Stash Review (2026)
Stash suits beginners who want a guided app with fractional shares of stocks and ETFs, a retirement account, kids' accounts and banking for one subscription. The one thing to know: there is no free tier, so the $12 monthly plan ($144 a year, or $108 billed annually) is the main cost whatever your balance. Stash has been owned by Grab Holdings since July 2026.
By Wealthy Pot Editorial · Facts checked October 19, 2026
Facts checked October 19, 2026 against Stash's own fee schedules, rate pages, disclosures and regulator records (8 sources, listed below). We re-check prices about once a month. We do not earn a commission from Stash.
Stash at a glance
| Price | Stash Plan: $12 a month, or $108 billed annually; one plan, no free tier [1] |
|---|---|
| Stocks and ETFs | No per-trade commission; trading is included in the plan (a wrap fee) [2] |
| Managed portfolios | 0.25% a year on taxable Smart Portfolios with $1,000 or more, billed quarterly; 0.25% a year on Managed Retirement Portfolios at any balance [2] |
| Options, margin, mutual funds, bonds | Not offered; Stash says its recommendations are generally limited to stocks, ETFs and fractional shares [2] |
| Minimum | $0 to open most investment accounts; $5 to keep a Smart Portfolio [2] |
| Fractional shares | Thousands of stocks and ETFs, with $5 or less [1] |
| Account types | Personal brokerage, Smart Portfolio, Traditional and Roth IRA (managed or self-directed), UGMA/UTMA custodial; banking through Stride Bank. No joint account found [3] |
| Cash | Uninvested cash goes automatically to the Apex FDIC-Insured Sweep Program and earns interest; Stash publishes no rate [6] |
| IRA match | 3% of each month's net IRA contributions, capped at 3% of your annual IRA limit ($225 a year per the pricing page); needs an active Stash Plan; rollovers excluded [4] |
| Stock-Back card | 1% back in stock on the first $1,000 of debit card spending each month, then 0.125%; needs $1 in the Stash banking account [5] |
| Transfer out | $100 per outgoing ACAT; fractional shares are sold before the transfer [2] |
| Other fees | $5 per paper statement, $2.50 per paper confirmation; human advice (Advisor Connect) costs extra [2] |
| SIPC | Through custodian Apex Clearing, up to $500,000 including $250,000 cash; swept cash FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per program bank [6] |
| Payment for order flow | Yes: Stash Capital shares in Apex revenue from payment for order flow, securities lending and the FDIC sweep [2] |
| Company | Stash Capital LLC (broker-dealer, CRD 287728) and Stash Investments LLC (adviser), owned by Stash Financial Inc., a subsidiary of Grab Holdings Limited since July 2026 [2] |
What a year at Stash costs
| Situation | Cost or interest | How we got it |
|---|---|---|
| Open and close a 10-contract options trade, twice a month for a year | Not offered | Stash does not offer options trading. |
| $10,000 left uninvested for a year | Rate not published | FDIC-insured sweep; Stash does not publish the rate on its public pages. |
| Borrow $10,000 on margin for a year | No margin | Stash does not lend on margin. |
| Move the whole account to another broker | $100 | Full outgoing transfer (ACATS). |
Stash Plan (required): $12 a month or $108 a year. Covers trading, a personal and a retirement account, and advice. Smart Portfolios add 0.25% a year on taxable balances of $1,000 or more.
Hypothetical examples, our arithmetic from Stash's published fees, cash rate (as of October 19, 2026), read on October 19, 2026. Broker commissions and the broker's own per-contract fees only: the small SEC, FINRA, OCC and exchange fees passed through on sales and option trades are left out. Cash and margin rates move with the Federal Reserve's rate.
What Stash costs
| Plan | Paying monthly, 1 year | Annual plan, 1 year | 3 years (cheapest way) | Annual plan saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stash Planrequired; Smart Portfolios add 0.25% a year from $1,000 | $144 | $108 | $324 | $36 (25%) |
Our arithmetic from the listed prices, before sales tax, assuming today's prices hold; subscriptions can renew at a different rate. Stash has one plan and no free tier. Billed monthly it costs $12 x 12 = $144 a year; billed annually it costs $108, which Stash says saves 25%.
How Stash works
Stash sells one subscription, the Stash Plan, at $12 a month or $108 a year. Its August 2026 Form CRS says the earlier plans were folded into this single $12 program. The plan covers a personal brokerage account, a retirement account, custodial accounts for children, recurring investing tools and advice; Stash calls it a wrap fee, so there is no separate per-trade commission. If you choose a Smart Portfolio, where Stash picks and manages the ETFs, it adds 0.25% a year once that taxable account reaches $1,000. A managed retirement portfolio pays 0.25% at any balance. Human advice through Advisor Connect is an extra fee shown when you sign up.
The investing side is narrow by design. Stash says its recommendations are generally limited to stocks, ETFs and fractional shares, and it states that it is "built for long-term investing, not day-trading". There are no options, no margin loans, no mutual funds and no individual bonds. The banking side, run through Stride Bank, includes the Stock-Back debit card: 1% back in stock on the first $1,000 you spend each month, then 0.125%, as long as you keep at least $1 in the Stash banking account. Stash also lists $10,000 of life insurance through Avibra among the plan's benefits.
A hypothetical IRA year shows how the 3% match interacts with the fee. You put $300 into a Stash IRA every month and take nothing out. Stash credits 3% of each month's net contribution: $300 x 0.03 = $9 a month, or $9 x 12 = $108 for the year, below the $225 cap the pricing page gives. The plan billed monthly costs $12 x 12 = $144, so the match covers $108 of it and you are $144 - $108 = $36 behind before any market return. Billed annually at $108, the match equals the fee. If the IRA later falls below what you put in plus the rewards of the prior 4 years and you have a month of net withdrawals, Stash charges an early removal fee of 3% of that month's negative net contribution. See is a Roth IRA worth it for the account itself.
Grab Holdings Limited said in its second-quarter 2026 results that it completed the acquisition of 100% of Stash Financial in July 2026, and that Stash will run as a standalone US brand. Stash's Form CRS now names Stash Financial as a subsidiary of Grab. The cost block on this page shows the plan price and the $100 transfer-out fee.
Pros
- One price covers brokerage, IRA, custodial accounts and advice
- 3% IRA match on net monthly contributions, up to $225 a year
- Annual billing saves 25% ($108 vs $144)
- Fractional shares of thousands of stocks and ETFs
- Stock-Back card pays 1% in stock on the first $1,000 a month
Cons
- No free tier: $108 to $144 a year at any balance
- Smart Portfolios add 0.25% a year from $1,000
- No options, margin, mutual funds or bonds
- $100 to transfer out, and fractional shares are sold first
- No published sweep rate
Who Stash fits, and who should skip it
A good fit if
- You want one fixed monthly price that covers investing, an IRA, kids' accounts and banking.
- You will contribute to an IRA every month and want the 3% match.
- You want ready-made ETF portfolios managed for you inside the same app.
Look elsewhere if
- Your balance is small and the $144 a year matters: Fidelity has no monthly fee.
- You want options or margin: Stash has neither; SoFi offers both with $0 options commissions.
- You want automatic target portfolios without a subscription once you reach $10,000: M1 drops its $3 fee at that level.
- You want a published rate on cash: Stash does not publish its sweep rate.
Limitations to know
- Fractional shares cannot move to another broker: Stash sells them before an outgoing ACAT, which can create a taxable gain in a taxable account. See <a href="/capital-gains-tax/">capital gains tax</a>. [2]
- The IRA match needs an active $12 Stash Plan and excludes rollovers and ACAT transfers in. [4]
- An account placed in the closure process with a positive balance is charged $1 a month from the sixth month. [2]
- Stash publishes no interest rate for cash in its FDIC sweep. [6]
- We found no joint account, SEP or SIMPLE IRA, 401(k), HSA or 529 at Stash. [3]
Stash compared with alternatives
| Broker | Options per contract | Default cash rate | Transfer out | Fractional shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stash | n/a (no options) | Not published | $100 | Yes |
| Fidelity | $0.65/contract | 3.48% 7-day yield if you pick SPAXX (no default named) | $0 | Yes |
| M1 Finance | n/a (no options) | 0% | $100 | Yes |
| SoFi Active Invest | $0 | Not published | $100 | Yes |
| Robinhood | $0 stock/ETF options; index options $0.50 ($0.35 with Gold) | 0% | $100 | Yes |
- Pick Fidelity if you want no monthly fee and $0 to transfer out.
- Pick M1 Finance if you want automatic target-weight portfolios with no fee once you hold $10,000.
- Pick SoFi Active Invest if you want fractional shares from $5, $0 options and a 1% IRA match with no subscription.
- Pick Robinhood if you want a 1% IRA match without a subscription and 3% with the $5-a-month Gold plan.
Security and privacy
- Investments are held by Apex Clearing and protected by SIPC up to $500,000, including $250,000 in cash, if the firm fails. Stash's pages do not state any excess-SIPC coverage. [6]
- Swept cash is FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per program bank. [6]
- Stash offers two-factor authentication to active debit account customers; its security page does not say it is offered to investing-only customers. [6]
- In March 2026 FINRA fined Stash Capital $450,000 and censured it because its Customer Identification Program was not reasonably designed: its procedures did not describe how to verify identity or handle red flags. [8]
- Since July 2026 Stash Financial, the parent of the broker-dealer and the adviser, has been owned by Grab Holdings Limited. [7]
Recent changes
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2026 | Form CRS shows the wrap programs consolidated into a single $12-a-month program. [2] |
| Jul 2026 | Grab Holdings completed its acquisition of 100% of Stash Financial. [7] |
| Apr 28, 2025 | Current 3% IRA match terms took effect, tied to the $12 plan. [4] |
Stash FAQ
Is Stash safe?
Stash Capital LLC is a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, and investments are held by Apex Clearing with SIPC protection up to $500,000 (including $250,000 cash) if the firm fails; SIPC does not cover market losses. Swept cash is FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per program bank. FINRA fined Stash Capital $450,000 in March 2026 over its customer identification procedures. Grab Holdings has owned Stash since July 2026.
How much does Stash cost?
$12 a month or $108 a year for the Stash Plan, the only plan. Smart Portfolios add 0.25% a year once the taxable account holds $1,000, and managed retirement portfolios add 0.25% at any balance. Transferring out costs $100.
What does Stash pay on cash?
Uninvested cash is swept automatically into the Apex FDIC-Insured Sweep Program and earns interest, but Stash publishes no rate. For a stated rate, see <a href="/high-yield-savings/">high-yield savings accounts</a>.
Is Stash good for beginners?
It is built for them: $0 to open, fractional shares with $5 or less, managed portfolios and an IRA match. The catch is the flat fee. On a $1,000 balance, $144 a year is 14.4% of the money. Compare <a href="/micro-investing-on-small-budget/">micro-investing on a small budget</a> before you start.
Stash vs M1?
Stash charges $12 a month at every balance and includes managed portfolios, custodial accounts and banking. <a href="/brokers/m1/">M1</a> charges $3 a month under $10,000 in M1 assets and nothing above, lets you set your own target percentages, and offers margin. Both charge $100 to transfer out.
How do I transfer out of Stash and what does it cost?
Ask the receiving broker to start an ACAT transfer. Stash charges $100 per outgoing ACAT and sells fractional shares before the transfer, so those come over as cash.
How we researched this review
We did not get paid or receive a free account for this page. We read Stash's own pricing page, help center, security and privacy pages and app-store listing on October 19, 2026, quoted each fact from those pages, and link every one below. We did not run a long-term hands-on test, so we do not score the app; where a point rests on what the company says rather than something we can check, we attribute it to Stash. Cost figures are our own arithmetic. We re-check prices and plans about once a month and log changes in the table above.
Sources
- Stash, Pricing, checked October 19, 2026.
- Stash Capital LLC and Stash Investments LLC, Form CRS (material change August 14, 2026), checked October 19, 2026.
- Stash, Subscription ($12) advisory agreement, checked October 19, 2026.
- Stash, IRA Match terms and conditions (effective April 28, 2025), checked October 19, 2026.
- Stash, Stock-Back card, checked October 19, 2026.
- Stash, Security, checked October 19, 2026.
- Grab Holdings, second quarter 2026 results press release (SEC EDGAR), checked October 19, 2026.
- FINRA BrokerCheck, Stash Capital LLC detailed report (disclosures), checked October 19, 2026.
This review is for general information, not investment advice. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal; margin and options can lose more than you put in. Fees and rates change; check the broker's own pages before you open or move an account.