Best Roth IRA Accounts for June 2024

Roth IRAs are retirement accounts that can help you grow money tax-free. But just because every Roth IRA follows the same tax rules and structure doesn't mean every IRA provider will offer you the same value.

We've broken down our best Roth IRA accounts into two categories: Best Roth IRAs for Self-Directed Investing and Best Roth IRAs for Hands-Off Investing. Self-directed IRAs are controlled by you -- you buy and sell your own investments on your own timeline.

Our hands-off Roth IRA accounts are robo-advisors. These are platforms will help you assess your risk tolerance and determine your investment time horizon, and then it manages your portfolio over time to maximize return potential. Depending on your investment goals and individual preferences, either could be a great choice.

2 Featured Picks From Our Best Roth IRA Accounts

There are a lot of options to compare, even on this page. It can be overwhelming! If you're looking for a place to start, here are some Roth IRA accounts our experts recommend and why they like them:

• Robinhood: Standout Roth IRA mobile experience 
• SoFi Active Investing: Exceptional broker for one membership ecosystem

How do I choose the best Roth IRA account?

Most major brokerage firms offer Roth IRAs, but that doesn't mean every broker's Roth IRA will offer the same features. With that in mind, here are four factors to compare as you're shopping for the best Roth IRA broker:

Robinhood

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want an easy-to-use platform to start investing for retirement.

Robinhood pioneered the zero-commission stock trading business, and is still the low-fee leader. Its retirement accounts use the same app-based platform that its trading customers love, and it provides an extremely user-friendly way to get started saving for retirement.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Robinhood

• Great app: Robinhood has a highly rated app that makes it easy to buy and sell stocks and ETFs.
• IRA match: Robinhood matches 1% of IRA contributions for all members, and 3% for its paid Robinhood Gold subscribers.
• Fractional shares: Robinhood allows investors to buy fractional shares of stocks, which can make it easier to get started with less money.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Robinhood

• No mutual funds: Robinhood is one of the few IRA providers that doesn't (yet) allow investors to buy and sell mutual funds.
• No fixed income: Many investors like to keep some of their money in bonds or other fixed-income instruments like CDs, but Robinhood doesn't facilitate this.

Read our full review of Robinhood.

SoFi Active Investing

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want an easy-to-use platform with tons of features.

SoFi is a great combination of an easy-to-use app based investment platform and some of the features you might expect from larger, more established firms. For example, SoFi is one of the few app-based platforms to offer mutual fund investing, and it also offers several financial products in one user-friendly app.

Why Roth IRA investors might love SoFi Active Investing

• Great app: SoFi offers a user-friendly app, as well as a web-based investment platform. Both are extremely easy to navigate.
• IRA match: SoFi offers a 1% match on all retirement account contributions, up to the annual limits.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose SoFi Active Investing

• Light on tools and features: SoFi is not a full-featured investment platform. It is light on things like charting tools, educational resources, and research access.
• No fixed-income: Many investors like to keep some of their retirement assets in bonds and other fixed-income instruments, but SoFi doesn't offer these.

Read our full review of SoFi Active Investing.

Fidelity

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want a full-service brokerage experience with an excellent and uncomplicated trading platform.

Fidelity is one of the largest and oldest brokers in the U.S., and offers a ton of educational resources, research tools, and more. It also offers a surprisingly user-friendly investing interface for an older and "traditional" brokerage firm.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Fidelity

• Mutual funds: Most (but not all) brokers on this list offer mutual funds. But Fidelity offers thousands of commission-free choices.
• Great investment app: Some of the traditional online brokers don't have a great mobile platform, but Fidelity is an exception.
• Fractional shares: Fidelity allows investors to buy less than a full share of stock, making it easier to get started.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Fidelity

• Management fees: If you're planning to be a hands-off IRA investor, you might want to look elsewhere, as Fidelity's robo-advisory platform charges a 0.35% management fee to customers with account balances over $25,000.

Read our full review of Fidelity.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want to avoid investment fees, especially existing Chase clients.

J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is the retail brokerage platform offered by JPMorgan Chase. It has a fantastic investing app, and integrates seamlessly with other Chase financial accounts. It is one of the lowest-cost investment platforms in the market, especially for mutual fund investors.

Why Roth IRA investors might love J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing

• Great app: J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing has an excellent app-based investment platform, especially for one of the larger, more traditional financial institutions.
• Mutual funds: Most brokers offer a list of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, but J.P. Morgan charges no commissions on any mutual funds.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing

• Light on features: You might assume that because J.P. Morgan is a massive financial institution that it would have a ton of charting tools, research resources, and other features, but that is not the case.
• No fractional shares: The ability to trade fractional shares can help investors construct a diversified portfolio without a ton of money. J.P. Morgan doesn't support fractional shares -- at least not yet.

Read our full review of J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.

E*TRADE

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want a full-featured investment platform that is easy to navigate for investors of all skill levels.

E*TRADE is one of the oldest online brokers, and it remains one of the best in the business. It has several different trading interfaces, extensive educational resources, lots of research available, and many other features.

Why Roth IRA investors might love E*TRADE

• Tons of valuable features: As a full-featured broker, E*TRADE has a library of educational resources, several different apps and trading platforms, and offers stock research reports for its clients.
• Customer support: E*TRADE customer support is available 24/7, and it also has a branch network for those who want in-person support when setting up their retirement accounts.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose E*TRADE

• Not as user-friendly as rivals: Some of the modern app-based investment platforms make it easier to simply buy and sell stocks.

Read our full review of E*TRADE.

Merrill Edge® Self-Directed

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Have a relationship with Bank of America and want to start saving for retirement.

Merrill Edge® Self-Directed is an app- and web-based investment platform owned and operated by Bank of America. It offers excellent retirement planning tools, and can be especially great for existing Bank of America customers, as your Roth IRA balance counts toward the bank's excellent Preferred Rewards program.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Merrill Edge® Self-Directed

• Bank of America rewards: Roth IRA balances can help you earn status in the fantastic Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. This can get you better interest rates on loans, higher credit card rewards, and more.
• Customer service: Merrill Edge® Self-Directed has customer support available by phone 24/7 and offers online chat help. Plus, Bank of America has thousands of branches, many of which offer in-person support for investing customers.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Merrill Edge® Self-Directed

• Light on trading tools: If you're looking for advanced charting and trading tools, some of the more traditional brokerage firms (Fidelity, Schwab, etc.) offer far more of these features. Merrill Edge® Self-Directed offers more features than the newer app-based trading platforms, but not as many as the older industry leaders.

Read our full review of Merrill Edge® Self-Directed.

Ally Invest

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want a simple, app-based financial platform that offers IRA investing.

Ally Financial is an excellent online bank, with deposit accounts, loans, and of course, an investment platform. It is one of the few brokers that has no commissions on mutual funds whatsoever, and its robo-advisor platform has a unique fee-free option.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Ally Invest

• No mutual fund commissions: Ally Invest offers a large selection of mutual funds, and is one of the few to charge no mutual fund commissions at all.
• All-in-one platform: Ally Invest can be a great place to open a Roth IRA if you want your checking and savings account, as well as your investments, all in one place.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Ally Invest

• Light on features: Ally Invest has an easy-to-use trading platform, but doesn't have many advanced trading or research features like some of its larger rivals do.

Read our full review of Ally Invest.

Vanguard

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want to primarily invest in mutual funds or ETFs

In some ways, Vanguard's brokerage platform lags behind rivals. For example, you can't buy fractional shares of stocks through Vanguard. However, it can be a fantastic choice if your goal is to invest in passive index funds or fixed-income investments.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Vanguard

• Mutual funds: Vanguard offers thousands of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, especially its own fantastic low-cost index funds.
• Investment research: Vanguard publishes lots of investment research and educational content, which can be a big perk for IRA investors looking for the best ways to build a retirement nest egg.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Vanguard

• Interface: Vanguard's investment platform isn't a strong point. It's a solid place to buy and sell investments and deposit money (through the mobile app), but it doesn't offer many features that advanced investors often want.
• No fractional shares: Fractional shares allow Roth IRA investors to build a diversified portfolio of stocks without a ton of capital, especially when they're getting started.

Read our full review of Vanguard.

Charles Schwab

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want a full-featured online broker with top-notch customer service.

Charles Schwab pioneered the concept of a discount brokerage nearly 50 years ago, and today is one of the largest financial firms in the world. While its platform isn't as easy to use as some of its tech-focused rivals, it has tons of features that Roth IRA investors may find appealing.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Charles Schwab

• Customer service: Schwab not only offers 24/7 customer service by phone and live chat, but it has more than 340 branch networks across the United States for in-person support.
• Lots of features: Charles Schwab is one of the largest brokerage firms in the world, and has tons of trading tools, educational resources, and provides free stock research access.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Charles Schwab

• Robo-advisor minimum: Schwab might not be the best choice for newer investors who want to automate their Roth IRA. The robo-advisor platform has a $5,000 minimum, which might be a limiting factor for new IRA investors.
• Not as user-friendly as some: Charles Schwab's platform isn't exactly difficult to navigate, but it isn't nearly as easy to navigate as some of the others on this list.

Read our full review of Charles Schwab.

Wealthfront

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want to put their retirement investments on autopilot.

Wealthfront is one of the largest and most feature-packed robo advisors in the market. It has a reasonable management fee, and unlike some rivals, allows investors to trade individual stocks as well as automate their portfolio. It has some excellent features that might appeal to retirement savers in particular, and has strong customer service.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Wealthfront

• Low fees: Wealthfront charges a low 0.25% management fee, which is a fraction of what you would likely pay a human advisor to manage your accounts.
• Individual stocks: Unlike several other top robo advisors, Wealthfront allows investors to trade stocks commission-free, and even offers the ability to buy and sell fractional shares.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Wealthfront

• No human advisors: Some rival robo-advisors provide access to human financial advisors, but Wealthfront is entirely automated.
• Minimum: Wealthfront's $500 new account minimum isn't a massive one, but can be prohibitive for investors just getting started.

Read our full review of Wealthfront.

Betterment

Best Roth IRA for investors who: Want to automate their retirement savings.

Betterment was one of the pioneers of the automated investing, or robo-advisory industry, and it remains one of the best in breed. It offers a reasonable investment fee, no minimum balance, and an excellent mobile app.

Why Roth IRA investors might love Betterment

• Low fees: Betterment offers a choice of a 0.25% annualized management fee or a flat rate of $4 per month.
• No minimum: Several top robo-advisors have account minimums, but not Betterment. You can start an account with any amount, and can get started investing with as little as $10.
• Excellent app: Betterment offers a mobile app with some of the highest ratings in the entire brokerage industry, allowing you to manage your accounts on the go with ease.

Why Roth IRA investors might not choose Betterment

• No human advisors for smaller accounts: Betterment offers a Premium plan that includes financial advisor access, but it is only available with a minimum investment balance of $100,000.
• Can't buy individual stocks: Unlike some robo-advisors, Betterment's platform doesn't allow for individual stock investing. It is purely a robo-advisor.

Read our full review of Betterment.

Opening a Roth IRA can be boiled down to a few simple steps. If you've compared the best Roth IRA accounts and you're ready to open an account of your own, here's everything you need to get your Roth IRA up and running:

1. Decide if you're eligible. Take a look at the income limits to see if you qualify.
2. Pick a Roth IRA provider. Compare different providers, then decide which one is right for you.
3. Open an account. You'll need identification (like a driver's license), your Social Security number, and bank account information. In addition, you'll create login credentials for your account and indicate how you want to fund it.

Most Roth IRA providers can approve you instantly (or at least within a few business days), so long as they can verify your identity. Once your account has been approved, you can transfer money into your Roth IRA, pick your investments, and continue contributing until you hit the annual limit.

A Roth IRA works like this: You contribute post-tax dollars (money you've already paid taxes on), then invest that money in whatever securities fit your investing strategy, like stocks or mutual funds. At any time, you can sell those securities for a profit and you don't have to pay capital gains taxes, so long as it's held within your Roth IRA. Better yet, when you turn 59 1/2, you can withdraw your earnings tax free, since you already paid taxes on your contributions.

Roth IRAs let you withdraw your contributions freely without penalty, but your earnings might be subject to taxes or penalties if you withdraw before you pass the 59 1/2 mark or before the account has been open at least five years. Unlike traditional IRAs and 401(k)s, you don't have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs), meaning there's no age after which you have to start withdrawing from your Roth IRA.

Contributing up to the annual limit will certainly give your Roth IRA a good foot forward, but your selection of investments is the real engine driving your account's long-term growth. Since your account isn't bogged down by capital gains taxes, you can take full advantage of growing your money by compound interest using a combination of stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, and other securities.

For instance, let's say you contribute $6,000 annually into your Roth IRA for 25 years and choose to invest in an S&P 500 index fund. If we assume a modest 7% annualized rate of return for this fund, your account would grow to $438,623 at the end of 25 years, with $150,000 in contributions and $282,623 from interest you've earned.

Most brokers will allow you to open a Roth IRA with no minimum balance, so you can literally get started for a few dollars.

For tax year 2024, contributions to your IRA accounts cannot exceed:

• $7,000 if you're under 50 years of age
• $8,000 if you're age 50 or older (known as a "catch-up contribution")

This limit is per person, not per account. If you have two IRA accounts -- say, a traditional IRA and Roth IRA -- your total contributions cannot exceed the annual limit.

A Roth IRA account itself is safe. Money in the account is protected against the broker's failure by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which is essentially the brokerage version of the FDIC.

Having said that, the safety of your Roth IRA depends greatly on the investments you choose. Within a Roth IRA, you can choose pretty much any stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and other investments, and there's a wide spectrum of risk within each of these categories.

A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account (IRA) that lets you contribute after-tax dollars and enjoy the power of compound interest tax free. That means you don't have to pay taxes on earnings in a Roth IRA, so long as you take distributions after you hit 59 1/2 years old.

Roth IRA accounts have annual contribution limits set by the IRS, which are usually lower than 401(k)s. You can invest in a number of securities within a Roth IRA, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

There are some exceptions to the withdrawal restrictions. For example, you can withdraw as much as $10,000 from your IRA to use toward a first-time home purchase. You can take out any amount to pay for college expenses. And with Roth IRA accounts, you can withdraw your original contributions (but not your investment profits) at any time and for any reason.

At The Motley Fool Ascent, brokerages are rated on a scale of one to five stars. We primarily focus on fees, available assets, and user experience; however, we also take into account features like research, education, tax-loss harvesting, and customer service. Our highest-rated brokerages generally include low fees, a diverse range of assets and account types, and useful platform features.

See our full methodology here: Ratings Methodology

Brokerages we evaluated for consideration on this page: Acorns, Ally Invest, Axos Self-Directed Trading, Betterment, Cash App Investing, Charles Schwab, Delphia, Domain Money, Ellevest, Empower, eToro Brokerage, E*TRADE Core Portfolios, E*TRADE, Fidelity, Fidelity Cash Management, Fidelity Go®, Firstrade, FOREX.com, Interactive Brokers, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing, M1 Finance, Magnifi, Marcus Invest, Merrill Edge® Self-Directed, Moomoo, NinjaTrader, Personal Capital, Plynk, Prosperi Academy, Public, Robinhood, Rocket Dollar, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, SoFi Active Investing, SoFi Automated Investing, Stash, Stockpile, Tastytrade, Titan, Tornado App, TradeStation, Tradier, Vanguard, Vanguard Digital Advisor®, Wealthfront, Webull, Zacks Trade.