Strongest modern multi-asset broker for self-directed investors who want stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, Treasuries, crypto, IRAs, and 3.30% APY cash in one AI-native app. Unique options rebate, 6.07% Bond Account, and Agents — the first agentic-AI brokerage.
- Only options rebate in US
- Bond Account 6.07% yield
- Agents (agentic AI)
- 4.90% starter margin
- 3.30% cash APY
At a glance
- Founded
- 2019
- Customers
- 5M
- Minimum deposit
- $0
- Regulators
- SEC · FINRA · SIPC
- FDIC sweep
- Up to $5M
New York, NY
SIPC $500K + excess $100.0M
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Industry-low retail margin starter — 4.90% on debits under $50K; drops to 3.95% above $50M
- Only options rebate program in US retail — $0.06–$0.18 per stock/ETF contract back (50% of PFOF revenue)
- Bond Account: 6.07% yield-to-worst across 10 diversified corporate bonds, $1,000 minimum, monthly interest
- Agents (launched March 31, 2026) — first agentic-AI brokerage with prompt-driven automated trading workflows
- High-Yield Cash Account: 3.30% APY with no subscription, no minimum, $5M FDIC sweep across partner-bank network
- Uncapped 1% match on portfolio transfers/IRA rollovers (5-year hold); 1% match on annual IRA contributions
- Treasury Account: auto-rolling T-bill ladder yielding 3.72% (state/local tax exempt)
- 40+ crypto coins via Zero Hash; 300+ OTC stocks (limit orders, regular hours)
- Opt-in "Lit Exchanges Only" routing for users who want to bypass equity PFOF
- Options trading inside IRAs supported — rare among major brokers
Weaknesses
- No mutual funds, no futures, no forex, no international markets (ADRs only)
- No SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Solo 401(k), custodial UTMA/UGMA, trust, or business accounts
- Most research and advanced data paywalled behind Public Premium ($10/mo) unless balance ≥ $50K
- Options Hub UI lacks live bid/ask spreads and leg-level Greeks (vs. tastytrade/thinkorswim)
- No phone support — chat and email only
- Crypto spread: 1.25% on orders over $500 (high vs. Coinbase Advanced / Kraken)
- Bond Account credit risk: BBB/BBB– average rating, meaningful default risk vs. Treasuries
- No 24/5 overnight equity trading session
- $100 outgoing ACAT fee
- NerdWallet flagged: app lacks automatic logout / passcode
Best for
- Long-term investorsUncapped 1% portfolio transfer match (5-year hold), 4.90% starter margin, 6.07% Bond Account, and broad multi-asset reach in a single AI-native app. Pair with Fidelity for mutual funds.
- Cash management3.30% APY High-Yield Cash Account with no subscription required and $5M FDIC sweep across partner-bank network. Beats Robinhood Gold for free-tier users (Gold requires $5/mo subscription) and beats Fidelity's default FDIC sweep (~2.72%).
- Options tradingOnly retail broker that pays you per contract. $0.06–$0.18 rebate (50% of PFOF revenue), with Tier 4 capping at $0.10 on QQQ/SPY/IWM and API trades. Options inside IRAs are supported — rare.
- OTC & penny stocks300+ curated OTC stocks supported (limit orders only, regular hours, whole shares, no fractional). Narrower universe than Fidelity but accessible to a broad retail audience.
- Retirement & IRAs1% match on annual IRA contributions (capped at IRS limit, $75 on $7,500 in 2026); uncapped 1% on transfers/rollovers (5-year hold). No SEP/SIMPLE/Solo 401(k) — pair with Fidelity or Schwab for those.
- Algo / API accessPublic API supports multi-leg programmatic options strategies; API trades qualify for the rebate program. Combined with Agents and the Perplexity "Public Agent Skill" integration, Public is the most accessible programmatic-trading stack outside IBKR.
Sub-ratings
- Commissions & fees
- 4.7
- Platforms & tools
- 4.0
- Mobile app
- 4.7
- Research
- 3.5
- Education
- 4.0
- Customer service
- 3.0
- Range of investments
- 4.0
- Active trading
- 3.5
Pricing & fees
Full fee schedule| Category | Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stocks & ETFs | US stock / ETF commission | $0 | — |
| Options | Equity / ETF options | $0 base + $0 per contract + rebate | Tiered $0.06–$0.18 per contract rebated (50% of PFOF revenue); Tier 4 caps at $0.10 on QQQ/SPY/IWM and API trades |
| Options | Index options (SPX/NDX/VIX/XSP/CBTX) | $0.35–$0.50 per contract | Plus exchange fees |
| Crypto | Crypto trading | Tiered $0.49 – $6.49 + 1.25% spread over $500 | 40+ coins via Zero Hash |
| Bonds | Bond markup | ~50 bp | — |
| Bonds | Bond Account maintenance | $3.99/month | Waived for Premium members |
| Bonds | Treasury Account (tiered annual fee) | 0.29% / 0.24% / 0.19% / 0.14% / 0.09% | Across balance tiers up to $5M+ |
| Margin | Margin < $50K | 4.90% | Lowest retail starter rate in 2026 |
PFOF: Accepts payment for order flow on equities; accepts PFOF on options. Default order routing uses wholesalers (PFOF). Members may elect "Lit Exchanges Only" for a small per-share fee to bypass equity PFOF. The options rebate program returns 50% of PFOF revenue to the user.
Margin rates vs. peers
Effective interest rate by debit balance. Lower is better. Step-line — rate is constant within each tier.
Cash sweep
Default cash sweep
3.30%(Public High-Yield Cash Account)
No subscription, no minimum, unlimited withdrawals. $5M FDIC insurance via partner-bank sweep network. Variable; set by partner banks via Apex Clearing.
As of May 13, 2026
Asset coverage
- Yes
US stocks (NYSE/Nasdaq)
~9,000+ stocks plus ADRs
- Limited
OTC stocks
300+ curated names; limit orders only, regular hours, whole shares (no fractional)
- Yes
Fractional shares
From $1 via Investment Plans
- Yes
Equity / ETF options (single + multi-leg)
Four approval levels: Basic → Spreads. Covered calls, cash-secured puts, straddles, strangles, collars, debit/credit spreads, butterflies, condors
- Yes
Index options (SPX, NDX, VIX, XSP, CBTX)
$0.35–$0.50 per contract
- No
Mutual funds
- Yes
ETFs
- Yes
US Treasuries
Via Treasury Account; auto-rolling T-bill ladder
- Yes
Corporate bonds (Bond Account)
10 diversified corporate bonds, $1K minimum, 6.07% yield-to-worst (BBB/BBB– avg)
- No
Forex
- No
Futures
- Yes
Crypto (direct)
40+ coins via Zero Hash; tiered flat fees + 1.25% spread over $500
- Yes
Crypto IRA
Traditional and Roth; custody by Alto Trust Co.; 0.05%/month custodial fee on NAV (launched Q1 2026)
- Limited
International stocks
ADRs only; no direct international stock trading
- Yes
IPOs
- Yes
Alternative assets (Otis)
2.5% transaction fee, 2% management
- Yes
Direct Indexing Account
Tax-loss harvesting available; $1K minimum
- Yes
Pre-market trading
4:00 – 9:30 a.m. ET
- Yes
After-hours trading
4:00 – 8:00 p.m. ET
- No
24-hour overnight equity trading
No 8 PM – 4 AM session as of May 2026
Platforms & tools
Platform deep-dive- ~4.7★
Mobile
Public Mobile
- Polished iOS + Android — among the most-praised investing-app designs
- Multi-asset in a single app: stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, Treasuries, crypto, IRAs
- Investment Plans for recurring fractional buys
- +1 more — see platform deep-dive
Web
Public Web
- Browser-based platform mirroring mobile feature set
Web
Alpha (GPT-4 research assistant)
- Conversational research for fundamentals, peer comparison, earnings synthesis
- Launched 2023
- Launched March 31, 2026
Web
Agents (agentic AI)
- First agentic-AI brokerage — prompt-driven automated trading
- Examples: "Generate $5K/month in covered call premiums", "If SPY drops >1% in first 30 minutes, buy same-day calls and puts"
- Supports stocks, options, crypto, multi-leg strategies, conditional triggers
- +1 more — see platform deep-dive
API
Public API
- Multi-leg programmatic options strategies
- API trades qualify for the rebate program
- Perplexity Computer "Public Agent Skill" integration for fully agentic workflows
Web
Public Premium
- Advanced data, Morningstar research, 4-year archived earnings calls
- Fee-free extended hours and Investment Plans
- Bond Account maintenance fee waiver; VIP support; exclusive programming
- +1 more — see platform deep-dive
7-day free trial available
Key capabilities at a glance
- Commission
- $0
- Fractional shares
- Yes
- Extended hours
- Yes
- Overnight (24/5)
- No
- Options
- rebate model
- OTC access
- 0/5 full, 3/5 limited
- Short locate
- none
OTC market access by tier
OTC Markets organises non-exchange-listed securities into five tiers by disclosure quality. Public.com’s coverage:
- OTCQXLimited
- OTCQBLimited
- Pink CurrentLimited
- Pink LimitedNo
- Grey MarketNo
Awards & recognition
- 2026 World's First Agentic Brokerage — Public marketing
Recent changes
- product
Crypto IRA launched (Traditional + Roth); Alto Trust Co. custodian, 0.05%/mo NAV custodial fee
- product
Agents launched — first agentic-AI brokerage with prompt-driven automated trading
- product
Generated Assets launched — AI-built custom indices backtested against S&P 500 (0.49% mgmt fee)
- product
Series D-2 funding round of $135M (cumulative funding $421M)
- product
Traditional / Roth / Rollover IRAs launched with 1% contribution match and uncapped 1% transfer match
Frequently asked
- What is Public's options rebate program?
- Public is the only US retail broker that pays you for trading options. The tiered program rebates $0.06–$0.18 per stock/ETF contract — 50% of the PFOF revenue Public receives. Tier 4 caps at $0.10 on QQQ/SPY/IWM and API trades. No competitor offers a comparable program.
- What is Public's margin rate?
- Tiered: 4.90% under $50K, 4.75% on $50K–$100K, 4.50% on $100K–$1M, dropping to 3.95% above $50M (as of January 28, 2026). The 4.90% starter rate is the lowest in US retail brokerage.
- How does the Bond Account work?
- 10 corporate bonds diversified into a single $1,000-minimum portfolio with 6.07% yield-to-worst (annualized average across all 10). BBB/BBB– average credit rating, ~4.33-year average duration, monthly interest payments. Disclose the medium credit risk — not Treasuries. $3.99/mo maintenance fee waived for Premium.
- What are Agents?
- Launched March 31, 2026 — Public is marketed as "the world's first Agentic Brokerage." Agents are prompt-driven automated trading workflows. Example prompts: "Generate $5K/month in covered call premiums across my portfolio"; "If SPY drops more than 1% in the first 30 minutes, buy same-day calls and puts"; "Sweep cash over $20K from checking to my Bond Account." Supports stocks, options, crypto, multi-leg strategies, and conditional triggers, with full activity log and pause/edit controls.
- Does Public offer 24-hour trading?
- No. Pre-market (4:00–9:30 a.m. ET) and after-hours (4:00–8:00 p.m. ET) are supported but there is no overnight session (8 PM – 4 AM). Robinhood (~900 symbols), Schwab thinkorswim (1,100+), Firstrade (~1,200), and IBKR (10,000+) all offer overnight equity trading.
- Does Public have mutual funds?
- No. Public is multi-asset but mutual-fund-free: stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, Treasuries, crypto, ADRs, and alternative assets only. For mutual funds, pair Public with Fidelity (10,000+ NTF including zero-expense-ratio) or Schwab.
- Does Public charge PFOF?
- Default order routing uses wholesalers (PFOF). However, members may elect "Lit Exchanges Only" routing for a small per-share fee to bypass equity PFOF — a transparency option no other major retail broker offers. The options rebate program returns 50% of PFOF revenue to the user, effectively monetizing PFOF for the trader rather than for Public.
- Does Public have phone support?
- No — chat and email only. US-based, FINRA-licensed CX team; typical response times under 24 hours. Premium tier gets VIP/Concierge support. This is a real gap versus Fidelity, Schwab, and Merrill Edge.
