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Micro-Investing: What It Is and How to Get Started

Investing small amounts is certainly better than nothing, but micro-investing alone may not be sufficient for long-term goals.

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Managing Editor

Pamela de la Fuente is a managing editor of NerdWallet's personal finance content. She leads budgeting, money-making, consumer credit and and debt coverage.

Ask her and her talented team about why credit scores matter, how to save money on your grocery bill, finding the right side hustle, how to protect your identity for free and more.

Previously, she led taxes and retirement coverage at NerdWallet.

Pamela joined NerdWallet after working at companies including Hallmark Cards, Sprint Corp. and The Kansas City Star. She has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years.

Pamela is a thought leader in content diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and finds ways to make every piece of content conversational and accessible to all.

She is a graduate of the Maynard Institute's Maynard 200 program, and the National Association of Black Journalists Executive Leadership Academy. She is a two-time winner of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists' President's Award. She was also founding co-chair of NerdWallet's Nerds of Color employee resource group.

What is micro-investing?

Micro-investing is the practice of investing tiny amounts of money regularly over time rather than investing large amounts all at once. It's essentially equivalent to putting spare change in the stock market. But is it enough for long-term financial goals?

Start investing with small amounts of money

Good for beginners and kids

Helps you dollar-cost average

Helps build a diversified portfolio

May not be enough for retirement on its own

Often has a management fee

Less control over what you can invest in

How micro-investing works

Platforms that feature micro-investing have been praised for allowing people to safely and responsibly start investing, no matter how little they know about the stock market. Micro-investing is also a good strategy for people who don’t have much money to invest, and it can help them learn more about savings, compounding growth and long-term returns, Jody D'Agostini, a certified financial planner with Equitable Advisors, said in an email interview.

“These small amounts accumulated over time can make a difference,” said D’Agostini, who’s based in Morristown, New Jersey.

This is because of compounding interest, in which you earn a return on your initial investment, but also on the growth.

Through compound returns, the longer you’re invested, the more time your money has to compound. And, D’Agostini said, starting that compounding effect before you have much income can be an incentive to continue investing as your income starts to grow.

Micro-investing apps

With micro-investing apps, the idea is to round up purchases, often to the nearest dollar, and use that spare change to slowly build up savings in a diversified portfolio of exchange-traded funds. Robo-advisors such as Acorns and Stash have made this incredibly easy, offering a debit card that does the roundup investing for you and offering investment guidance along the way. This is a departure from traditional brokerage accounts, which let you invest in the stock market, but don’t typically have a roundup feature.

» Compare the best robo-advisors

Making regular investment contributions over time (a practice known as dollar-cost averaging) can help investors stick to their investment plan and avoid trying to time the market — regardless of how much you're investing.

How much can you make by micro-investing?

The problem is, investing 45 cents here and 27 cents there may not be enough. Let’s say 25-year-old Sarah uses roundups that average out to $1.50 per day. Sarah will hardly miss the dimes and quarters leaving her bank account and going into her investment account, yet that will result in a monthly contribution of about $45. After 20 years at a return of 7%, that savings could potentially grow to about $23,500 by the time she’s 45. Not bad for just collecting coins in a virtual piggy bank. And while micro-investing has a lot going for it, it alone may not be enough.

Brokerage firms

on Charles Schwab's website

on E*TRADE's website

on Vanguard's website

on Fidelity's website

But how much should you save for retirement?

According to a 2024 study from Vanguard, the average 401(k) balance for investors aged 35 to 44 years old was $$91,281

Unfortunately, Sarah’s micro-investing strategy leaves her well below that average.

And there are other issues with micro-investing to consider, too. At this point, Sarah’s retirement savings is based on spending, not saving. How much would Sarah have at 45 had she invested some of that spending, instead? What’s more, if Sarah is only using a taxable brokerage account, she’s missing out on some major tax benefits of a retirement account, such as an IRA or a 401(k). That being said, most robo-advisors do offer IRAs in addition to taxable brokerage accounts.

What can I use in addition to roundups to stay on track?

Let’s imagine Sarah wasn’t using a micro-investing platform, and instead committed to contributing $100 per month to a tax-advantaged IRA. After 20 years at 7% growth, that would lead to savings of about $52,000. This is quite a bit more than the micro-investing strategy, but still falls short of Vanguard's average.

But what if these two strategies were executed in tandem? If Sarah was able to put that $100 in her IRA each month while investing $45 in leftover change, she’d theoretically have about $75,000 after 20 years — putting her much closer to the average for her age group.

Is micro-investing worth it?

What’s important to understand is that micro-investing alone likely won’t get you to retirement, but it can be helpful to dip your toes into investing or help get a young person on track.

“These apps are good for the novice investor to establish consistent savings patterns and create a habit around investing,” D’Agostini said of micro-investing apps.

But once you have more income or savings capacity, she said, “you might want to move to a more robust investment platform that can provide more education, guidance and financial planning.”

As a next step beyond micro-investing apps, D’Agostini recommends contributing to your employer’s 401(k), if it offers one. And if your employer offers a match, it’s wise to contribute at least enough to earn that match if you can afford to.

If your company doesn’t have a 401(k), the next step to consider would be opening an IRA.

Helpful resources