Public.com Review: The Broker That Pays You Back
Key Takeaways
- Public.com pays options traders $0.06-$0.18 per contract in rebates — the only broker offering this.
- The 5.65% base margin rate significantly undercuts Schwab (12.325%) and Fidelity (11.325%).
- Bond account yields 5.8% and cash account offers 3.3% APY with up to $5M FDIC coverage.
- 1% uncapped transfer match applies to brokerage, IRA, and 401k rollovers.
- No dedicated pricing page and limited mutual fund support are notable gaps.
Public.com has been quietly building something unusual. While every other broker races to the bottom on commissions — spoiler, they all hit $0 years ago — Public went a step further. They actually *pay you* to trade options. Not a sign-up gimmick. Not a limited-time promo. A structural rebate baked into every options contract you execute.
That alone would be worth a look. But Public has also stacked the deck with a 5.8% bond account yield, a 1% uncapped match on transfers (brokerage, IRA, or 401k), and an AI assistant powered by GPT-4 that does more than just parrot definitions. As of March 2026, they're positioning themselves as the anti-Robinhood: same mobile-first energy, but with actual substance behind it.
The question isn't whether Public is interesting. It's whether the substance matches the ambition.
The Options Rebate Play
This is Public's headline differentiator, and it deserves scrutiny. Every stock and ETF options contract you trade earns a rebate of $0.06 to $0.18, scaling with volume. They're the only investing platform doing this.
How does it work? Public routes orders through exchanges that pay rebates for liquidity, and they pass a chunk of that back to you. Most brokers pocket that revenue entirely (it's a major reason why "$0 commissions" isn't actually $0 for the broker). Public's argument: you should share in the economics.
For context:
- At $0.18/contract, a 10-lot trade nets you $1.80 back
- A moderately active options trader doing 50 contracts/month might see $5-9/month in rebates
- Compare this to Schwab ($0.65/contract cost) or Fidelity ($0.65/contract) — Public is effectively $0.83 cheaper per contract at the top tier
It's not life-changing money for small accounts. But for active options traders, it compounds. And psychologically, getting paid to trade instead of paying to trade shifts the whole relationship.
Yield, Cash, and the Bond Account
Public has turned its cash and fixed-income offerings into a genuine draw:
- Bond Account: 5.8% yield, invested in a diversified portfolio of bonds and Treasuries
- High-Yield Cash Account: 3.3% APY, FDIC-insured up to $5 million through partner banks
- Treasury Bills: Buy directly, with various maturities
The 5.8% bond yield is competitive — it beats most high-yield savings accounts and sits above the 10-year Treasury yield. The $5M FDIC coverage on the cash account is genuinely impressive, achieved through a sweep network across multiple banks.
For the "where do I park money I'm not actively investing?" crowd, Public now has a real answer. The combination of bond yield and cash APY means your idle dollars aren't actually idle.
One caveat: the bond account yield isn't guaranteed and will fluctuate with interest rates. If the Fed cuts aggressively, that 5.8% comes down.
What Public Gets Right
Beyond the headline features, Public has assembled a surprisingly deep product lineup:
Asset breadth: Stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, bonds, Treasuries, and IRAs with a 1% match. The IRA match is uncapped — transfer a $500K 401k and they'll add $5,000. That's real money.
Direct Indexing: Over 100 customisable indices with a $1,000 minimum. This was a feature reserved for $100K+ accounts at legacy brokers just two years ago. Tax-loss harvesting at the individual stock level is the whole pitch, and Public's made it accessible.
AI tools: Their GPT-4-powered "Alpha" assistant can answer questions about your portfolio, explain earnings reports, and surface relevant market moves. It's more than a chatbot — it integrates with your actual holdings. The "Key Moments" feature highlights material events for stocks you own.
Account tiers: Core ($1+ to open), Premium ($50K+), and Concierge ($500K+). The tiering is sensible — more assets, more perks — without locking basic features behind a paywall.
Margin rates: Base rate of 5.65%, which Public claims is the lowest among leading brokerages. For comparison, Schwab charges 12.325% and Fidelity charges 11.325% at their base tiers. That's a massive gap.
Instant buying power: Up to $250,000 in instant deposits. For large transfers, that's a meaningful convenience.
Where Public Falls Short
No broker is perfect, and Public has real gaps:
No dedicated pricing page. This is bizarre for a broker in 2026. Fees are scattered across product pages, FAQs, and support articles. If you're hiding your pricing, what are you hiding? In Public's case, the answer is probably "nothing nefarious" — their fees are genuinely low — but the opacity breeds suspicion.
Newer platform, shorter track record. Public launched in 2019 and has pivoted its identity multiple times (social investing, crypto, now full-service broker). That's not inherently bad — iteration is good — but it means you're trusting a platform with less battle-testing than Fidelity or Schwab.
Generated Assets (beta). Public is experimenting with AI-generated investment products, which is... ambitious. This is bleeding-edge stuff that most conservative investors will want to watch from the sidelines before touching.
No mutual funds. If you want Vanguard index funds (the actual mutual funds, not ETF equivalents), you'll need to look elsewhere. This matters most for 401k rollovers where you're moving mutual fund positions.
Customer service depth. The Concierge tier gets dedicated support, but Core and Premium users rely on standard channels. At Fidelity or Schwab, you can walk into a branch.
Public's Strategic Bet
Here's the thesis: Public is betting that the next generation of serious investors doesn't want a legacy broker with 40 years of accumulated complexity. They want a clean interface, transparent economics (hence the rebates), and modern tools (AI, API access, direct indexing) — all without sacrificing product depth.
Is it working? The evidence is mixed but tilting positive. The options rebate is genuinely unique. The margin rates undercut everyone. The bond account and IRA match are strong customer acquisition tools. And the AI integration is ahead of what Schwab or Fidelity offer natively.
But Public still has to prove it can hold onto customers as their accounts grow. The $500K+ Concierge tier is the test — can Public deliver the white-glove experience that high-net-worth investors expect? The 1% transfer match is a clever hook, but retention requires more than a one-time bonus.
The Individual API for programmatic trading is a quiet signal. Public wants the developer-investor crowd that Interactive Brokers has owned for decades. If they can pull that off while keeping the consumer experience clean, they've got something.
For now, Public is the best option for: options traders who want to be paid instead of charged, yield-seekers who want competitive bond and cash rates, and tech-forward investors who value AI tools and API access over branch offices and legacy platforms.
Conclusion
Public.com in March 2026 is a broker that has outgrown its origins as a social-investing app for beginners. The options rebates, 5.65% margin rates, and 5.8% bond yield are all best-in-class or close to it. The 1% uncapped transfer match is one of the most aggressive acquisition offers in the industry.
The gaps are real — no pricing page, no mutual funds, and a shorter track record than the legacy players. But for investors who prioritise low costs, modern tools, and transparent economics over branch access and brand heritage, Public has built a compelling case.
Would I use it? For an options-heavy taxable account, absolutely. For a primary retirement account, I'd still want to see another year or two of execution before moving six figures. Public has earned a serious look — but not yet blind trust.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
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Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Consult qualified professionals before making investment decisions.