Public

This is where Public genuinely stands out. Here's the full breakdown:

Stock & ETF Trading:

• $0 commissions on online stock and ETF trades
• No payment for order flow on equity trades — orders route directly to exchanges

Options Trading:

• $0 commissions and $0 per-contract fees on stock and ETF options
• Rebates of $0.06–$0.18 per contract based on monthly volume:
  • Tier 1 (up to 999 contracts): $0.06 rebate
  • Tier 2 (1,000–4,999 contracts): $0.10 rebate
  • Tier 3 (5,000–9,999 contracts): $0.14 rebate
  • Tier 4 (10,000+ contracts): $0.18 rebate
• Index options (SPX, NDX, VIX): $0.35–$0.50 per contract — still cheap compared to the $0.65 you'd pay at Fidelity or Schwab
• Adjusted rebates on popular ETFs like QQQ, SPY, and IWM: $0.06 for Tiers 1–3, $0.10 for Tier 4

Margin Rates:

• 4.90% base rate (up to $50K balance) — among the lowest in the industry
• 4.75% for $50K–$100K
• 4.50% for $100K–$1M
• 4.25% for $1M–$10M
• Rates go as low as 3.95% for $50M+ balances
• For comparison: Fidelity and Schwab charge around 11.83%, Vanguard charges 12.00%, and E*TRADE hits 12.25%. Robinhood is the closest competitor at 5.00%.

Bond & Treasury Accounts:

• Treasury Account management fees: 0.29% (tiered down to 0.09% for larger accounts)
• Treasury transaction markups: 0.10%–0.25% of par value depending on duration
• Bond Account: yields around 5.4% (before fees) from a diversified portfolio of 10 corporate bonds

Crypto:

• Transaction fee charged by Zero Hash LLC based on trade value — exact percentage not prominently listed, but it's a spread-based model
• Crypto in Investment Plans: 1.25% of the total crypto order amount (charged by Bakkt Crypto)

Direct Indexing:

• 0.19% annual management fee — cheaper than Fidelity (0.40%), Schwab (0.40%), and Vanguard (0.20%)
• $1,000 minimum vs. $100K+ at Vanguard and Schwab

Account Fees:

• No account maintenance fees
• No inactivity fees
• IRA match funds must stay for 5 years to avoid early removal fee

The Bottom Line on Fees: For stock and ETF trading, Public matches every major broker at $0. For options, it's genuinely cheaper than anyone — you're not just avoiding fees, you're earning money back. The margin rates are phenomenally low. The catches are the crypto fees (not the cheapest) and the Treasury Account management fees, which eat into your yield.

Public offers a surprisingly broad asset menu for a broker that many people still think of as "that social investing app":

• Stocks — thousands of US-listed equities, including fractional shares
• ETFs — full range of exchange-traded funds
• Options — stock, ETF, and index options (SPX, NDX, VIX, CBTX). Strategies range from basic long calls/puts to advanced multi-leg strategies like iron condors, butterflies, straddles, and credit spreads (approval required)
• Bonds — 40,000+ corporate, Treasury, and municipal bonds. Fractional bonds available from just $100 — a genuine differentiator since most platforms require $1,000–$50,000 minimums
• Treasuries — build custom Treasury ladders with maturities from 3 months to 30 years
• Crypto — 40+ cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and various memecoins. Trades 24/7. Crypto is handled through Zero Hash LLC, not Public's broker-dealer
• Direct Indexing — 100+ customizable indices with automated tax-loss harvesting, starting at $1,000

Account Types:

• Individual brokerage (taxable)
• Traditional IRA
• Roth IRA
• Rollover IRA (401(k) rollovers via Capitalize partnership)

Notably missing: no joint accounts, no SEP IRAs, no 529 plans, no custodial accounts listed on their site. If you need those, look elsewhere.

The IRA offering deserves special mention. Public offers a 1% uncapped match on IRA rollovers, transfers, and annual contributions. The match is treated as interest income, not a contribution, so it won't count against your IRS limits. The catch: matched funds must stay in the account for 5 years. They'll also cover up to $100 in transfer fees from your old brokerage if your account exceeds $5,000.

The Good:

• Options rebates are a genuine innovation. No other broker pays you back on options trades. For active traders doing 1,000+ contracts a month, this adds up fast. At Tier 4, you're earning $0.18 per contract instead of paying $0.65 at Fidelity.
• Margin rates are industry-leading. At 4.90% base, Public undercuts traditional brokers by more than half. Only Robinhood comes close at 5.00%.
• Bond access is democratized. Buying corporate bonds for $100 instead of $10,000+ is a big deal for retail investors building fixed-income positions.
• AI features are actually useful. Key Moments explains stock price movements, Earnings Hub provides AI-generated call recaps, and Alpha lets you ask natural language questions about stocks. These aren't gimmicks — they save real research time.
• The API for programmatic trading is a rare feature for a consumer-facing broker. You can automate strategies and still earn options rebates.
• Direct indexing at $1,000 minimum with a 0.19% fee makes tax-loss harvesting accessible to regular investors, not just the wealthy.

The Not-So-Good:

• No mutual funds. If you want Vanguard index funds (not ETFs), you can't buy them here.
• Crypto fees aren't transparent. The spread-based model through Zero Hash makes it hard to know exactly what you're paying. The 1.25% fee on crypto in Investment Plans is steep.
• Limited account types. No joint accounts, no SEP IRAs, no 529 plans. Families and small business owners will feel the gaps.
• Treasury Account fees eat into yields. A 0.29% management fee plus transaction markups of 0.10%–0.25% reduce the tax advantage of Treasuries. You might do better buying T-bills directly through TreasuryDirect.
• Relatively new to the space. Public doesn't have the decades of track record that Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard carry. Some investors care about that stability.
• Account tier system feels gamified. Premium features unlock at $50K, Concierge at $500K. Extended-hours trading and Investment Plans being free only for Premium members means smaller accounts get a slightly inferior experience.

Public is great for:

• Active options traders — The rebate program is unmatched. If you trade options regularly, you're literally leaving money on the table at any other broker.
• Yield seekers — Between the Bond Account (5.4%), Treasury Account, and High-Yield Cash Account (3.3% APY with up to $5M FDIC coverage), Public has become a surprisingly strong cash management platform.
• DIY investors who want research tools — The AI-powered analysis, earnings recaps, and key moments features are legitimately helpful for stock pickers.
• People rolling over old 401(k)s — The 1% uncapped match on rollovers is generous, and the Capitalize partnership makes the process painless.
• Direct indexing enthusiasts — 100+ indices at $1,000 minimum with 0.19% fees beats every major competitor on both price and accessibility.

Public is NOT great for:

• Families needing joint or custodial accounts — They don't offer them.
• Small business owners wanting SEP IRAs — Not available here.
• Mutual fund investors — Public is stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, and crypto only.
• Crypto-heavy traders — The fee structure through Zero Hash isn't competitive with dedicated crypto exchanges like Coinbase Pro or Kraken.
• People who want decades of institutional trust — If "founded in 2019" makes you nervous, stick with Fidelity or Schwab.
• Completely passive investors — If you just want a target-date fund and never think about it again, Vanguard or Fidelity is simpler.

Against the big players, Public carves out a distinct niche:

vs. Robinhood: Both offer $0 stock/ETF commissions and low margin rates. But Public's options rebates blow Robinhood away — Robinhood charges $0.05/contract while Public pays you $0.06–$0.18. Public also has bonds and Treasuries; Robinhood doesn't. Robinhood has a sleeker app for pure simplicity; Public has deeper research tools.

vs. Fidelity: Fidelity wins on breadth — mutual funds, 529 plans, HSAs, managed accounts, decades of trust. But Fidelity charges $0.65/contract for options vs. Public's negative cost. Fidelity's margin rate (11.83%) is more than double Public's. For active traders, Public saves serious money.

vs. Schwab: Similar story to Fidelity. Schwab offers more account types and research platforms (thinkorswim), but at $0.65/contract for options and 11.83% margin, it's far more expensive for active trading. Schwab's direct indexing requires $5,000 minimum at 0.40% fees vs. Public's $1,000 at 0.19%.

vs. Interactive Brokers: IBKR is the benchmark for professional traders — wider asset selection, global markets, and sophisticated tools. But IBKR's interface intimidates casual investors, and its margin rate (6.14% introductory) is higher than Public's 4.90%. For US-focused retail options traders, Public is simpler and cheaper.

Public won't replace a full-service broker for complex financial planning. But for the specific combination of cheap options trading, low margin rates, bond access, and AI research tools, nothing else quite matches it.