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How Much Money Do I Need to Start Investing?

Written by Greg, founder of FTMarketWatch — a former licensed commodities trader, self-directed investor since. Not a licensed financial advisor.

Short answer: You can start investing with a very small amount — sometimes as little as $1 to $100 — thanks to fractional shares and brokerages with no minimum account balance. For beginners, building the habit of investing consistently matters far more than the size of the first contribution.

Detailed Explanation

Many online brokerages now let you buy fractional shares, meaning you can own a small slice of an expensive stock or ETF without needing the full share price up front. Account minimums that used to be common (several thousand dollars) have largely disappeared at mainstream brokerages.

Before investing any amount, it's generally worth having a small emergency fund set aside first, and making sure the money you invest isn't money you'll need in the next year or two — investing works best with a longer time horizon.

Once you're ready, a common approach for beginners is to start with a small, regular contribution — weekly, biweekly, or monthly — rather than waiting to save up a large lump sum. This ties into dollar-cost averaging, which builds the habit and removes the pressure of picking a “perfect” time to invest.

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