Stockpile vs. Robinhood: Which Broker Is Right for You? | The Motley Fool (2024)

Both Robinhood and Stockpile cater to beginner investors, but the brokerages aren't the same. While Stockpile is heavily focused on fractional share investing and helping people acquire assets over time, Robinhood offers a wider range of investment options. Stockpile, however, offers some unique features Robinhood doesn't, including the ability to gift stock using stock gift cards as well as supervised custodial accounts designed for teaching children to invest.

This Robinhood vs. Stockpile review will help you understand the key differences between the two trading platforms, so you can decide which one is the right choice based on your investor profile and financial goals.

Robinhood is available for free, but for $5 a month, you can upgrade to Robinhood Gold and get features like extra APY on uninvested cash, bigger instant deposit, lower margin rates, and access to professional research. Stockpile charges members a $4.95 monthly subscription fee, which gets you one adult account and up to five kids' accounts.

When it comes to buying stocks and ETFs, both Robinhood and Stockpile will work for most investors. Both companies offer commission-free trades for both stocks and ETFs. If you're looking for the best options trading platforms, Stockpile won't work for you, but Robinhood might. Stockpile doesn't allow you to trade options at all, while Robinhood provides options trading with no contract fees. That sets Robinhood apart from many competitors, as it's common for brokerage firms to charge around $0.65 per contract fee for options trading.

Robinhood and Stockpile both offer crypto trading. While Robinhood still offers zero-commission crypto trades, you'll pay a 1% to 2% fee for each crypto trade on Stockpile.

Robinhood undoubtedly has a wider choice of investment options than Stockpile. With Robinhood, you get access to over 5,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs, plus 650 global stocks through American Depository Receipts (ADRs), and 25 cryptos. Stockpile allows you to purchase up to 4,000 stocks ETFS, and ADRs, as well as access to some cryptos, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Unlike Robinhood, Stockpile doesn't allow options trading.

Both brokerage firms allow fractional share trading with as little as a $1 investment, though. This low minimum investment makes both trading platforms worthy of consideration for those looking for the best online brokers for beginners.

Stockpile offers a few unique features Robinhood doesn't, though. You can gift stocks using eGift cards, and you can create a custodial account to teach kids about investing. Kids can submit a request to buy or sell stocks or ETFs in supervised custodial accounts and the trades will be executed after adult approval.

If you're looking for the best brokers for IRAs or the best robo-advisors, Stockpile and Robinhood will both disappoint, as neither brokerage account offers a robo-advisory service. However, Robinhood now offers Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs for retirement savers. It even provides a 1% match for non-Gold members and a 3% match for Gold members. You can't open tax-advantaged retirement accounts such as IRAs with Stockpile.

Stockpile does offer custodial accounts, though, which Robinhood doesn't. But those interested in a spending account will find them available at Robinhood, while Stockpile has no comparable alternative.

Stockpile and Robinhood are both focused on mobile investing and have full-featured apps that make trading stocks and ETFs simple on the go. The Robinhood app received a 4.2 out of 5-star rating, while Stockpile received a 4.7-star rating from the App Store.

Neither Stockpile nor Robinhood offer full-featured desktop versions such as those offered by Charles Schwab. But their platforms don't have much of a learning curve and they make it simple to find assets to buy, manage your portfolio, and track your investing progress.

When deciding between Stockpile vs. Robinhood, a lot depends on the kind of investor you are and the account type you are looking for.

Stockpile is an ideal choice for parents who hope to teach kids about investing, while Robinhood is a better fit for anyone who wants to trade options or invest for retirement. If you're simply interested in stock trading -- or in buying fractional shares -- you can't go wrong with either brokerage firm. You may want to try out the apps each offers to see which user interface you prefer.