Aspiration Financial Review 2024

Launched in 2015, Aspiration is a financial technology company offering cash management and investment accounts catering to the eco-conscious. It promises to not fund certain environmentally harmful industries and donates to environmental nonprofits. Aspiration isn’t a chartered, federally insured bank, but it partners with other banks to insure customers’ deposits.

Aspiration Spend & Save Account

Aspiration’s Spend & Save Account combines checking and savings features into a single cash management account. In alignment with Aspiration’s mission, Spend & Save boasts several environmentally friendly perks along with features common to regular checking and savings accounts. These include:

• Interest on up to $10,000 in savings
• Early direct deposit
• 55,000+ fee-free ATMs
• Up to 6% in cash-back rewards at select socially and environmentally conscious businesses
• FDIC insurance for up to $1.25 million
• Optional round-ups to fund tree planting
• Aspiration Impact Measurement (AIM) to show personalized sustainability score
• No mandatory monthly maintenance fees

Aspiration Spend & Save has no mandatory monthly fees. Instead, the account has a “Pay What Is Fair” (PWIF) model, which has no minimum. However, for a fee of $7.99 per month (or $5.99 per month, if you pay annually), you can enroll in Aspiration Plus and access its additional benefits and perks, which include:

• Higher APY on up to $10,000 in savings
• Carbon offsets for gasoline purchases
• One out-of-network ATM reimbursement per month
• 90-day Mastercard Purchase Assurance coverage for stolen or damaged purchases
• Up to 6% in cash-back rewards at select socially and environmentally conscious businesses

Savings interest rates for the Spend & Save account aren’t uniform across the board and depend on debit card spending, Aspiration Plus membership status and your balance.

With $500 worth of qualifying settled debit card transactions per month, you can earn either 3.00% or 1.00% APY on your savings balance up to $10,000. The higher rate is reserved for Aspiration Plus members. Without $500 worth of qualifying transactions, you’ll earn either 0.25% or 0% APY, depending on your Aspiration Plus status. Any balance over $10,000 will also earn either or 0% APY.

Aspiration Money Market Accounts

Aspiration doesn’t offer money market savings accounts. For the best money market accounts, you can generally count on full-service online banks and credit unions to offer high rates.

Aspiration CDs

Aspiration doesn’t carry certificates of deposit (CDs) in its limited product suite either. If you’re after the best CD rates, you’ll need to shop around with other institutions.

Common fees to expect with the Spend & Save account include:

• Monthly fees: Pay What Is Fair with no mandatory minimum or $7.99 per month for Aspiration Plus
• Third-party out-of-network ATM fees: Vary
• Foreign transaction fees: 1%
• Returned item fees: $4.50
• Stop payment fees: $1.19
• Wire fees: $10

Investment Accounts

Aspiration offers a sustainable investing product called the Aspiration Redwood Fund. This fund is available as a tax-advantaged individual retirement account (IRA) or a taxable investment account. Both have a $10 minimum initial deposit requirement.

Aspiration considers environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when selecting companies to invest in. The Redwood Fund includes companies that actively support ethnic diversity, gender diversity, social responsibility and climate change initiatives. UBS Asset Management—not Aspiration—manages the fund.

Both the IRA and brokerage account have a “Pay What Is Fair” fee model with a 0.95% maximum annual operating expense fee. The IRA has an additional annual custodial fee of $15 and the same contribution limits and access that other traditional IRAs are subject to.

Customers can access their accounts on the go with the well-rated Aspiration mobile app. The app receives 4.7 out of 5 stars in the App Store and 4.2 out of 5 stars on Google Play.

The Aspiration app lets you view account balances and transactions, deposit or transfer money, plant trees with round-ups, access your digital debit card, find climate-friendly retailers and otherwise manage your account. Customers seem to appreciate the Aspiration’s features and mission, but multiple recent reviews mention frustrations with the mobile app’s functionality.

Aspiration is an alternative way to bank for customers who want to support environmentally-friendly causes. The platform is unique, but it falls short in some areas.

Aspiration vs. Betterment

Betterment offers a Cash Reserve account with a higher yield of 4.25% APY and no monthly maintenance fees. It even tops Aspiration’s FDIC insurance with up to $2 million in coverage. Betterment has a wider range of investment options than Aspiration, including a variety of “Socially Responsible” portfolios.

Aspiration vs. One Finance

One Finance is another competitor with a comparable account. Technically, the One account is a checking account, but it allows you to separate your money into various spending and saving pockets. Customers can earn up to 4.35% APY on their savings and 5% cash back on purchases with qualifying brands. Unlike Aspiration, One users can deposit cash directly into their account. While the account features are similar between One and Aspiration, One doesn’t promote any environmentally conscious features and doesn’t offer investment products.

Aspiration vs. Capital One 360

Online banks like Capital One are another alternative to Aspiration. With a high-yield savings account paying 3.80% APY and a fee-free checking account with access to over 70,000 ATMs, Capital One may offer more convenience. But it doesn’t have any investment products or advertise any environmentally focused features.

To create this list, Forbes Advisor analyzed 185 institutions, including traditional banks, online banks and financial technology companies offering banking products. We obtained data for each institution using 23 data points within the categories of fees, product availability, customer experience, digital experience, average minimum opening deposit and balance requirements, in-person access and average APYs. Subcategories include customer support features and availability, such as live chat and 24/7 access, number of branches and ATMs, Google Play and App Store customer ratings and monthly fees.

The percentages allocated to each research category are outlined below:

• Fees: 20%
• Customer experience: 15%
• Product mix: 15%
• Digital experience: 10%
• Minimum deposit requirements: 10%
• Minimum balance requirements: 10%
• In-person access: 10%
• APYs: 10%

Using these weights, each institution was rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the worst score and five being the best. Banks offering a wider variety of products with fewer fees and better in-person and digital access scored the highest.

To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on How Forbes Advisor Reviews Banks.