Microsavings apps give you a way to put small amounts of money aside. You can make headway towards your savings goals with apps that collect the digital equivalent of your spare change, often by rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar. These tiny amounts can add up to significant savings. Consider the fact that every day, the average American spends [1]:

$11.95 on groceries
$9.22 eating out
$1.53 on alcohol
$8.78 on entertainment
$5.02 on clothing

If each of these was rounded up to the nearest dollar, it would add up to $2.50 a day. That turns into $912.50 at the end of the year — and really, you’ll never notice it was missing along the way because it’s a nickel here or 60 cents there

To reframe that: You could probably cover all of your holiday shopping (and then some) at the end of every year just through microsaving — and microsaving that’s happening automatically, without you having to do any work or even remember it’s going on.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about microsaving, how an emerging segment of finance technology can help, and some of the top microsavings apps that will make saving $1,000 this year as painless and un-noticeable as possible.

What is Microsaving?

Microsavings is an area of personal finance where a person grows their savings by putting aside an essentially negligible amount of money on a daily or regular basis. Microsavings is usually often via an app that rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar and puts that money away in a savings account.

These round-up apps and microsaving accounts have a lot of benefits over traditional savings accounts:

They are more convenient since you can simply load them up on your phone.
They allow people with limited means to put away small amounts at a time.
They don’t require filling out an intimidating amount of paperwork to open an account.
They handle savings automatically to take the whole mental load off your plate.

Putting money into savings takes mental willpower. Putting small, seemingly insignificant amounts away regularly can take more willpower each time than most people have. Instead, round up apps automatically put the money away, which takes willpower out of the equation and makes it painless.

However, not every app is suitable for everyone. Here are some things to consider when choosing the right app for you:

Fees. Some apps are free, while others have monthly fees or charges for having less than their minimum balance. Those with fees can have extra offerings that can help you, so figure out what they provide for a price and decide what is best for you.
Investment options. Many just want a savings account, but if you're going to invest, check to see where the money goes. Is it automated, or do you make the investments?
Interest rates. As time goes on, your money will be worth less because of inflation. Interest rates can help offset this a bit and earn you more every year it sits there.
Access to funds. If the app ends up taking more than you want or you have an emergency, how fast can you get your money? Some apps allow you to access your money via a transfer in a day or two, while others require more work.

In the next section we’ll examine eight top microsavings apps and cover those factors so you can choose the right app for you.

Top 8 Microsaving Apps to Save $1,000 This Year

If you want to make your money start working for you and take advantage of microsavings, here are the top ten apps to find the one that works best for your goals and situation.

Acorns - best microsavings app for investing with the whole family

Fees: $3 a month for a personal account, $5 a month for family
Investing options: Yes
Savings account interest: n/a
Access to funds: 3-6 business days from investment account, immediate from debit card

One of the initial round up apps, Acorn collects your spare change and helps you invest in a custom portfolio based on your overall goals and income. If you purchase from one of Acorn’s partners using a debit card linked to your Acorn account, the partner will give back to your Acorn investment account.

Plus, for their monthly fee, you can get more from your investments. The $3 standard monthly fee includes more than just the microsavings investments, it also includes features like a retirement and checking account. The $5 monthly fee lets you have children on your account so that you can set up your kids for a lifetime of financial success.

Acorn also has a checking account and debit card if you aren’t interested in investing and just want to collect your microsavings. Keep in mind, though, you won’t get any interest on the money in that account.

Current - best for getting an early paycheck

Fees: Free for basic, $4.99 for Premium, $36/year for Teen Account
Investment options: None
Savings account interest: 4% APY
Access to funds: Immediate

When you’re trying to save money, every paycheck matters. Current promises direct deposits in your account up to two days faster than you would get at a traditional bank with their Premium Account.

Current also offers savings pods, which allow you to put your round-up savings towards different savings goals like a vacation or a college account. Put a picture on each pod to give yourself the inspiration to reach your goals. If you find that you have some extra money left over, you can directly deposit it into your pods. And the money in those pods earns interest at a very solid 4% annual percentage yield.

Greenlight - best for kids and teens

Fees: $4.99-$9.98 a month for up to five kids
Investment options: Yes
Savings account interest: 1-2%
Access to funds: Immediate with debit card

When your kids are adults, will they ever use cash? We’re already close to being a completely cashless world, after all. Greenlight is a great app for your teen to learn more about personal finance — and develop the digital financial literacy skills that will serve them well in the future.

They can use their Greenlight debit card (one of the best debit cards for kids, by the way) for purchases, and with the round up feature, they can put money away towards their savings. Greenlight incentivizes them to do so with up to 2% interest on savings.

Kids also have the option to start investing in Greenlight Max. Teens can choose their favorite EFTs or companies to invest in with parent approval. With Greenlight Max, there are no trading fees, so all of your teen’s money can go into investing.

Qoins - best for paying off debt

Fees: Two plans for $2.99 or $4.99 a month; $1.99 for each monthly payment sent out
Investment options: None
Savings account interest: n/a
Access to funds: Immediate with debit card

Qoins is perfect for the person that wants to start putting money aside and pay off debt but does not want to spend all of their time with money management. Qoins offers a number of options to put money aside so you can find the way that works best for you.

Your options for saving include choosing to round up, set aside anywhere from 50 cents $5 every few days, or take a predetermined amount out of your paychecks. Then once a month, Qoins will use the money you have saved up to pay down your debt. The company mostly concentrates on student and credit card debt, but you can use it for any loan.

If you’re more focused on savings than paying off debt (or doing both at the same time), Qoins also has savings options.

Empower - best for figuring out how much you can save

Fees: $8/month
Investment options: None
Checking account interest: 0.01%
Access to funds: Immediate with debit card

It can be tricky to figure out how much money you can afford to save out of every paycheck. Empower can help. This app analyzes your daily account balance and spending patterns to determine how much you can afford to save. Then, when there’s a good cushion in your account, the AutoSave feature can automatically withdraw that money and bring it into your Empower account.

Empower has lots of other features too, including cash advances of up to $250, direct deposit payments up to two days faster, 10% cashback on your spending, and even 0.01% APY interest on the money in your account (even though it’s more likely a checking/debit account than a savings account).

Chime - best for using your microsavings to build credit

Fees: Free
Investment options: None
Savings account interest: 0.5%
Access to funds: Immediate

Chime is all about making savings effortless and straightforward. In addition to its round-up saving feature, Chime automatically lets you put 10% of every paycheck directly into a savings account on payday. That Chime savings account has a solid 0.50% APY, so you can make sure that your money is growing as fast as possible while you save it.

Chime is also an attractive option if you’re looking to build credit. You can move the money you’ve (micro)saved into a Credit Builder account, then use it to pay off Chime’s Visa. They’ll report your on-time payments to the major credit card bureaus which can help you establish, repair, or grow your credit score.

Digit - best for automated money management

Fees: $5-$10/month
Investment options: Yes
Savings account interest: 0.1%
Access to funds: Immediate transfers (with 99-cent fee), 1-2 business days for most banks without fee

Digit claims that their average user saves about $2,200, which would help you meet the goal of saving $1,000 a year even if you’re way below the average.

Digit offers a standard microsavings round up feature, as well as savings suggestions based on your average monthly spending and income. The app really shines with its ongoing money management — every day it will calculate how much you can spend, how much you need to save for bills, and smart long-term savings and investment amounts.

MoneyLion - best for turning microsavings into crypto

Fees: $1/month
Investment options: Yes
Savings account interest: 1%
Access to funds: Immediate from debit account, 7-10 days from investment account

Ready to have your microsavings go to the moon, baby? MoneyLion offers crypto round-ups — they’ll take the spare change on every purchase you make and automatically use it to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum. That might not be the best strategy if you want to use your microsavings toward a specific financial goal or to pay off debt, but it’s a great way to start building (or grow) your crypto portfolio effortlessly.

Beyond the crypto services, MoneyLion also offers plenty of other services including mobile banking, cash advances, auto (non-crypto) investing, credit building, and debit card rewards. And with a fee of just $1-per-month and no minimum balance, this is a very affordable option as you jump into the world of microsavings apps.

Microsavings Apps Conclusion and Takeaways

Saving money is difficult for most people. However, technology makes it easier and more accessible than ever. With apps that can help you save pennies on every purchase, it won’t be painful or scary (or even any work on your end). Instead, you can take your financial well-being into your own hands and start to get rid of your money-related stress.

When you’re evaluating microsavings apps, there are four key factors to take into account.

Fees. Make sure you’re comfortable with the fees. After all, you don’t want a huge chunk of your savings going toward a fee.
Investment options. What happens to your small investments? Will you spend them with a debit card? Put them toward a savings goal? Or invest them for long-term returns?
Interest rates. What kind of interest will you get on your money from the app?
Access to funds. When you want to take money out of your new savings stash, can you get it immediately or is there a waiting period?

And the eight microsavings apps we recommend are:

Acorns. One of the original round-up apps, Acorns has lots of features and a well-earned reputation for safety and flexibility.
Current. Get early paychecks and/or divide your savings toward different goals.
Greenlight. Help your child or teenager learn money management. They’ll learn about savings through purchase round-ups as well.
Qoins. Pay off debt efficiently with your microsavings using Qoins.
Empower. Mix your microsavings with auto-saving based on your budget, income, and spending habits.
Chime. Use your microsavings to build or fix your credit by putting the savings into Chime’s Credit Builder account.
Digit. Automate your money management, from microsaving to investing, using Digit.
MoneyLion. Turn your microsavings into cryptocurrency automatically with MoneyLion’s crypto program.

External references

Are You Spending More Than the Average American on 25 Everyday Items? (gobankingrates.com)

Written by Sam Greenspan

Sam is the Director of Content Marketing & SEO for Knoji as well as the family of Demand.io products (including SimplyCodes, Dealspotr, and Favely). A veteran of the eCommerce world, Sam specializes in industry trends, tech, and developments.