We make PortfolioGPT, an AI portfolio tool, so we have a stake in this topic. This guide is educational, not personalized financial, legal or tax advice. It doesnât rank the apps below or recommend any specific investment, and nothing here promises returns. Fees and features change, so check each companyâs own pages before you sign up.
The short answer: there isnât one best AI investing app for every beginner, because the apps do different jobs. Some use AI to help you research and learn. Others use automation, and sometimes AI, to build and manage a portfolio for you. Decide which job you want done first, then compare what each option costs and who is accountable for it.
This guide covers the main types of app, how a handful of well-known ones work and what they cost, and how to choose. For a wider look at whether AI can stand in for an advisor at all, see our guide to AI vs robo-advisors vs human advisors.
What counts as an âAI investing appâ?
The label gets stuck on three quite different things:
- A brokerage with AI tools built in. You hold your own account and make your own decisions. The AI is an assistant for research, summaries and ideas. Public and Robinhoodâs Cortex assistant fall here.
- An AI-powered advice or portfolio-building platform. You describe what you want in plain English and the app suggests portfolios or investments, which you then choose whether to act on. Magnifi is an example.
- A robo-advisor. The service builds a diversified portfolio from a questionnaire, then invests and rebalances it automatically. This is automation by rules, and it is usually not a chatbot. Fidelity Go, Betterment and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios are examples.
The first two lean on conversational AI. Robo-advisors are the âtraditionalâ automated option, and theyâre often the right comparison.
AI and traditional investing apps compared
| App | Type | What it costs | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnifi | AI-powered advice platform | Free tier; Premium is $14 a month or $99 a year | Registered with the SEC as an adviser. It doesnât trade for you, and trades go through an unaffiliated broker |
| Public | Brokerage with AI tools | See Publicâs fee schedule | Describes its AI agents and assistant as acting on your own instructions |
| Robinhood (Cortex) | Brokerage with AI research assistant | Cortex launched for the paid Gold tier | Reported at launch as unable to place trades itself |
| Fidelity Go | Robo-advisor | $0 advisory fee under $25,000; 0.35% a year at $25,000 or more | No minimum to open; investing starts at a $10 balance |
| Betterment | Robo-advisor | 0.25% a year, or $5 a month in some cases | No minimum balance on the standard plan |
| Schwab Intelligent Portfolios | Robo-advisor | $0 advisory fee; fund expenses still apply | $5,000 minimum per portfolio and a built-in cash allocation |
Facts checked in October 2026. This is not a ranking, and the order doesnât signal a preference.
How each one works
Magnifi
Magnifi is an app where you ask questions in plain English about funds, stocks and your own holdings. Its SEC filing describes it as an automated adviser that doesnât make trades on its own: you decide whether to act, and any orders go through an unaffiliated broker-dealer (Apex Clearing or E*Trade, according to the filing). The filing lists a free tier with limited tools and a Premium plan at $14 a month or $99 a year.
Being registered with the SEC means the firm has filed disclosures. As the filing itself says, it doesnât mean the SEC has approved the firmâs skill or its advice. Magnifiâs SEC brochure is the document to read.
Public
Public is a brokerage that has added AI features: a research assistant, daily market summaries, explanations of big price moves, and tools that turn a text prompt into a basket of investments you can test against the S&P 500. It also describes agents that follow instructions you give them. Publicâs own disclosures say agent outputs are informational and that youâre responsible for checking them. The company has said decisions stay self-directed. Fees arenât listed on its homepage, so read its fee schedule on public.com.
Robinhood and Cortex
Robinhood launched Cortex in 2025 as an AI research assistant, first in early access for Gold members. It was described as offering market analysis, stock summaries and trade ideas, and it couldnât place trades itself. Availability may have changed since, so check what the Robinhood app offers today before assuming anything.
Fidelity Go
Fidelity Go is a robo-advisor. Strategic Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser, manages a mix of funds matched to your goal, time horizon and risk tolerance, and rebalances it for you. Fidelity lists no advisory fee under $25,000 and 0.35% a year at $25,000 or more, with no trading or rebalancing fees. Account types include taxable accounts and several kinds of IRA. See Fidelityâs overview.
Betterment
Betterment is also a robo-advisor. Its standard plan charges 0.25% a year, or $5 a month if your household balance is under $24,000 and you arenât making at least $200 a month in recurring deposits. Thereâs no minimum balance. A Premium plan costs 0.65% a year and requires a $100,000 minimum. Details are on Bettermentâs fees page.
Schwab Intelligent Portfolios
Schwabâs robo-advisor charges no advisory fee, though the funds inside it carry their own expenses. It needs $5,000 per portfolio, and, according to a Forbes Advisor review, each portfolio holds a cash allocation that can range from roughly 6% to 30%, depending on the strategy. A cash allocation can mean less of your money is invested, so itâs worth understanding before you open one.
How to choose as a beginner
Work through these questions in order:
- What do I want help with? Learning and research points to an AI assistant. Having investing done for you points to a robo-advisor.
- What will it cost me in total? Look at advisory fees, subscriptions and the expense ratios of the funds inside. A 0.25% fee and a $5 monthly fee are very different at different balance sizes.
- Who is behind it, and is it registered? Check whether the firm is a registered adviser or broker, and read what it says about its own limits. A name with âadvisorâ in it is not proof of anything.
- Can it do what I need? Check minimums, whether it offers the account type you want (such as a Roth IRA), and whether it actually places trades or only suggests them.
- Am I comfortable with the AI part? An assistant can summarize a company well and still get a number wrong. Treat what it says as a starting point and verify anything youâd act on.
If youâre weighing the traditional route, our guides to brokerages for automatic investing and brokerages that offer fractional shares cover the standard brokerage options, and dollar-cost averaging explained covers one common way to start.
What AI investing apps canât do
- They canât promise returns. Be wary of any app, AI or not, that guarantees performance or says it can beat the market.
- They can be wrong. AI tools can state incorrect or out-of-date information with confidence. Check figures and rules with official sources.
- They donât know your whole situation. Your taxes, debts, goals and risk tolerance matter, and an app only knows what it can see.
- Regulation is still catching up. The rules around AI giving investment guidance are evolving, so read each appâs disclosures about what its AI is and isnât allowed to do.
- They donât replace a professional for big decisions. Tax and legal questions in particular are better handled by a qualified person.
Scammers also use âAI tradingâ as a hook. Our guide to social media investing scams covers the warning signs. Never share passwords, account numbers or one-time codes with an app or a person who contacts you first.
Where PortfolioGPT fits
PortfolioGPT is an AI tool built to help investors think through their portfolio. Itâs meant to support your research and understanding, not to replace professional advice or make decisions for you. As with every app above, it works best alongside your own judgment and, where appropriate, a licensed professional. You can try it at portfoliogpt.xyz.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI investing app for beginners?
It depends on the job you want done. For learning and research, an AI assistant inside an investing app may help. For hands-off investing, a robo-advisor may suit you better. Compare costs, who is accountable, and what the app canât do, and be cautious about any app that tells you exactly what to buy.
What are the best investing apps for beginners, AI or not?
The strongest starting point is clarity on what you need: a place to buy and hold investments yourself (a brokerage), or a service that invests for you (a robo-advisor). AI features are an add-on to either, not a separate category of safer or better investing.
Are AI investing apps safe?
Safety depends on the company, not the label. Check whether the firm is registered, how your money is held (for example, whether it sits with a separate broker), what fees apply, and whether the app places trades or only suggests them. Registration is a baseline, not a guarantee of good advice.
Are there free AI investing apps?
Some offer free tiers with limited features. For example, Magnifiâs SEC filing describes a free tier alongside a paid plan. Free doesnât mean costless, though: you may still pay fund expenses, trading costs or fees for premium features.
Is an AI investing app the same as a robo-advisor?
No. A robo-advisor automatically builds and manages a portfolio from your answers to a questionnaire. Many AI apps work as assistants that research, explain and suggest, while you make the decisions.
Can AI pick investments for me?
AI tools can suggest ideas and summarize information, but they canât know how any investment will perform, and the decision and the risk remain yours.
The bottom line
The best AI investing app for a beginner is the one that matches the job you want done, costs what you can justify, and is clear about what it canât do. Use AI to learn faster and ask better questions, use a robo-advisor if you want investing automated, and keep a healthy skepticism toward anything that promises results.
Sources: Fidelity Go overview ¡ Betterment fees ¡ Magnifi Form ADV brochure, March 2026 ¡ Public ¡ Axios on Publicâs AI tools, Nov 2025 ¡ Benzinga on Robinhood Cortex, Mar 2025 ¡ Forbes Advisor on Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Facts checked October 2026.