Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash

I’ll be honest, I can’t say I’m a fan of putting money into individual stocks (I prefer the diversification of ETFs and mutual funds for my investment portfolio), but when individual stocks are being handed to you for free, you snatch them up.

Full disclosure, all of the links to the apps below are my referral links. None of this is an endorsement of any of the below apps. It’s how to claim free stocks and that’s it.

I’ll also add the reminder that investing tends to work best when you’re in it for the long haul. If you want these free stocks (and investments in general) to grow as much as possible, you need to allow them time to simply sit in the market (aka let them sit in the apps awarding them) and keep sitting there whether the market is good or bad.

Webull

Webull gives eligible new customers two free fractional shares of stock each valued between $3 and $300 when they sign up for Webull (though the statistics in the fine print show the fractional shares as being between $3 and $10). “Eligible new customers” must be at least 18 years of age, reside in the United States, have a valid social security number, and be approved to open a Webull brokerage account between November 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022 — though looking at Webull, the app seems to thrive on promotions, so even if you’re reading this article after those dates, the likelihood that they’re providing some other sign up offer for free fractional shares seems high and I’d recommend still checking it out.

The app doesn’t require any deposit in order to receive the two free fractional shares of stock, but if you are willing to part with anything over $0.01, the app also currently guarantees at least four free additional fractional shares of stock if an initial deposit of any amount is made within ten days of opening an account (there’s potential to be awarded up to eight or even ten fractional shares of stock in this offer, but the statistical chances for those amounts are slim). This deal seems to be ending November 30, 2022 as well, but again, if you’re seeing this after that date, their latest promos should be shown by clicking any of the prior links.

Upon opening an account, I received $3.00 of GAP Inc. (GPS), and $4.00 of Procter & Gamble (PG).

After I deposited $1.00 (figured I’d go with a whole number), I received $7.00 of Apple (AAPL), $7.00 of Procter & Gamble (PG), $9.00 of Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC), and another $7.00 of Procter & Gamble (PG).

Robinhood

Robinhood gives eligible new customers the choice of one free fractional share of stock from a list of what they refer to as “20 of America’s leading companies” when they successfully sign up and link their bank account. While Robinhood advertises that the free fractional share of stock could be worth $5 to $200, they have fine print that says approximately 98% of participants will receive a share valued between $5 and $10.

I signed up for Robinhood a while back when they gave one entire share of stock for free upon sign up, but they did not allow you to choose the company it was for or guarantee it being a minimum of $5. I received one share (valued at $3.77) of Zynga (ZNGA).

moomoo

moomoo offers one free stock valued between $3 and $2,000 to eligible new customers when they sign up for the app, however, take note that their fine print says there is a 75% chance of getting a share of stock worth $3-$9.99, a 14.9% chance of getting a share of stock worth $10-$99.9, and a 0.1% chance of getting a share of stock worth $100 or more.

When I signed up, I received one share (valued at $3.14) of FuelCell Energy, Inc. (FCEL).

Currently, moomoo also offers a bonus of 5 free additional stocks if you deposit $100 or 15 additional stocks if you deposit $2,000, but considering the amount of money required for those additional rewards, they’re not stocks I would consider “free.”

Whether you’re new to investing or are a pro, receiving stock without having to put in capital is a win. While the free stocks I received through Robinhood and moomoo weren’t as much as those I received through Webull, they all have potential to grow (and shrink… and then grow and shrink and grow and so on, that’s just how investing works).

If you know of any other apps that give free stocks, feel free to share them in the comments.

You can also check out my Freebies page for my full list of free stock deals (some of which do require deposits).