unvest vs acorns comparison
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Key Points

Investing apps such as UNest and Acorns have taken over the market and changed the investment landscape forever. They’ve made it possible for anyone to start investing with little to no skills and even with little money.

Today, we’re going to compare UNest vs. Acorns and see which app makes the most sense for your situation. Let’s get started.

UNest vs. Acorns summary

About UNest

UNest is an investing app that lets you open custodial accounts for your kids, specifically UTMA accounts. UNest was founded in 2018 and has since seen steady growth. UNest only focuses on custodial accounts for minors and does not provide other services,

About Acorns

Acorns was one of the first micro-investing apps that made it possible for anyone to invest with tiny amounts of money. Acorns was founded in 2012 and has since grown substantially. They now offer investment services for just about every financial situation.

UNest vs. Acorns price

Prices and fees can be one of the deciding factors when choosing an investment app, so let’s take a close look at how both apps compare.

UNest PlansAcorns Plans
Regular — $3/moLite — $1/mo
Family — $6/moPersonal — $3/mo
Family — $5/mo

UNest prices and fees

UNest has two plans you can choose from—Regular and Family.

The Regular plan is $3 per month, while the Family plan is $6 per month. The only difference between these two plans is that you can add up to five children with the Family plan.

It’s important to note that UNest does have a $25 per month monthly contribution minimum. This means you have to contribute at least $25 per month

Acorns prices and fees

Acorns has three plans—Lite, Personal, and Family.

The Lite plan is $1 per month, the Personal plan is $3 per month, and the Family plan is $5 per month.

It’s important to mention that the Family plan is the only plan that allows you to use Acorns Early, which is an investment account for kids.

Winner: The winner for price and fees goes to Acorns. For $5 per month, you get access to Acorns Early, an investment account for kids that you can open in under 3 minutes. Acorns Early lets you add multiple kids at no additional cost, whereas the UNest Family plan is $6 per month and has a limit of five children.

UNest vs. Acorns investment options

UNest Investment PortfoliosAcorns Investment Portfolios
Conservative — Invests in fixed income and bond ETFsConservative — Invests in a mix of short-term bonds.
Conservative, Moderate, Aggressive (age-based) — Mix of fixed income and equity investments which shift the investment mix from more aggressive to more conservative investments as the child gets older.Moderately Conservative — Invests in a mix of stocks and bonds.
Aggressive — Invests 100% in stocks via Vanguard equity index ETFs.Moderate — Invests in a mix of stocks and bonds.
Moderately Aggressive — Invests in a mix of stocks and bonds.
Aggressive — Invests in a mix of stocks.

Both UNest and Acorns have similar investment options. In fact, with both apps, your only investment options are pre-built portfolios based on your risk tolerance ranging from conservative to aggressive.

Neither app allows you to built custom portfolios with specific stocks. Instead, your portfolio consists of a mix of ETFs or exchange-traded funds.

If you are wanting more control over your children’s exact investments, we recommend using M1 Finance or Stash. Both apps give you more control over the specific stocks, ETFs, and other investments such as bonds that go into your child’s investment portfolio.

Winner: Acorns comes out as the winner, but only by a slim margin. Both apps have almost identical investment options. The difference is that Acorns has a more intuitive approach to selecting your investments. Acorns portfolios feel more custom, even though they are technically pre-built.

UNest vs. Acorns pros

UNest pros

  • Open an account in under 5 minutes.
  • Pre-built portfolios make investing easy for anyone.
  • Set up automatic contributions to easily invest with the Auto Deposit feature.

Acorns pros

  • Open an account in under 3 minutes.
  • Simplifies investing with pre-built portfolios.
  • Automatically invest your spare change with Round Ups.
  • Earn more money from 350+ top brands that invest in you with Acorns Earn.
  • Open an FDIC insured Acorns Spend banking account and take advantage of features such as Smart Deposit.
  • Add multiple kids per family at no added cost per child

UNest vs. Acorns cons

UNest cons

  • A minimum of five children per account compared to Acorns unlimited
  • $25 per month contribution minimum
  • Can’t customize investment portfolio

Acorns cons

  • Can’t customize investment portfolio

Which one is right for you?

Acorns comes out as the winner in our UNest vs. Acorns comparison. Although both apps have similar features regarding their custodial investment offerings, Acorns has a slight edge on pricing and useful portfolio management features.

Overall, Acorns is the better choice for your children’s custodial investment accounts, and it’s what we would recommend to you. However, you can’t necessarily go wrong with either, especially if you are investing in your kid’s futures.

About the author

Joshua Mayo is the founder of The Investor Post, runs a self-branded YouTube channel, and is an avid investor and entrepreneur.