Best Roth IRA Accounts: Top Picks for 2025
In our analysis, the best Roth IRAs overall are Fidelity and Charles Schwab. However, all of our picks stand out for their low costs and large selection of retirement investments.
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Our evaluation of the best Roth IRA accounts includes providers that fall into two main categories: online brokers and robo-advisors. Online brokers allow you to choose your own investments, including individual stocks. Robo-advisors build and manage your Roth IRA portfolio for you, typically for a small fee.
How to choose the best place to open a Roth IRA
For most retirement investors, factors like customer support, account fees, retirement planning tools and investment selection are the highest priorities, so these are also among the factors we heavily consider when evaluating Roth IRA accounts. We're looking for well-rounded providers that offer a large mutual fund selection — including low-fee and low-minimum funds, so you can start investing right away — and customer support that is there when you need it. And we evaluate each provider's website to ensure it is easy to navigate and clearly discloses fees, minimums, investment options and other key details.
If you're looking to open a Roth IRA at a broker, we know you'll want a trading platform that is accessible and responsive. We test each Roth IRA firm's trading platform and account funding experience, to ensure a strong UX and smooth account opening experience.
Below, we've selected the best Roth IRAs from brokers and robo-advisors, so there is one on our list to meet the needs of every type of retirement saver. We've also categorized them to help you find the right Roth IRA for you. One trend that has emerged in the last year: Several providers, such as Robinhood, SoFi and Acorns, now match a percentage of your Roth IRA contributions, similar to how employers often match 401(k) contributions. That's free money and it's worth considering if you don't feel strongly about other features you need in a Roth IRA account.
Our deep, independent analysis of Roth IRAs cuts through the details to find and evaluate the information investors want most. To see our full methodology and learn more about our process, read our criteria for evaluating brokers and for evaluating robo-advisors.
Over 60 investment account providers reviewed and rated by our expert Nerds.
More than 50 years of combined experience writing about finance and investing.
Hands-on testing of the account funding process, provider websites and investment platforms.
Dozens of objective ratings rubrics and strict guidelines to maintain editorial integrity.
Note: The star ratings on this page are for the provider overall. Some providers with a lower overall rating are included here because Roth IRAs are where they excel.
Best Roth IRA Accounts: Top Picks
| Broker | NerdWallet rating | Fees | Account minimum | Promotion | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.5/5 | $0 | $0 | 1% match on eligible contributions up to IRA contribution limits. | Learn moreLearn more on Robinhood's website | |
4.4/5 Reviewed in: Nov. 2024Period considered: Oct. - Nov. 2024 | 0.25% management fee | $50 | 1% match on rollovers and contributions Terms and conditions apply. Roll over a minimum of $20K to receive the 1% match offer. Matches on contributions are made up to the annual limits. | Learn moreLearn more on SoFi Invest's website AD Paid non-client promotion | |
4.8/5 | $0 per online equity trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn moreLearn more on Charles Schwab's website | |
5.0/5 Reviewed in: Oct. 2023Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2023 | 0.25% management fee | $500 | Get a $50 customer bonus when you fund your first taxable investment account | Learn moreLearn more on Wealthfront's website AD Paid non-client promotion | |
5.0/5 | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn moreLearn more on Interactive Brokers' website |
Our pick for
Roth IRA match (online broker)
Fees
$0
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
1% match
on eligible contributions up to IRA contribution limits.
Our pick for
complimentary access to financial advisors (robo-advisor)
Fees
0.25%
management fee
Account minimum
$50
Promotion
1% match on rollovers and contributions
Terms and conditions apply. Roll over a minimum of $20K to receive the 1% match offer. Matches on contributions are made up to the annual limits.
Our pick for
self-employed retirement savers (online broker)
Fees
$0
per online equity trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Our pick for
portfolio diversification (robo-advisor)
Fees
0.25%
management fee
Account minimum
$500
Promotion
Get a $50 customer bonus
when you fund your first taxable investment account
Our pick for
advanced traders (online broker)
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Our pick for
best for new IRA investors (robo-advisor)
Fees
0.25%
with a balance over $20K or qualifying recurring deposit. Otherwise, $4/month.
Account minimum
$0
$10 to start
Promotion
Get up to $1,000
when you open and fund a new investing account. Terms apply.
Our pick for
best Roth IRA overall (online broker)
Fees
$0
no account fees to open a Fidelity retail IRA
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Our pick for
complimentary access to financial advisors (online broker)
Fees
$0
per trade
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
Get up to $1,000
in stock when you fund a new account.
Our pick for
best Roth IRA overall (robo-advisor)
Fees
0% - 0.35%
management fee
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Our pick for
Roth IRA match (robo-advisor)
Fees
$3 - $12
per month
Account minimum
$0
Promotion
$10 sign-up bonus
Our pick for
free investment management (robo-advisor)
Fees
0%
management fee
Account minimum
$5,000
Promotion
None
no promotion available at this time
Note: Some of these promotions won’t apply for first-time depositors, due to annual IRA contribution limits. We’ve included promotions with low deposit requirements where available.
How much money do I need to open a Roth IRA?
That's a great question — as you may have noticed on our list above, many Roth IRA accounts do not require a minimum initial deposit, which means you can open your account with as little as $1. The exception is some of the robo-advisors on our lists — robo-advisors sometimes have higher minimums.
The catch, of course, is that you'll need to contribute enough to your Roth IRA to begin investing. It's important to remember that a Roth IRA isn't an investment itself; once you've funded your account, you'll need to select investments. (If you've opted for a robo-advisor, the service will do this for you with your approval.) Some investments do have investment minimums, but many do not.
The more important consideration with a Roth IRA account is the maximum annual contribution limit — for 2024 and 2025, that amount is $7,000, or $8,000 for those 50 or older. Note that you can contribute for the previous calendar year until the tax filing deadline for that year — that means for the calendar year 2024, you have until April 15, 2025 to contribute the maximum. Just be sure to ask the Roth IRA account provider to designate your contributions for the right year — most of the time, this is an option you select online when making the Roth contribution.
The Roth IRA also has income rules for contributions. For 2024, your ability to contribute begins phasing out at $146,000 for single filers and $230,000 for those married filing jointly. For 2025, that phase out starts at $150,000 for single filers and $236,000 for joint filers. The contribution limit referenced above is slowly reduced until your ability to contribute is eliminated completely.
Last updated on December 19, 2024
Methodology
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers and robo-advisors. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating providers and our processes, read our full broker ratings methodology and our full robo-advisor ratings methodology.
NerdWallet's Best Roth IRA Accounts: Top Picks for 2025
- Robinhood IRA: Best for Roth IRA match (online broker)
- SoFi Robo Investing: Best for complimentary access to financial advisors (robo-advisor)
- Charles Schwab: Best for self-employed retirement savers (online broker)
- Wealthfront IRA: Best for portfolio diversification (robo-advisor)
- Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite: Best for advanced traders (online broker)
- Betterment IRA: Best for best for new IRA investors (robo-advisor)
- Fidelity Roth IRA: Best for best Roth IRA overall (online broker)
- SoFi Active Investing: Best for complimentary access to financial advisors (online broker)
- Fidelity Go®: Best for best Roth IRA overall (robo-advisor)
- Acorns: Best for Roth IRA match (robo-advisor)
- Schwab Intelligent Portfolios®: Best for free investment management (robo-advisor)
Frequently asked questions
Generally, a bank is not a good place to open a Roth IRA account. That’s because for a long-term goal like retirement, you want to harness the power of the stock market to help your account get bigger.
Bank Roth IRAs generally offer access to savings products, such as certificates of deposit. CDs are savings vehicles that guarantee a rate of return as long as you leave your money in for a specific period of time. Historically, stock market returns average about much higher than CD returns.
Of course, those higher stock market returns come with the risk that, in any given year, your account may lose value. But investors who leave their money in the market, even through those down days, historically enjoy hefty average gains over time.
If, despite the much lower rate of return, you decide to go with a bank for your Roth IRA account, be sure to pick among the accounts with the best IRA CD rates so you know you’re getting the best possible rate of return for that type of account.
How much you earn in a Roth IRA account will vary, depending on what you’re investing in. The average annual stock market return historically has been about 10%.
Of course, you want to invest in a diversified portfolio of both stocks and bonds, so that your account has a buffer from the stock market’s inevitable ups and downs. Generally, creating a diversified investment portfolio means investing in a handful of mutual funds or exchange-traded funds, which, in turn, invest in a broad swath of stocks and bonds.
A diversified investment portfolio will inevitably earn less than the stock market’s return, because bond yields tend to be in the single digits. Still, a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds generally earns more than any bank savings product, such as a savings account or CD.
With a Roth IRA, you can pull your contributions out at any time — remember, you’ve already paid taxes on that money.
However, if you withdraw your investment earnings, you may owe income tax and/or a 10% penalty, depending on how old you are and how long you’ve owned the account. But there are quite a few situations where an early withdrawal of investment earnings is exempt from penalties and income tax. We detail the Roth IRA withdrawal rules here.
Yes. You can have both a Roth IRA and a 401(k) and contribute the maximum you’re allowed to each.
Traditional IRAs don’t have income limits, but if you’re also covered by a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k), the amount of your contribution that you can deduct may be phased down or eliminated.
That means you can still make the maximum annual contribution, but a portion or all of it will be considered a nondeductible contribution. There’s no immediate tax benefit on nondeductible contributions, but you're still able to defer taxes on investment income until retirement. Read more about the traditional IRA deduction limits.
The process is easy as can be: You can open a Roth IRA at any online broker or robo-advisor, typically online in about 15 minutes. You’ll need to provide some personal information like your name, address, birthday, Social Security number and means of funding the account, so have that handy. Here’s our step-by-step guide to opening a Roth IRA, including details about how to fund and invest the account.
Yes, you can transfer money from one Roth IRA account to another. The key is to do a direct transfer, where your account balance is moved directly from the old Roth IRA provider to the new one, without the money ever entering your hands (or bank account). Roth IRA providers are familiar with this process. The transfer must be completed within 60 days.