ReviewUpdated
By:Cole Tretheway andChristy Bieber
Our Brokerages Experts
Fact CheckedAshley Maready
Stockpile offers fractional share trading and easy access to over 4,000 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). You can link your bank account to make immediate trades and purchase fractional shares with as little as $1. Stockpile also makes gifting stock easy and offers options to help children develop investing skills.
While the brokerage firm has plenty to offer, as this Stockpile review explains, there are both upsides and downsides. Read on to find out more and decide if Stockpile is right for you.
Ratings Methodology
Stockpile
Our Rating:
Rating image, 3.5 out of 5 stars.
3.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Bottom Line
Stockpile offers a simple investing platform that lets parents or guardians help minors learn to invest. Fees are higher than competitors that offer custodial accounts, especially since Stockpile offers limited features. It may be worth considering for its emphasis on getting kids excited about investing with gift cards, fractional shares, and a no-frills mobile app.
Fees:
$4.95 monthly membership fee, $0 stock and ETF commissions, 1% spread fee on crypto trades
Account Minimum:
$0
Alternatives to Consider
We recommend comparing brokerage options to ensure the account you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of our best trading platforms of 2024.
Account | Fees | Account Minimum | |
---|---|---|---|
Featured Offer Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars. 4.5/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 for stocks, ETFs, and options; $5 monthly for Robinhood Gold | $0 | Open Account for Robinhood |
$0 for stocks, $0 for options contracts | $0 | Open Account for SoFi Invest | |
Rating image, 5.0 out of 5 stars. 5.0/5Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.5 stars equals Best.4 stars equals Excellent.3 stars equals Good.2 stars equals Fair.1 star equals Poor.We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | $0 commission for online U.S. stock and ETF trades; trade fractional shares for as little as $1 | $0 | Open Account for Fidelity |
Full Stockpile review
Jump To
- Investment offerings
- Commissions and fees
- Research and education
- Interface and app
- Customer service
- Security
- About
Investment offerings
Stockpile gives new investors basic investment options. The app tailors its offerings to young investors with little investing experience (and their parents/guardians), so expect fewer options than a full-service brokerage. The app allows fractional share trading -- you can buy small pieces of expensive stocks for as little as $1.
Investments
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Crypto
Brokerage accounts
- Traditional brokerage
- Custodial
Rare perk: Gift cards
Stockpile offers a perk we don't see very often in our brokers: Anyone can purchase Stockpile gift cards for users. Gift cards can be tailored to cover the monthly membership fee or purchase a specific stock on the app.
Commissions and fees
Stockpile has upped its fees. As of March 2024, it charges a monthly subscription fee that includes access for one adult and five investing accounts for kids. Fees are expensive compared to other custodial account brokers, which typically charge smaller fees or offer more features.
Reason | Cost |
---|---|
Open and maintain up to one adult and five kid investing accounts | $0 to open $4.95 monthly membership fee after the one-month free trial |
Stock and ETF trading | $0 |
Crypto trading | 1%-2% of spread |
Paper communications (you can opt out) | $2 per trade confirmation, $5 per monthly and quarterly statement |
Inactivity that leads to escheatment processing (typically a few years) | $75 |
Failed bank transfers | $30 |
Transfer holdings to another brokerage | $75 |
Data source: Stockpile.
Research and education
Stockpile offers a little bit of educational content to users. It's enough to get someone started, but for in-depth research and advanced trading strategy, consider a full-service brokerage.
As of March 2024, the Stockpile app offers a total of 23 "how to" articles under the Learn tab. Articles are split into a Quickstart Guide, Stock market basics, and Beyond the basics. They're short and sweet. Parents may need to help their kids understand some content.
You can tap specific stocks or cryptocurrencies to learn more about them. Stockpile tells you what they are and gives a handful of statistics, including market capitalization, volume, and P/E ratio. This is standard across most online brokers. You can also access related new articles.
Interface
Stockpile only offers a mobile app. There is no desktop trading interface. Generally, stock trading apps offer limited desktop access, but that's not the case here.
However, Stockpile does give users access to frequently-asked questions on the Support page of its website. It's worth checking out for answers to questions you'd rather not email a representative over.
You can also buy gift cards and access chat through the Stockpile website. You can buy gift memberships or credit toward buying a specific stock, like Amazon.
App
The Stockpile app is simple. It's divided into four sections: Portfolio, Explore, Learn, and Activity. The Portfolio section shows current holdings. The Explore section lets you browse and search for specific investments. The Learn tab offers bite-sized lessons, and the Activity tab logs your notifications history. It's all fairly straightforward.
It's easy to buy stock, even for kids who need parental supervision. Stockpile's app is designed so kids can feel like they're investing with parents, rather than asking their parents to invest for them. Basically, kids can request to buy a stock or cryptocurrency. Parents choose whether they want to approve the request.
The app is great for investors who prefer simplicity over customization. Though you can create a watchlist, there's not much in the way of fancy features. Even compared to discount brokers like Robinhood, it's light on features. But it's easy to get started with Stockpile.
TIP
App reviews
Reviews for the mobile app are mixed, with recent reviews veering negative. The biggest complaints are customers opening their accounts to find they've been charged subscription fees, which Stockpile began charging in 2022. Some users find the app too expensive for their kids' small account balances. Stockpile's App Store rating is 4.7 out of 5 and its Google Play rating is 3.2 out of 5.
Customer service
You can contact Stockpile customer service via email or chat:
- Email Stockpile at [emailprotected] for general support questions.
- Chat with the Stockpile bot 24/7 on the desktop website. You can also request access to a representative. Stockpile claims to respond to messages within four hours on average.
Security
Securities are protected by APEX, a member of the FDIC and SIPC. What that means is cash, stocks, and ETFs held on Stockpile are insured up to $500,000. Crypto holdings are protected by Bakkt Crypto Solutions LLC (Bakkt) and not insured by the FDIC or SIPC.
To protect your account from hackers, you can turn on two-factor authentication in the app. Do so by going to Portfolio, then Account, and then Security and turning it on. It may already be enabled. As long as it's turned on, Stockpile will email or text you before letting anyone log into your account.
About
Founders Avi Lele and Sanj Kulkarni created Stockpile in 2010 to make investing easy for families. In 2015, the company made a splash by offering gift cards that can be used to purchase stock in specific companies. In 2022, the company swapped a commission-fee model for a monthly membership fee.
There's a fair bit of negative press around the monthly fee, on account of users opening their account to find they've been charged $4.95 per month since the fee went into effect. But the app boasts good reviews on the App Store, and it's a legitimate place to invest.
The app is mobile-only, and it's designed to make it easier for parents to invest with their kids.
Our brokerage rating methodology
At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and account types; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and highly rated mobile apps. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.
See our full methodology here: Ratings Methodology
Our Brokerages Experts
By:Cole Tretheway
Cole Tretheway is a full-time personal finance writer whose articles have been featured on The Ascent and The Motley Fool. He has a degree in English with a Certificate in Professional and Technical Communication from California Polytechnic University, SLO.
By:Christy Bieber
Writer
Christy Bieber is a full-time personal finance and legal writer with more than a decade of experience. She has a JD from UCLA as well as a degree in English, Media and Communications with a Certificate in Business Management from the University of Rochester. In addition to writing for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, her work has also been featured regularly on MSN Money, CNBC, and USA Today. She also ghost writes textbooks, serves as a subject matter expert for online course design, and is a former college instructor.
Fact CheckedAshley Maready
Writer and Editor
Ashley Maready is a former history museum professional who made the leap to digital content writing and editing in 2021. She has a BA in History and Philosophy from Hood College and an MA in Applied History from Shippensburg University. Ashley loves creating content for the public and learning new things so she can teach others, whether it's information about salt mining, canal mules, or personal finance.
We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, does not cover all offers on the market. The Ascent has a dedicated team of editors and analysts focused on personal finance, and they follow the same set of publishing standards and editorial integrity while maintaining professional separation from the analysts and editors on other Motley Fool brands.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Charles Schwab is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Christy Bieber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Cole Tretheway has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Charles Schwab, Intuit, and Target. The Motley Fool recommends Interactive Brokers Group and recommends the following options: short June 2024 $65 puts on Charles Schwab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Robinhood disclosure
All investments involve risk and loss of principal is possible.
Securities are offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Cryptocurrency services are offered through an account with Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840). Robinhood Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Cryptocurrency held through Robinhood Crypto is not FDIC insured or SIPC protected. For more information see the Robinhood Crypto Risk Disclosure.
Trades of stocks, ETFs and options are commission-free at Robinhood Financial LLC. Other fees may apply. Please see Robinhood Financial’s Fee Schedule to learn more.
Fractional shares are illiquid outside of Robinhood and are not transferable. Not all securities available through Robinhood are eligible for fractional share orders. For a complete explanation of conditions, restrictions and limitations associated with fractional shares, see the Fractional Shares section of our Customer Agreement.
Robinhood Gold is an account offering premium services available for a $5 monthly fee. Not all investors will be eligible to trade on Margin. Margin investing involves the risk of greater investment losses. Additional interest charges may apply depending on the amount of margin used. Bigger Instant Deposits are only available if your Instant Deposits status is in good standing.
Fidelity disclosure
Fractional share quantities can be entered out to 3 decimal places (.001) as long as the value of the order is at least $1.00. Dollar-based trades can be entered out to 2 decimal places (e.g. $250.00)