Points to Know
• Schwab, Vanguard, and Public.com offer brokerage accounts.
• Schwab, Vanguard, and Public also have investment-advisory services.
• The best trading tools will be found at Schwab.
Public.com vs. Vanguard and Schwab Introduction
Schwab, Vanguard, and Public are very different brokerage firms with different approaches to investment
management. Consider the following comparison:
Public, Vanguard, and Schwab 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 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Vanguard
|
$0
|
$20
|
$1.00 per contract
|
$25*
|
$25*
|
Public, Vanguard, and Schwab Services
Promotions
Charles Schwab:
$0 commissions + ACAT fee rebates + a satisfaction guarantee with Charles Schwab.
Public: Earn $0.06–$0.18 options trading rebate per stock or ETF contract at Public.
Vanguard: Currently, no promotions.
Available Assets
Vanguard customers can trade:
- Equities
- Options
- Funds, including closed-end, exchange-traded, and mutual funds
- Fixed income
To this list, Schwab adds OTC and foreign stocks, futures, and forex. Public.com doesn’t have foreign stocks, forex, futures contracts, or mutual funds. It does offer some OTC-listed securities, bonds, Treasuries, cryptocurrencies, high-yield cash, direct indexing, Generated Assets, and other specialized products.
Managed accounts can be opened at Schwab and Vanguard. These accounts are invested in a variety of securities chosen by either firm’s investment advisor representatives, who may be digital or human. Fees and minimums vary by the package selected. Public also offers advisory services through Public Advisors for certain products, including direct indexing and Generated Assets.
Winner: Schwab
Margin
Self-directed accounts at all three firms can enable margin. Public.com does permit borrowing with
margin in eligible accounts.
Schwab customers pay margin interest on a tiered schedule that starts at 12.075% for smaller debit balances and uses lower rates for larger balances. Vanguard’s
stepped schedule ranges from 12.25% to 8.5%. Public’s margin schedule starts at 4.9% and uses lower rates for larger margin balances. Schwab’s trading platforms provide stronger margin and trading tools than the other two firms.
Winner: Schwab
Websites
To place a trade with or without margin, all three brokerage firms in this contest offer websites with
charts and order tickets. Public’s trade form has 3 trade types: market, limit, and stop.
Vanguard goes a step further by adding stop limit to the list. Vanguard’s ticket also has more trade choices than Public’s basic ticket.
At Schwab, we found many more trade choices. These additional options include OCO (order cancels the other) and contingent. And Schwab has something that neither of the other two has: a browser platform. Launched from the Trade tab in the top menu, it delivers simulated and live trading with two order tickets and full-screen charting.
Winner: Schwab
Mobile Apps
Because one app just isn’t enough for some customers, Schwab has developed two apps. Combined, they do have a lot of great features. Highlights include mobile check deposit, discrete trade tickets for options and mutual funds, and lots of resources for news and education.
Public has just one app, and it does lose some of Schwab’s mobile resources, such as check deposit. But it gains one important feature: a digital bulletin board. This resource allows Public customers to comment on assets and connect with one another; it’s a form of social networking.
The Vanguard app doesn’t have a community forum, and it is overall very simple. Charts, for example, have only one plot style (line), and there’s no horizontal mode. The app does support basic investing and account-management functions, but advanced trading tools are limited compared with Schwab’s apps.
Winner: Schwab
Desktop Programs
Because Public.com and Vanguard don’t emphasize short-term trading, they have no desktop programs. Schwab caters to both short-term and long-term investors. For the former group, it has a very good desktop program called thinkorswim. It has tons of advanced features, including Level II quotes and pairs trading. And CNBC streams on the platform free of charge.
Winner: Schwab
Extra Services
IRA Lineups: Vanguard, Schwab, and Public offer Individual Retirement Accounts. Public offers Traditional and Roth IRAs, while Vanguard and Schwab offer broader IRA lineups. Vanguard, but not Schwab, charges some fees on business IRAs.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Traders at all three firms can earn some extra cash by loaning out eligible equity shares.
Fractional Shares: Vanguard offers trading in Vanguard exchange-traded funds in whole dollars. At Public, the great majority of ETFs and stocks are eligible, in addition to cryptos. At Schwab, the selection consists of the 500 securities that make up the Standard & Poor's Index.
Dividend Reinvestment Plans: All three broker-dealers have DRIPs.
Extended Hours: After-hours trading is available at Vanguard. Public and Schwab also have pre-market trading. Cryptocurrencies trade around the clock at Public, and Schwab has 24/5 trading in more than 1,300 stocks and ETFs.
Systematic Mutual Fund Purchases: Traders at Schwab can enroll their mutual funds in autopilot trading. Vanguard allows recurring purchases of mutual funds, including Vanguard mutual funds.
IPO Access: Available at Schwab and Public when eligible offerings are available.
Winner: Schwab
Promotions
Charles Schwab:
$0 commissions + ACAT fee rebates + a satisfaction guarantee with Charles Schwab.
Public: Earn $0.06–$0.18 options trading rebate per stock or ETF contract at Public.
Vanguard: Currently, no promotions.
Recommendations
Mutual Fund Trading: Vanguard has more funds, but Schwab has better fund resources. Take your pick.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Schwab.
Small Accounts: Vanguard for advisory accounts. Any broker of the three for self-directed trading, with the exception of Vanguard for self-directed business IRAs.
Stock and ETF Trading: Schwab.
Beginners: A managed account at Vanguard or Schwab, preferably with a human advisor.
Verdict
To compete with Charles Schwab, Vanguard and Public must do much more.
Open Charles Schwab Account
Visit Schwab Website
Updated on 9/4/2026.
Chad Morris has been analyzing investment firms for Brokerage-Review.com since 2015. Backed by FINRA Series 65, 66, and SIE credentials, his work reflects a deep knowledge of the retail brokerage industry and digital trading tools.
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