest offers IPO investing.

Fractional Shares: Both brokers support whole-dollar investing. At M1, this is the only way to buy shares.

Individual Retirement Accounts: IRAs can be opened at either one. M1 charges $100 to close an IRA.

Extended-Hours Trading: M1 Finance doesn’t have it; SoFi Invest has pre-market and after-hours.

DRIP Service: Both firms let you automatically reinvest dividends.

Fully-Paid Securities Lending Program: Both companies have it.

Winner: Even

Our Recommendations

Mutual Funds: Neither broker carries mutual funds. has over 11,000.

Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing: SoFi includes business financing, VA loans, life insurance, wedding loans, and human financial advice, among others. M1 Finance does have some target-date investment choices.

Active Stock Trading: SoFi Invest is better here.

Small Accounts: Neither robo nor self-directed services at SoFi demand a balance requirement. Fractional-share capability also helps out small investors.

Beginning Investors: M1 Finance is a good place to start.

M1 vs SoFi: Judgement

Overall, both brokers stack up fairly evenly. SoFi suits more active investing, while M1 is ideal for beginners and long-term traders.

Updated on 2/23/2025.

About the Author

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.