M1 Finance makes money through a variety of channels, including:
Interest on margin loans: M1 collects interest on loans made to investors through M1 Borrow.
Payment for order flow: M1 earns revenue by routing trades to market makers for execution.
M1 Plus membership fees: M1 charges an annual fee for its premium membership option, which provides additional features and benefits.
Cash balances: M1 earns interest on the cash balances held in M1 accounts.
M1 Spend debit card interchange fees: M1 gets revenue from interchange fees when users make purchases with their M1 Spend debit card.
Overall, M1 Finance has a variety of revenue streams that let it offer its services for free to most users. These revenue streams also enable the company to continue to invest in its platform and provide valuable features and benefits to its users.