StashAway is a DFSA-regulated (DIFC) robo-advisor charging an annual management fee of 0.2%โ0.8% depending on invested amount, on top of underlying ETF expense ratios, with no minimum deposit and automatic recurring investments from as little as $50/month. It has no dedicated Sharia-compliant portfolio option. Baraka is regulated in the UAE by the DFSA (baraka's own regulatory disclosure names only Baraka Financial Limited, a DIFC company regulated by the DFSA; it does not mention Saudi Arabia, and baraka does not appear in Saudi Exchange's member directory. We could not open the CMA register itself, so check it directly before assuming Saudi coverage), charges $0 commission on US stock and ETF trades with no ongoing management fee, and includes an AI-powered halal stock screener built into the app โ but it doesn't build or manage a portfolio for you. This article lays out both mechanisms plainly.
The fundamental difference: who does the work
This is the question that actually decides which platform fits, more than fees or interface: do you want someone else building and adjusting your portfolio, or do you want to pick your own holdings? StashAway's core product is its ERAA (Economic Regime-based Asset Allocation) model โ you choose a risk level, and StashAway allocates and periodically rebalances a diversified portfolio of ETFs across asset classes on your behalf, adjusting the underlying mix as macro conditions shift while holding your risk exposure roughly constant. You're not picking stocks; you're choosing a risk dial and letting the system manage the rest.
Baraka is the opposite model entirely. It gives you a trading account with $0 commission on US stocks and ETFs, and its standout feature is an AI-powered halal screener that filters the investable universe down to Sharia-compliant companies in real time. But nobody builds a diversified portfolio for you โ you select individual stocks or ETFs yourself, and the discipline of position sizing, diversification and rebalancing is entirely your own responsibility. It's the tool for someone who wants to invest, not be invested for.
What StashAway requires of you
Choose a risk level and, optionally, a monthly recurring amount. The ongoing allocation and rebalancing decisions are handled by the platform. Your main task is staying invested through the fee and through market swings, not building the portfolio.
What Baraka requires of you
Choose individual stocks or ETFs, decide how much to allocate to each, and manage your own diversification and rebalancing over time. The halal screener narrows your universe; it doesn't build your portfolio for you.
StashAway vs Baraka at a glance
| Feature |  StashAway |
 Baraka |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation | DFSA (DIFC, UAE) | DFSA (DIFC, UAE); Saudi coverage not confirmed |
| Model | Fully managed robo-advisor (ERAA allocation model) | Self-directed trading app with an AI halal screener |
| Management fee | 0.2%โ0.8% per year on invested amount, plus underlying ETF expense ratios | None โ $0 commission on US stock/ETF trades, no ongoing management fee |
| Minimum deposit | None; recurring investments from $50/month | None |
| Sharia-compliant option | No dedicated halal portfolio (Wahed Invest or Baraka better suit this need) | Built-in AI halal screener filters the stock universe in real time |
| Diversification | Built and maintained automatically across the chosen risk level | Entirely up to the individual investor to construct and maintain |
| Best suited to | Investors who want a diversified portfolio without building it themselves | Investors who want to pick individual stocks with Sharia screening, without paying an ongoing management fee |
Facts as of August 2026, drawn from EW+'s existing platform reviews. Fee tiers and product features change periodically โ confirm directly before opening an account.
"I've used both, for different reasons. My core long-term savings sit in a fully managed portfolio because I know myself well enough to know I won't rebalance on a schedule if left to my own devices, a small management fee buys me discipline I wouldn't otherwise apply. Separately, I hold a smaller self-directed account for individual stock positions I actually want to research and choose myself, precisely because I don't want a robo-advisor auto-adjusting exposure I've deliberately chosen. Neither approach is more sophisticated than the other; they solve different problems, and using both for different pots of money isn't inconsistent, it's just being honest about which parts of investing I want automated and which I want to do myself."
What the fee difference means over time
StashAway's management fee, 0.2% to 0.8% annually depending on the invested amount, compounds against your returns every year you stay invested. On a portfolio that grows to $50,000 over several years, an 0.6% fee works out to roughly $300 a year, a cost that has to be weighed against the value of not having to research, select and rebalance a diversified portfolio yourself. Baraka's $0 commission and no management fee structure means there's no equivalent ongoing charge, but that absence of a fee also means there's no service actively managing diversification or rebalancing on your behalf, the "cost" shows up as your own time and discipline instead of a percentage fee.
The Sharia-compliance angle specifically
For an investor whose non-negotiable requirement is Sharia-compliant investing, the comparison shifts. StashAway does not currently offer a dedicated halal portfolio, meaning an investor with this requirement would need to look elsewhere on this platform specifically, whereas Baraka's AI halal screener filters the tradeable universe to Sharia-compliant companies directly inside its self-directed app. For a fully managed halal alternative to StashAway's model, Wahed Invest, covered in our National Bonds vs Wahed Invest comparison, builds and manages Sharia-screened portfolios in the way StashAway does for conventional ones.
Where each tends to fit in practice
Investors who want to "set and forget" a diversified, professionally allocated portfolio, and are comfortable paying a small ongoing fee for that convenience, tend to gravitate to StashAway. Investors who enjoy researching and selecting individual companies, want a Sharia-compliant filter without paying for full portfolio management, and are comfortable with the discipline of building their own diversification, tend to use Baraka. Some investors run both simultaneously, a managed core via StashAway and a smaller, self-directed satellite via Baraka for specific stock positions.
Fee tiers, minimums and product features are confirmed most reliably directly on each platform, since both adjust terms periodically.
Common questions
No. Baraka is a self-directed trading app โ you choose individual stocks and ETFs yourself, with the help of its AI halal screener. Diversification and rebalancing are your own responsibility, unlike StashAway's fully managed model.
Not currently. StashAway does not have a dedicated halal portfolio option. Investors requiring Sharia compliance in a fully managed product typically look at Wahed Invest instead, or use Baraka's self-directed halal screener.
Baraka charges $0 commission on US stock and ETF trades and has no ongoing management fee. There is no cost equivalent to StashAway's management fee, but there's also no service actively managing your portfolio's diversification on your behalf.
Yes, there's no restriction on holding accounts with both. Some investors use StashAway for a managed core portfolio and Baraka for a smaller, self-directed satellite of individual stock positions.