Public.com Investing and Trading
A Public.com brokerage account gives investors access to the following types of investments:
- Cryptocurrencies
- Options
- Stocks
- Corporate and Treasury bonds
- Exchange-traded funds
- Closed-end funds
- Alternative assets
Public’s equity category includes over-the-counter (OTC) stocks. Alternative assets include items such as fine art and comic books.
A large share of Public’s products are designed for self-directed investing. Still, Public Advisors provides investment advisory services through Treasury Accounts, Direct Index Accounts, and Generated Assets Accounts. The company also has Investment
plans.
A Public Investment Plan combines several assets, which can include stocks, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs, into one basket that investors can buy together. Users may build a custom Investment Plan or select a plan offered on the Public platform.
Public provides individual taxable brokerage accounts with either cash or margin features, Traditional and Roth IRAs, Crypto IRAs, plus separate High-Yield Cash, Bond, Treasury, Direct Index, and Generated Assets accounts.
Before investing through Public, an applicant must be at least 18, have a valid Social Security Number and a legal residential address in the United States, and be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or holder of an accepted valid visa.
Public Premium includes advanced research and data, no-fee extended-hours stock and ETF trades, no-fee stock and ETF Investment Plan purchases, price alerts, and removal of the Bond Account maintenance charge. Premium is priced at $10 per month, but Public waives the charge when an account has a balance of $50,000 or more.
Cash Management
Public has a High-Yield Cash Account as well. At present, the account pays
3.3%. There is no account fee, paid-subscription requirement, or minimum balance, and customers may make unlimited transfers and withdrawals. This product is not a checking account, however, and it does not provide checks or a debit card. In legal terms, it is a secondary brokerage account that uses an FDIC sweep program. Public transfers the cash to participating partner banks. Qualifying cash can receive as much as $5 million in combined FDIC coverage, with a limit of $250,000 at each partner bank after counting any other deposits the customer has at that bank in the same ownership category.
Along with the absence of check-writing, the High-Yield Cash Account has another drawback: it does not provide a debit card.
Margin
Public brokerage accounts are available as either cash or margin accounts. Choosing margin adds capabilities such as leveraged investing and qualifying options spreads. Public allows approved margin-account customers to sell eligible stocks short. To short a stock, the account must have at least $2,000 of usable margin equity, and borrowing charges for the shares may apply.
Using borrowed funds is never free, and margin borrowing also carries interest. Public currently
charges 4.9% to 3.95% on margin debit balances. For debit balances exceeding $1 million, Public lists additional margin-rate brackets rather than automatically offering a separately negotiated rate.
Customers with an existing Public cash brokerage account can request a move to margin from the Settings area of the Public app.
Public.com Fees
| Investments | Commissions |
|---|
| US-listed stocks and ETFs | $0 during regular market hours; $2.99 per trade during extended market hours for regular members, $0 for Premium members |
| OTC stocks | $2.99 per trade for regular members, $0 for Premium members |
| Options | $0 for stock and ETF options; $0.50 per contract for index options for regular members, $0.35 per contract for Premium members |
| Mutual funds | not offered |
| Cryptocurrencies | $0.49 to $6.29 on orders up to $500; 1.25% on orders above $500 |
| Treasury bonds | $0.10 to $0.25 per $100 of par value, depending on maturity |
| Corporate bonds | $0.35 to $0.50 per $100 of par value, depending on maturity |
| Investments | US-listed stocks, OTC stocks, cryptocurrencies, options, corporate bonds, Treasury bonds, and ETFs |
| Minimum deposit to open an account | $0 |
Public charges no commission for online trades of U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs during normal market hours, and it also charges $0 commissions on stock and ETF options. Its regular self-directed brokerage account has no required minimum balance and no ongoing account-maintenance charge, although regulatory, routing, subscription, transfer, and other fees can still be assessed.
As one example, index options are priced at 50¢ per contract for customers without Premium and 35¢ per contract for Premium members. Non-Premium users pay $2.99 for an extended-hours stock or ETF trade. For non-API cryptocurrency orders, the charge is either a flat amount of up to $6.29 or a percentage fee of 1.25%.
Annual advisory charges for Treasury Accounts use tiers that range from 0.29% down to 0.09%, based on the account’s asset level. Public may also assess separate transaction charges on Treasury trades.
Recurring stock and ETF Investment Plan purchases cost $0.49 when a plan contains 1–3 symbols, $0.99 with 4–10 symbols, and $1.99 with 11–20 symbols. Premium members do not pay the transaction charge on stock and ETF Investment Plans. A cryptocurrency order made through a plan continues to carry a 1.25% fee.
The Public High-Yield Cash Account does not have an account fee or a minimum-balance rule.
Website
The Public website has its main menu on the left-hand side in a vertical format. Here, we found links for the various products available through the firm, such as bonds and cryptocurrencies. The link for Investment Plans produces a fairly extensive list of possibilities. Examples we found include:
- Artificial intelligence
- Dividend growth
- Energy
- Cybersecurity
- Real estate
- Core income
It’s possible to open an Investment Plan and see which assets it holds. Clicking on a position brings up the asset’s profile.
Public.com stock pages provide a substantial amount of research, though certain higher-level data is reserved for Premium subscribers. Each profile begins with a simple chart. Selecting the Advanced button launches a full-screen version with more features; Premium membership is required to use advanced web charts.
A control on the stock page shows bonds issued by the company under review, while another opens the available options. The options area includes a strategy builder that supports spreads. With Public’s Queue tool, users can prepare several stock and options orders, revise them with live pricing, and send multiple orders at the same time.
Mobile App
Public’s mobile app has many of the same tools we have just seen. The watchlist on the app syncs with the list on the website; it can be found by tapping the Portfolio icon in the bottom menu.
There is a Feed icon at the bottom of the app that recreates the same digital bulletin board available on the website. Here, traders can discuss market news and individual assets.
A Trade icon also sits at the bottom. Tapping this button opens the app’s order ticket. During our test drive, we found market, limit, and stop orders for equities. For options, Public offers market and limit orders.
The Markets hub has a great deal of financial news. We found bond yields, popular Investment Plans on the Public platform, and options contracts with high trading volume.
The mobile app has a yellow-green icon in the upper-right corner for Public’s artificial-intelligence research tool. Called Alpha, it can answer investment-related questions but is not designed to provide investment advice. Public cautions that it can make mistakes.
This time, there is no advanced charting for Premium or non-Premium customers.
Add-On Features
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: Public lets customers automatically reinvest dividends from qualifying stocks and ETFs.
Periodic Mutual Fund Investing: Public does not offer mutual funds, but it does support scheduled purchases of stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and Investment Plans.
IPO Access: When Public has shares available for an initial public offering, eligible customers may submit a request for them. Requests must use whole-share amounts and be placed through a qualifying taxable brokerage account rather than an IRA, and receiving an allocation is not assured.
Fully-Paid Securities Lending Program: Customers can receive income by allowing Public to lend qualifying fully paid shares.
Individual Retirement Accounts: Public provides self-directed Traditional and Roth IRAs, as well as Crypto IRAs that are offered and held in custody by Alto Trust Co.
Extended Hours: Public supports trading before the opening bell and after the regular session closes. Customers without Premium pay an extra charge, while Premium subscribers can trade stocks and ETFs during extended hours without that fee.
Fractional-Share Trading: Eligible market orders may be entered in whole-dollar amounts for fractional investing or in whole-share quantities.
Our Recommendations
Frequent Equity Trading: Although Public supplies a trading platform that runs in a web browser, it may not
meet the needs of every sophisticated trader. Charles Schwab is another brokerage to consider.
Mutual Funds: Investors seeking mutual funds may prefer Charles Schwab.
Beginners: Public Advisors manages Treasury, Direct Index, and Generated Assets accounts for investors who want professional guidance.
Webull is another firm with managed-account services.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Public’s lineup includes IRAs, Treasury Accounts, Direct Index Accounts, and Generated Assets Accounts. Charles Schwab also provides access to human advisors, annuities, lifecycle mutual funds, retirement calculators, branch offices, and a broad collection of other retirement-planning tools.
Small Accounts: Because complimentary Premium access requires a large balance, Public’s membership structure clearly gives more benefits to bigger accounts. Many
Premium features are available at Charles Schwab without requiring customers to buy a membership.
Public.com Review Summary
Public delivers several worthwhile tools and account choices, but it still has important limitations and will not be the strongest value for every type of investor.
Updated on 9/20/2026.
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.
|