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Vanguard vs Public
Vanguard or Public.com—which is better in 2025? Compare investing accounts, online trading fees, stock broker extended hours, and differences.
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Points to Know
• Schwab, Vanguard, and Public.com each provide brokerage accounts.
• Vanguard and Schwab, but not Public, also have advisory services for investments.
• Schwab has the strongest set of trading tools.
Public.com vs. Vanguard and Schwab Introduction
Schwab, Vanguard, and Public use very different approaches to investment services. Here’s a quick comparison:
Public and Vanguard Cost
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Options
Commission |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Public
|
$0
|
na
|
$0.50 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Vanguard
|
$0
|
$20
|
$1.00 per contract
|
$20*
|
$20*
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Public and Vanguard Services
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Public:
Get $20 of an asset of your choice when you deposit $1,000 at Public.
Vanguard: none.
Available Assets
Vanguard customers can trade:
- Equities
- Options
- Funds (closed-end, exchange-traded, and mutual)
- Fixed income
Schwab adds OTC and foreign stocks, futures, and forex. Public.com doesn’t offer foreign stocks, forex, or futures. It only has a few OTC securities, and it removes bonds and mutual funds. However, it does have cryptocurrencies and alternative investments.
Both Schwab and Vanguard let you open managed accounts. In these, investments are chosen by their advisors (digital or human). Fees and minimums vary based on the plan you pick.
Winner: Schwab
Margin
Self-directed accounts at each company can have margin turned on. But Public.com doesn’t let you borrow with margin (it just covers unsettled cash).
Schwab uses a tiered interest rate starting around 10.875% for smaller debit amounts and falling to 12.575%. Vanguard’s rate ranges from 12.75% down to 9%. Only Schwab’s software shows maintenance requirements for each ticker symbol.
Winner: Schwab
Websites
All three brokerage firms have websites with charts and order tickets. Public’s ticket has 3 order types: market, limit, and stop.
Vanguard goes further with stop limit. It also has separate sell short and buy to cover options that Public’s ticket does not.
Schwab has more advanced choices, such as OCO (one cancels the other) and contingent orders. Schwab also provides a browser-based platform. You can launch it under the Trade tab, and it offers both simulated and live trading with two different order forms and full-screen charts.
Winner: Schwab
Mobile Apps
Schwab has two mobile apps. Together, they include a lot of valuable tools, such as mobile check deposit, separate order tickets for options and mutual funds, and news and educational resources.
Public has just one app. While it lacks some of Schwab’s features (like check deposit), it does have a bulletin board where users can post comments on securities and interact socially.
Vanguard’s app doesn’t include a community forum, and it’s very basic. Charts only have one style (line) and no horizontal view. It doesn’t allow option trades or non-Vanguard mutual funds.
Winner: Schwab
Desktop Programs
Because Public.com and Vanguard don’t focus on active trading, they don’t have desktop programs. Schwab supports both short-term and long-term traders. For active trading, there’s the thinkorswim platform. It has many pro features, such as Level II quotes and pairs trading, plus free CNBC streaming.
Winner: Schwab
Extra Services
IRA Lineups: Both Vanguard and Schwab have IRAs, though Vanguard charges fees on some business IRA plans.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: All three let you lend out your shares for extra income.
Fractional Shares: Vanguard allows dollar-based trades in its own ETFs. At Public, most stocks and ETFs (and cryptos) can be bought this way. Schwab allows fractional trading in the 500 stocks of the S&P Index.
Dividend Reinvestment Plans: All three offer DRIPs.
Extended Hours: Vanguard has after-hours trading, while Schwab and Public have both pre-market and after-hours. Public has 24/7 crypto trading, and Schwab has overnight trading in some ETFs.
Systematic Mutual Fund Purchases: Schwab lets you set up automatic investing in mutual funds, while Vanguard only allows these recurring investments in its own mutual funds.
IPO Access: Only Schwab has it.
Winner: Schwab
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Public:
Get $20 of an asset of your choice when you deposit $1,000 at Public.
Vanguard: none.
Recommendations
Mutual Fund Trading: Vanguard has more products, but Schwab provides better fund research tools. Your choice.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Schwab is best.
Small Accounts: Choose Vanguard for advisory services. Any of the three for a basic self-directed account (except for Vanguard’s business IRAs).
Stock and ETF Trading: Schwab.
Beginners: A managed account at Vanguard or Schwab (one with a human advisor) is ideal.
Verdict
Vanguard and Public have a lot of catching up to do if they want to match Schwab.
Open Charles Schwab Account
Visit Schwab Website
Open Public Account
Visit Public Website
Updated on 6/3/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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