- Empower has the highest rate of negative keyword matches per 100 reviews, at 14.40.
- Ally Invest and Interactive Brokers rank second and third, respectively.
- Wealthfront and Stash both have the lowest rate of keyword matches per 100 reviews, at 0.60.
A new study has revealed the least reliable investment apps, with Empower taking the top spot.
Online trading platform Investingoal.com analyzed review data from the Apple App Store for 30 popular investment apps to uncover which are the most and least reliable. For each app, they measured the proportion of reviews which contained a reference to the app being ‘slow,’ ‘glitchy,’ or ‘not working.’ The investment apps with the most keyword matches per 100 reviews determined the ranking.
Empower ranks as the least reliable investing app, with 14.40 keyword matches per 100 reviews. From a sample of 500 reviews, the app received 72 negative comments related to poor user experience, with user feedback including terms such as “glitchy,” “buggy,” “painfully slow,” and “horrible for iOS.”
Ally Invest ranks second, with 8.80 keyword matches per 100 reviews. The platform received 44 negative reviews from a sample of 500, with feedback featuring phrases such as “terrible user experience,” “glitchy app,” “laggy,” “touch-ID bug,” and “frustrating.”
Ranking third is Interactive Brokers, with 8.76 keyword matches per 100 reviews. Interactive Brokers received 56 negative reviews from a sample of 639, with comments including “glitchy,” “crash,” “terrible UI,” “bugs,” and “clunky.”
Merrill Edge ranks fourth, with 7.00 keyword matches per 100 reviews. Out of 500 reviews, the app experienced 35 negative comments related to glitching, with user feedback including terms such as “too slow,” “glitchy,” and “not user-friendly.”
In fifth place are Ellevest and Charles Schwab, both with 5.85 keyword matches per 100 reviews. Ellevest received 12 negative reviews from a sample of 205, with feedback featuring phrases such as “does not work,” “app is full of glitches” and “scam.” Charles Schwab received 32 negative reviews from 547, with feedback including “clunky,” “very slow” and “lag.”
Tastyworks comes in sixth, with 5.31 keyword matches per 100 reviews. Tastyworks received 28 negative reviews from a sample of 527, with comments including “so many glitches,” “so many bugs,” “keeps crashing,” and “very slow.”
Seventh on the list is E*TRADE, with 4.91 keyword matches per 100 reviews. Out of 550 reviews, the app experienced 27 negative comments related to poor user experience, with terms such as “glitchy,” “really slow,” “broken,” and “not working” being among the feedback.
In eighth place is TD Ameritrade, with 4.84 keyword matches per 100 reviews. TD Ameritrade recorded 25 negative reviews from a sample of 517, with feedback featuring phrases such as “glitchy,” “extremely buggy,” “terrible software,” and “constantly crashes.”
Fidelity ranks ninth, with 4.60 keyword matches per 100 reviews. Fidelity received 23 negative reviews from a sample of 500, with comments including “always glitching,” “sluggish” and “too slow.”
Webull takes the tenth spot, with 3.60 keyword matches per 100 reviews. Out of 500 reviews, the app experienced 18 negative comments related to glitching, with user feedback including terms such as “too slow,” “terrible UI,” “not working,” and “occasionally glitchy.”
Wealthfront and Stash both had the lowest rate of keywords matched per 100 reviews, at 0.60. Both investment apps received just three negative reviews each from a sample of 500, with feedback featuring phrases such as “great app” and “impressive.”
Negative keyword matches per 100 reviews – Top 10 investment app ranking
| Rank | Investment app | Total number of reviews | Reviews with negative keyword matches | Negative keyword matches per 100 reviews |
| 1. | Empower | 500 | 72 | 14.40 |
| 2. | Ally Invest | 500 | 44 | 8.80 |
| 3. | Interactive Brokers | 639 | 56 | 8.76 |
| 4. | Merrill Edge | 500 | 35 | 7.00 |
| 5. (=) | Ellevest | 205 | 12 | 5.85 |
| 5. (=) | Charles Schwab | 547 | 32 | 5.85 |
| 6. | Tastyworks | 527 | 28 | 5.31 |
| 7. | E*TRADE | 550 | 27 | 4.91 |
| 8. | TD Ameritrade | 517 | 25 | 4.84 |
| 9. | Fidelity | 500 | 23 | 4.60 |
| 10. | Webull | 500 | 18 | 3.60 |
A spokesperson from Investingoal.com commented on the findings:
“It can be frustrating when any app doesn’t work as you might expect, and financial platforms are certainly no exception. In an environment where trust and seamless access to financial markets are critical, these recurring issues can significantly hinder user experience and confidence.”
