With Acorns, you can set Recurring Contributions to automatically invest with as little as $5 a day, week, or month. Or, you can link a debit/credit card with Acorns and turn on Round-Ups® to invest your spare change.

Acorns is a long-term investment strategy that can help you make money over a longer period of time. Most people don't make significant money quickly on Acorns, but beginning an investment portfolio could leave you with more than what you started with if you use the service over an extended period.

Bottom line. For those who want to invest their money but don't know where to start, Acorns is an approachable platform for beginners. It has a simple interface and a micro-investing feature that goes to work every time you make a purchase. Plus, your investments will be safe in low-cost, diversified funds.

The Acorns website and the Acorns app are secured with 256-bit encryption. Acorns is a member of SIPC. Securities in your account are protected up to $500,000. For details, please see www.sipc.org.

Acorns' spare-change savings tool and cash-back rewards program make investing easy. But the management fee on small accounts is steep.

Along with your investment account, you get an easy, automated retirement account, banking that saves and invests for you, bonus investments when you shop with thousands of brands and unique ways to grow your knowledge. Acorns Invest, Later & Early accounts are SIPC-protected up to $500,000.

How to make money on Acorns

1. Get started while you're in school. “The best time to start investing was ten years ago.
2. Automate – add small and consistent amounts of money monthly.
3. Boost your round-ups.
4. Use Acorns Earn.
5. Download the Acorns extension.
6. Use Acorns Spend Smart Deposit.
7. Use credit cards with rewards points.

A fee of only $3, $5 or $9 a month might sound cheap, but it can be a high percentage of assets for investors with small balances. If you only contribute by rounding up your spare change, one of Acorns' signature features, your fee relative to your account balance will be fairly high.

Given time, the little amounts you're able to squirrel away in an investment account can have the opportunity to grow. (That's why Acorns lets you start investing with just $5.)

Robinhood is the best choice for DIY investors who prefer to approach investing hands-on. Acorns is the better bet for hands-off investors who want experts to manage their investments. By comparing Robinhood vs. Acorns, you're already taking strides to earning long-term income the right way.

Robinhood is the best choice for DIY investors who prefer to approach investing hands-on. Acorns is the better bet for hands-off investors who want experts to manage their investments. By comparing Robinhood vs. Acorns, you're already taking strides to earning long-term income the right way.

The quick answer is, it depends on your portfolio. If you sold a portion of your investment and made a profit, then you will have to pay either the short-term or long-term capital gains tax on this amount. If you made more than $10 in dividend income from your portfolio, then you will have to report that.