What is M1 Finance's monthly fee and when do I have to pay it?

M1 charges a $3/month platform fee ($36/year) if your total M1 Invest and Earn balance is below $10,000. The fee is waived once you reach $10,000 (even for just one day in the billing cycle), if you have an active M1 Personal Loan, or if you're a new account within the 90-day grace period.

Does M1 charge commissions on stock and ETF trades?

No. M1 charges $0 in trading commissions on all self-directed stock and ETF trades. However, there are other potential fees like regulatory pass-throughs (FINRA TAF and SEC fees) and a $100 outgoing transfer fee if you leave the platform.

Is M1 Finance a legitimate and safe broker?

Yes. M1 Finance is SEC-registered, a FINRA member, and SIPC-insured. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Chicago with over 1 million users and $12 billion in client assets.

What account types does M1 offer?

M1 offers individual and joint brokerage accounts, custodial accounts (UTMA/UGMA), Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, trust accounts, and crypto accounts. Notably absent are 529 college savings plans and 401(k) plans.

M1 Finance Review: The Autopilot Broker That

Q: What types of investments can I trade on M1?

You can trade stocks and ETFs listed on US exchanges, as well as 14 cryptocurrencies through a separate Crypto Account. M1 does not support mutual funds, bonds, options, or futures.

M1 Finance wants to be the set-it-and-forget-it broker for long-term investors. The pitch is compelling: build a custom portfolio of stocks and ETFs, automate your contributions, and let the platform handle rebalancing. No commissions on trades. A slick "Pie" system that makes portfolio allocation visual and intuitive. And it mostly delivers — if you have at least $10,000 to invest.

Below that threshold, M1 charges a $3 monthly platform fee. That's $36 a year just for the privilege of holding an account. On a $1,000 portfolio, that's a 3.6% annual drag — worse than many actively managed mutual funds. On $5,000, it's still 0.72%. That fee is the single most important thing to understand about M1 before you sign up.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Chicago, M1 has grown to over 1 million users and $12 billion in client assets. They're SEC-registered, a FINRA member, and SIPC-insured. The broker sits in an unusual niche: more automated than Fidelity or Schwab, more customizable than Betterment or Wealthfront. If you're a buy-and-hold investor who wants to build a diversified portfolio and automate contributions, M1 might be exactly what you need. But it's not for everyone.

Fees

Let's break down every dollar M1 will take from you.

The big ones:

Stock and ETF commissions: $0. No trading commissions on any self-directed brokerage trades.
Platform fee: $3/month if your total M1 Invest and Earn balance is below $10,000. Waived if you hit $10,000 for even one day during the billing cycle, or if you have an active M1 Personal Loan. New accounts get a 90-day grace period.
Options trading: Not available. M1 does not support options at all.
Margin (M1 Borrow): 5.65% interest rate, available on taxable brokerage accounts with $2,000+ invested. This is genuinely cheap — Fidelity charges 10.575%, Schwab 9.50%, E*Trade 10.00%, and Vanguard 9.95% at their base rates.

The hidden ones:

Outgoing ACAT transfer: $100. Want to leave? That'll cost you.
IRA termination fee: $100.
Wire transfer: $25.
Inactivity fee: $20 on accounts under $50 with no activity for 90+ days.
Escheatment (abandoned account processing): $75.
Crypto spread: ~1% on all crypto buys and sells. No explicit commission, but you're paying through the spread.
ADR fees: 1¢ to 3¢ per share on American Depositary Receipts, passed through from the issuing bank.
Regulatory fees: FINRA TAF of $0.000166 per share sold (max $8.30/trade), plus SEC fee of $22.90 per $1 million traded. These are standard industry pass-throughs.

The bottom line on fees: M1 is genuinely free for investors with $10,000+. Below that, the $3/month fee makes it expensive for small accounts. The $100 ACAT-out fee is steep and worth knowing about before you commit — Fidelity and Schwab charge $0 for outgoing transfers.

Account Types and What You Can Trade

M1 covers the major account types US investors need:

Individual Brokerage Account
Joint Brokerage Account
Custodial Account (UTMA/UGMA for minors)
Traditional IRA
Roth IRA
SEP IRA
Trust Account
Crypto Account (powered by Bakkt)

Notably missing: 529 college savings plans, 401(k) plans, and rollover IRAs as a distinct product (though you can roll into a Traditional IRA).

You can trade stocks and ETFs listed on US exchanges. No mutual funds, no bonds, no options, no futures. If you want those, look elsewhere. M1 also offers 14 cryptocurrencies through a separate Crypto Account powered by Bakkt, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, and XRP. You can also access crypto exposure through ETFs like BITO and GBTC in your regular brokerage account.

The Pie system is M1's signature feature. Your portfolio is a "Pie" with "Slices" — each slice represents a holding with a target allocation percentage. You can nest Pies within Pies (e.g., a "Tech" Pie inside your main Pie). When you deposit money, M1 automatically buys whichever slices are most underweight. Click "Rebalance" and the platform sells overweight positions and buys underweight ones to bring you back to target.

Fractional shares are supported, meaning every dollar gets invested — no cash sitting idle because you can't afford a full share of Amazon.

What's Good and What's Not

What M1 does well:

Automation is genuinely excellent. Set your target allocations, turn on auto-invest, schedule recurring deposits, and M1 handles everything. Dynamic rebalancing means each deposit nudges your portfolio closer to target without triggering unnecessary sells (and taxable events).
Margin rates are best-in-class. At 5.65%, M1's margin rate crushes every major competitor. If you borrow against your portfolio regularly, this alone could justify using M1.
The Pie system is intuitive. Visual portfolio building is easier to understand than staring at a list of tickers and percentages. Nested Pies let you organize by theme or sector.
High-Yield Cash Account pays 3.10% APY on uninvested cash, with FDIC insurance up to $4.75 million through partner banks. The $100 minimum deposit is reasonable.
Dividend reinvestment is flexible — reinvest into the specific stock, spread across your whole Pie, or sweep to your Cash Account.

Where M1 falls short:

No real-time trading. Trades execute during scheduled "trade windows," not when you click buy. This is by design — M1 wants to remove emotion from trading — but it means you can't react to intraday price movements. Day traders, active traders, and anyone who wants limit orders should go elsewhere.
No options, no mutual funds, no bonds. The investment menu is stocks, ETFs, and crypto. Period. If you want a complete brokerage, this isn't it.
The $3/month platform fee punishes small accounts. A beginning investor putting in $100/month won't hit $10,000 for years. That's $36/year in fees on a tiny portfolio — terrible value.
$100 to leave. The outgoing ACAT transfer fee is a pain point. It creates real friction if you decide M1 isn't for you.
No tax-loss harvesting. Unlike Betterment or Wealthfront, M1 doesn't automatically harvest tax losses. You'd have to do it manually by adjusting your Pie.
Research tools are thin. Don't expect the screeners, analyst reports, or educational content you'd find at Fidelity or Schwab. M1 is built for people who already know what they want to own.

Who Should Use M1 (and Who Shouldn't)

M1 is great for:

Buy-and-hold investors with $10,000+ who want to automate a long-term portfolio. This is M1's sweet spot. Set your Pie, automate deposits, and check in once a quarter.
Dividend investors who want automatic reinvestment across their whole portfolio, not just back into the issuing stock.
People who want cheap margin. The 5.65% rate is roughly half what the big brokers charge. If you use portfolio lending, M1 saves real money.
"Lazy portfolio" fans who follow a Boglehead-style asset allocation and want a platform that enforces discipline. M1's structure makes it hard to panic-sell or chase hot stocks.

M1 is wrong for:

Active traders. No real-time execution, no limit orders, no options, no level 2 data. M1 is philosophically opposed to active trading.
Beginners with small balances. The $3/month fee on accounts under $10,000 makes M1 a poor choice for someone just getting started. Fidelity and Schwab charge nothing.
People who want research and education. M1 assumes you know what you want to invest in. There are no stock screeners, no analyst ratings, no investment courses.
Anyone who might leave soon. That $100 ACAT-out fee is a real cost. If you're experimenting with brokers, test drive Fidelity or Schwab first — they'll let you leave for free.

How It Stacks Up

M1 vs. Fidelity: Fidelity offers $0 commissions, no platform fee, no account minimums, options trading, mutual funds, bonds, excellent research, and fractional shares. Fidelity wins on breadth and cost for small accounts. M1 wins on automation, visual portfolio building, and margin rates.

M1 vs. Schwab: Similar story to Fidelity. Schwab has a wider product menu, better research, no platform fees, and a massive branch network. M1's edge is the automated Pie system and that 5.65% margin rate.

M1 vs. Betterment/Wealthfront: These robo-advisors charge 0.25% annually on all assets, and they pick your investments for you. M1 lets you choose your own holdings while still automating execution. If you want full control with automation, M1 wins. If you want someone else to manage everything (including tax-loss harvesting), Betterment or Wealthfront may be better.

M1 vs. Robinhood: Both offer $0 commissions and fractional shares. Robinhood gives you real-time trading, options, and crypto with no platform fee. M1 gives you better portfolio automation and much cheaper margin. Robinhood is for active traders who want speed; M1 is for passive investors who want discipline.

Conclusion

M1 Finance is a genuinely clever platform that solves a real problem: how do you build and maintain a diversified portfolio without spending hours every month rebalancing and placing trades? The Pie system, auto-invest, and dynamic rebalancing work together beautifully for long-term, buy-and-hold investors.

But M1 has made choices that limit its audience. The $3/month platform fee for accounts under $10,000 is a dealbreaker for beginners. The lack of real-time trading, options, and research tools means active or sophisticated traders should look elsewhere. And the $100 exit fee leaves a bad taste.

If you have $10,000 or more, know what you want to own, and believe in automated, disciplined investing, M1 is one of the best tools available. The margin rate alone saves serious money compared to competitors. But if you're just starting out or want a full-service brokerage, Fidelity remains the better all-around choice. M1 is a specialized tool — brilliant at what it does, but not trying to be everything to everyone.