SoFi Invest vs M1 Finance: Which Platform Fits Your Investing Style in 2026?

SoFi Invest vs M1 Finance is a comparison that keeps coming up among self-directed investors who also want some level of automation. Both platforms offer commission-free trading and automated portfolio management, and both have pushed beyond basic brokerage accounts into banking, borrowing, and retirement planning. But they grew from very different starting points, and that shapes everything from the way you build a portfolio to the role the platform plays in your broader financial life.

SoFi is a full financial hub — investing is one tab alongside checking, savings, loans, and credit cards. M1 Finance is a portfolio-building engine — you design a custom allocation, and the system handles the buying, rebalancing, and reinvesting. Both automate your investing, but they automate different things.

This is a neutral comparison. We are not recommending either platform, any particular investment, or any specific portfolio strategy.

Quick Comparison Table

Feature	SoFi Invest	M1 Finance
Commission	$0	$0
Account minimum	$0	$100 (taxable) / $500 (retirement)
Automated investing	Robo-advisor (goal-based)	Pie system (custom allocation)
Individual stocks	Yes	Yes
Fractional shares	Yes ($5 min)	Yes ($1 min via pies)
ETFs	Yes	Yes
Crypto	Yes (30+ coins)	Yes (limited selection)
Options	Yes	No
IRA accounts	Yes (1% match, all members)	Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP)
Banking	Full bank (checking, savings, loans, credit card)	M1 Spend (checking) + M1 Save
Premium tier	SoFi Plus (free w/ direct deposit)	M1 Plus ($95/year)
Cash APY	Up to 3.80% (Plus)	Up to 4.00% (Plus) / 1.50% (free)
Human advisor	Free CFP access	No
Best for	All-in-one financial life	Custom portfolio automation

The Core Difference: Financial Hub vs Portfolio Builder

SoFi and M1 Finance both sit somewhere between a traditional brokerage and a robo-advisor, but the emphasis falls in opposite places.

SoFi is a financial platform that includes investing. It started as a student loan refinancer, then added banking, credit cards, insurance marketplace access, and eventually a brokerage. When you log into SoFi, your checking balance, loan payments, credit score, and investment portfolio all share the same dashboard. The investing product is solid, but it exists within a broader vision of managing your entire financial life through one login.

M1 Finance is an investing platform that added some financial features. It was built around the pie system — a way to design a portfolio as a visual allocation, then let the platform automatically buy, rebalance, and reinvest based on your targets. M1 later added checking (M1 Spend), a savings account (M1 Save), and a margin borrowing feature (M1 Borrow), but the center of gravity is still the portfolio. If you have read our M1 Finance vs Betterment comparison, you already know how much customization M1 packs into what looks like a simple interface.

The practical impact: SoFi users tend to be people who want one app for everything. M1 users tend to be people who care deeply about portfolio design and want the automation to serve their specific allocation, not a generic one.

Investment Options

SoFi Invest

SoFi offers two distinct investing modes within the same account:

Active Investing: Buy and sell individual stocks, ETFs, and crypto manually. Fractional shares are available starting at $5.
Automated Investing: A robo-advisor that builds a diversified ETF portfolio based on your risk tolerance and goals. No management fee beyond the underlying ETF expense ratios.
Options trading: Available for active investors. The interface is functional, though not as feature-rich as platforms built specifically for options.
Crypto: Over 30 coins available for direct trading within the app.
IPO access: SoFi members can participate in select IPOs at the offering price.

For a deeper look at how SoFi’s investing compares to a trading-focused competitor, see our SoFi Invest vs Robinhood breakdown.

M1 Finance

M1 takes a different approach. There is no separate “active” vs “automated” mode — everything runs through the pie system:

Stocks and ETFs: Over 6,000 securities available. You add them to pies and set target percentages.
Expert Pies: Pre-built portfolios covering themes like growth, income, hedge fund replication, responsible investing, and target-date retirement. You can use them as-is, modify them, or combine them as slices within a larger pie.
Crypto: Available through Crypto Pies, though the selection is more limited than SoFi’s.
No options trading: M1 does not support options. If options are important to you, this is a dealbreaker.
No IPO access.

M1 does not try to be everything. It does one thing — portfolio automation with full customization — and does it better than most competitors. For how M1 stacks up against a micro-investing alternative, our M1 Finance vs Acorns comparison covers that angle.

Automated Investing

Both platforms automate your investing, but the automation works differently.

SoFi Automated Investing

SoFi’s robo-advisor follows the classic model: answer questions about your risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial goals, and the system builds a diversified ETF portfolio for you. The algorithm handles rebalancing, dividend reinvestment, and periodic adjustments. You do not pick individual holdings.

The appeal is simplicity. Set it up, fund it regularly, and let it run. There is no management fee on top of the ETF expense ratios, which makes SoFi’s robo-advisor one of the cheapest fully managed options available.

The trade-off is limited control. You can adjust your overall risk level, but you cannot swap out specific ETFs or set custom allocations. If you want to overweight small-cap value or add a REIT allocation, you would need to do that through SoFi’s active investing account separately.

M1 Finance Pies

M1’s automation is more like an execution engine for your portfolio design. You build a pie — say, 50% total US stock market, 20% international developed, 15% bonds, 10% REITs, and 5% individual tech stocks — and M1 handles everything from there. New deposits are routed toward the most underweight slices. Dividends are reinvested according to your targets. If you sell something, proceeds are redistributed.

The system also supports sub-pies, meaning you can nest one strategy inside another. You could have a top-level pie with three slices: a conservative bond pie, a growth ETF pie, and a hand-picked individual stock pie, each with its own internal allocation.

Rebalancing happens dynamically through new deposits and dividend reinvestment, rather than through periodic sell-and-buy events. M1 does offer a manual rebalance button if you want to bring everything into alignment immediately, but the default approach minimizes unnecessary trades.

The result is a platform that feels automated but gives you architect-level control. It is a genuinely different model from traditional robo-advisors.

Banking Integration

SoFi: Full Financial Hub

SoFi’s banking integration is comprehensive:

Checking and Savings: FDIC-insured, up to 3.80% APY for Plus members (free tier is lower).
Direct deposit: Triggers SoFi Plus benefits automatically, including the higher APY, fee-free overdraft protection, and lower loan rates.
Personal loans, student loan refinancing, home loans: All available within the same app.
SoFi Credit Card: Cash back rewards that can be redeemed into your SoFi Invest account.
SoFi Relay: Free credit score monitoring and financial tracking.

The pitch is clear: put your paycheck, savings, investments, and loans in one place, and SoFi rewards you for the consolidation. For a full breakdown of what this costs, see our SoFi fees guide.

M1 Finance: Focused Financial Features

M1’s banking features are narrower but purposeful:

M1 Spend: A checking account linked to your investment account, with a debit card and 1% cash back (Plus members).
M1 Save: A savings account with up to 4.00% APY for Plus members or 1.50% for free-tier users.
M1 Borrow: A margin lending feature that lets you borrow against your portfolio at relatively low rates (typically around 6.75% for free, or lower for Plus members). No application process, no credit check — the collateral is your portfolio.
Smart Transfers: Automated rules that move money between checking, savings, and investing based on thresholds you set. Available to Plus members only.

M1 does not offer credit cards, personal loans, or mortgage products. The financial features it does have are tightly connected to the portfolio — M1 Borrow, in particular, is valuable for investors who want access to liquidity without selling holdings. For the full cost picture, see our M1 Finance pricing breakdown.

Fees and Pricing

Neither platform charges commissions on stock or ETF trades. The real cost comparison comes down to their premium tiers and what you get for the money.

SoFi Plus — Free With Direct Deposit

SoFi Plus is not a paid subscription in the traditional sense. Set up a qualifying direct deposit into your SoFi checking account, and Plus benefits activate automatically. There is no monthly or annual fee. Benefits include the higher savings APY, fee-free overdraft, lower loan interest rates, and access to all investing features.

The catch: you need to use SoFi as your primary bank. If you are already committed to another bank, SoFi Plus is not available unless you move your paycheck.

M1 Plus — $95/Year

M1 Plus is a straightforward annual subscription. For $95 per year, you get a second daily trading window (the free tier has one), lower margin borrowing rates, the higher savings APY (4.00% vs 1.50%), Smart Transfers, custodial accounts, and enhanced cash back through the Owner’s Rewards credit card program.

Whether M1 Plus pays for itself depends on your portfolio size and how much you use the extra features. If you maintain $5,000+ in M1 Save, the APY bump alone can offset the subscription cost. If you primarily use M1 just for investing with a modest balance, the free tier may be sufficient.

Side-by-Side Math

For someone who uses the platform as their primary financial hub with $10,000 in cash savings:

SoFi Plus: $0/year. $10,000 x 3.80% = $380 interest.
M1 Plus: $95/year. $10,000 x 4.00% = $400 interest. Net after subscription: $305.
M1 Free: $0/year. $10,000 x 1.50% = $150 interest.

SoFi’s free access to Plus via direct deposit gives it an edge in this particular calculation. But if portfolio customization and M1’s pie system are more valuable to you than the savings APY difference, the $95 can still make sense.

IRA and Retirement

SoFi IRA

SoFi offers Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs with a notable perk: a 1% contribution match on all IRA contributions, available to all members without requiring a paid subscription. This is unusual — most brokerages either do not offer a match or require a premium tier.

You can invest your IRA through either active investing or the automated robo-advisor. The same fee structure applies — $0 commissions, no management fee on the robo.

M1 Finance IRA

M1 offers Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs that use the same pie system as taxable accounts. You build (or choose) an allocation, and M1 automates the buying and rebalancing. There is no IRA contribution match.

M1 does offer several retirement-specific Expert Pies, including target-date pies that shift from stocks to bonds as your target retirement year approaches. These work like target-date funds from Vanguard or Fidelity, but you can modify the underlying allocation — something a traditional target-date fund does not allow.

The $500 minimum for retirement accounts at M1 is higher than SoFi’s $0 minimum, which could matter for someone just starting out.

Who Should Choose SoFi Invest

SoFi Invest is the stronger pick if:

You want one financial app for everything. Banking, investing, loans, credit card, credit monitoring — all in one place.
You prefer a traditional robo-advisor. SoFi’s automated investing is simple, fee-free, and hands-off.
The IRA match matters to you. A 1% match with no subscription fee is hard to find elsewhere.
Options trading is on your radar. M1 does not offer options at all.
You value access to a human financial planner. SoFi provides free CFP access; M1 does not.

For more on how SoFi compares to a trading-focused alternative, see our SoFi vs Robinhood comparison.

Who Should Choose M1 Finance

M1 Finance makes more sense if:

Portfolio design is important to you. The pie system gives you granular control over your allocation while still automating the day-to-day management.
You want to hold individual stocks inside an automated framework. M1 lets you mix individual names with ETFs in the same pie — SoFi’s robo does not.
You plan to borrow against your portfolio. M1 Borrow provides quick access to margin at competitive rates, with no application process.
You like the idea of sub-pies and nested strategies. No other platform does this as cleanly.
Lower fractional minimums matter. M1’s $1 fractional shares (within pies) vs SoFi’s $5 minimum.

If you are still exploring your options, our best investing app for beginners roundup covers a wider range of platforms.

FAQ

Is SoFi Invest completely free?

Yes. Stock, ETF, and crypto trades are commission-free. The robo-advisor charges no management fee beyond the underlying ETF expense ratios. SoFi Plus is also free with qualifying direct deposit. There are no hidden account maintenance or inactivity fees.

Does M1 Finance charge any fees on the free tier?

No advisory fees and no trade commissions on the free tier. You get one daily trading window, access to the full pie system, and basic checking and savings. The main limitations are a lower savings APY (1.50% vs 4.00%) and no access to Smart Transfers or the second trading window.

Can I transfer my portfolio from SoFi to M1 Finance or vice versa?

Yes. Both platforms support ACATS transfers, which move your holdings between brokerages without liquidating positions. The process usually takes 5-7 business days. Check each platform’s current transfer policies, as outgoing transfer fees can apply.

Which platform is better for retirement accounts?

SoFi’s IRA has the edge for people who want a simple, hands-off setup with a free 1% contribution match. M1’s IRA is better for people who want to build a custom retirement portfolio using the pie system, especially if you want to blend individual stocks with ETFs in your retirement allocation.

Can I use both platforms at the same time?

Absolutely. Some investors use SoFi as their financial hub — banking, loans, and a simple robo-managed retirement account — while running a more customized taxable portfolio on M1 Finance. There is no rule against having accounts at both, and the strengths of each platform complement the other’s gaps.

Final Verdict

SoFi Invest and M1 Finance are both strong platforms, but they serve different investor profiles.

Choose SoFi Invest if you want a single app for your entire financial life. Banking, investing, loans, credit monitoring, and free financial planning in one place — with no subscription fee if you set up direct deposit. The robo-advisor is simple and cheap, and the 1% IRA match adds tangible value.

Choose M1 Finance if portfolio design is the point. The pie system gives you a level of customization that no traditional robo-advisor can match, while still handling the automation that makes long-term investing practical. If you know what you want your portfolio to look like and just need a platform to maintain it, M1 is built exactly for that.

Both platforms are FINRA-registered and SIPC-protected. The choice comes down to whether you value financial consolidation or portfolio control — and only you know which matters more for the way you manage money.

SoFi Invest vs M1 Finance 2026: Automated Investing or Full Financial Hub?