How Much Money Do You Need to Start Investing in ETFs?
Last updated: March 2026
Quick Answer
You can start investing in ETFs with as little as $1 through brokers that offer fractional shares. There is no universal minimum — it depends on your broker and whether they support fractional share purchases.
The Complete Answer
Many beginners believe they need thousands of dollars to start investing. This is one of the biggest myths in personal finance. Thanks to fractional shares, offered by brokers like Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Robinhood, you can buy a portion of an ETF share for as little as $1.
If your broker doesn't offer fractional shares, you'll need enough to buy at least one full share. For popular ETFs like VOO (currently around $500/share) or SPY (around $500/share), that means roughly $500. But VTI, BND, and many other ETFs trade at lower prices.
The most important thing isn't how much you start with — it's that you start. Investing $50/month consistently will grow to over $45,000 in 20 years at an 8% average return. That's the power of compound interest working in your favor.
Here's a practical starting point: open a brokerage account with $0 minimum (Fidelity or Schwab), set up automatic monthly investments of whatever you can comfortably afford ($25, $50, $100), and buy a single broad market ETF like VTI or VOO. You can always increase the amount later.
Recommended: This beginner-friendly ETF course on Udemy covers everything from ETF fundamentals to building a recession-proof portfolio in 7 days.