Banking & Saving
We tested dozens of services to bring you our top picks as you look to turn knowledge into action
M1 Finance
Our favorite banking and investing super app
- A single, easy-to-use platform for banking, credit, and investing
- $30 cash bonus for depositing $1,000 when you use our link
- Easy to automate debt payments and recurring investments
- Low credit rates make it easy to borrow from investment accounts
- Solid savings rates
- Cash-back rewards credit card
- Investing interface is great for beginners or experts
- Removes the intimidating and annoying process of placing trades
- Automated investing made very easy with auto-transfers, auto-invest, and auto-rebalancing, on fully customizable portfolios down to specific stocks
- Build an investment portfolio of stocks & ETFs by choosing what percent you want in each investment, not by purchasing individual shares
- Or choose any pre-designed portfolios
- Helpful growth projections
- No management or trading fees
- Both regular & retirement accounts
- Mobile account opening is simple
- Responsive customer service over email, available for 1-on-1 tutorials
- Only available for US-based investors
- $100 minimum balance for investments
- Unique interface takes a couple days to get used to
- No live customer service chat
- Relatively new institution with small asset size
Worthy alternatives
Atmos
The most sustainable way to bank
- Atmos prioritizes sustainability, with deposits exclusively lent out to fund sustainable projects like clean energy, water resilience, or regenerative agriculture
- Atmos incentivizes philanthropy and sustainable shopping
- Very small team, so it has the personal service of a local bank
- High savings account rates
- Very simple initial sign-up, maybe 30 seconds
- No minimum balances
- No monthly fees
- Free ATM network
- Loose change round-up transfers to nonprofits or a savings account
- Instantly open multiple accounts to bucket savings
- Virtual and physical debit cards
- Atmos is a small startup, so they are still improving some things
- Accounts are not open immediately, but usually approved same-day
- 5% cash-back card on sustainable purchases is only debit
- No credit cards
- No investments
Worthy alternatives
Guac
The easiest way to save
- Guac helps you save while you spend like you're tipping yourself
- You simply set what % of each transaction you want to tip yourself
- The savings adds up a lot more quickly than round-up tools and can be accessed easily
- Unlike most savings tools, you can start for free
- The $1.99/mo premium allows you to save while you spend on your credit card
- Linking your credit card allows you to earn credit card points for saving
- You can set up individual savings goals and dates you want to achieve them by
- There's a marketplace to use your cash and earn cash back at 200+ brands
- They even have cash back at Amazon
- Signup is simple and quick
- Easy account linking with Plaid
- Clear day-by-day tracking of all rewards and cash back
- Responsive customer support
- All Guac deposits are FDIC insured
- You're not earning interest on your savings held in the app
- Pricing tier differences aren't super clear
Worthy alternatives
SaveBetter
High-yield savings account curator
- Shift your savings between the highest-interest accounts at regional banks
- All curated through one simple interface
- SaveBetter processes the account opening at different banks for you
- You only need one SaveBetter account
- Monitor your different savings accounts together
- Aggregated monthly statements
- Easy sign-up and funding
- No fees
- Only $1 minimum balance
- Successful European FinTech company, newly launching in the US
- Not the most beautiful interface
- Network of bank options is still growing
- No mobile app, but mobile web is ok
Worthy alternatives
M1 Finance
Our favorite banking and investing super app
- A single, easy-to-use platform for banking, credit, and investing
- $30 cash bonus for depositing $1,000 when you use our link
- Easy to automate debt payments and recurring investments
- Low credit rates make it easy to borrow from investment accounts
- Solid savings rates
- Cash-back rewards credit card
- Investing interface is great for beginners or experts
- Removes the intimidating and annoying process of placing trades
- Automated investing made very easy with auto-transfers, auto-invest, and auto-rebalancing, on fully customizable portfolios down to specific stocks
- Build an investment portfolio of stocks & ETFs by choosing what percent you want in each investment, not by purchasing individual shares
- Or choose any pre-designed portfolios
- Helpful growth projections
- No management or trading fees
- Both regular & retirement accounts
- Mobile account opening is simple
- Responsive customer service over email, available for 1-on-1 tutorials
- Only available for US-based investors
- $100 minimum balance for investments
- Unique interface takes a couple days to get used to
- No live customer service chat
- Relatively new institution with small asset size
Worthy alternatives
Atmos
The most sustainable way to bank
- Atmos prioritizes sustainability, with deposits exclusively lent out to fund sustainable projects like clean energy, water resilience, or regenerative agriculture
- Atmos incentivizes philanthropy and sustainable shopping
- Very small team, so it has the personal service of a local bank
- High savings account rates
- Very simple initial sign-up, maybe 30 seconds
- No minimum balances
- No monthly fees
- Free ATM network
- Loose change round-up transfers to nonprofits or a savings account
- Instantly open multiple accounts to bucket savings
- Virtual and physical debit cards
- Atmos is a small startup, so they are still improving some things
- Accounts are not open immediately, but usually approved same-day
- 5% cash-back card on sustainable purchases is only debit
- No credit cards
- No investments
Worthy alternatives
Guac
The easiest way to save
- Guac helps you save while you spend like you're tipping yourself
- You simply set what % of each transaction you want to tip yourself
- The savings adds up a lot more quickly than round-up tools and can be accessed easily
- Unlike most savings tools, you can start for free
- The $1.99/mo premium allows you to save while you spend on your credit card
- Linking your credit card allows you to earn credit card points for saving
- You can set up individual savings goals and dates you want to achieve them by
- There's a marketplace to use your cash and earn cash back at 200+ brands
- They even have cash back at Amazon
- Signup is simple and quick
- Easy account linking with Plaid
- Clear day-by-day tracking of all rewards and cash back
- Responsive customer support
- All Guac deposits are FDIC insured
- You're not earning interest on your savings held in the app
- Pricing tier differences aren't super clear
Worthy alternatives
SaveBetter
High-yield savings account curator
- Shift your savings between the highest-interest accounts at regional banks
- All curated through one simple interface
- SaveBetter processes the account opening at different banks for you
- You only need one SaveBetter account
- Monitor your different savings accounts together
- Aggregated monthly statements
- Easy sign-up and funding
- No fees
- Only $1 minimum balance
- Successful European FinTech company, newly launching in the US
- Not the most beautiful interface
- Network of bank options is still growing
- No mobile app, but mobile web is ok
Worthy alternatives
Pick the platform that makes things easier for you
At the end of the day, it's all about what's right for you. With something like budgeting, debt management, or investing, the most important criteria is that you feel comfortable using it. Otherwise, you're not going to build the confidence to take your future into your own hands. If you're buying basic stocks and funds to hold for the long term, you can do that almost anywhere. Just find a respectable institution that charges low or no fees and has an interface you don't hate using.
Want more help?
We're here for you. Text us at +1 (888) 513-8469! We can answer questions directly or set up time to speak one-on-one.