Overview

Public is an investment platform designed for a smooth trading experience, particularly appealing to beginners in the financial markets. It offers a wealth of educational resources to help new investors understand various topics. With the Investment Plan feature, you can start trading with as low as $1, and fractional shares make it easier to invest with smaller amounts.

There are no commissions on stocks, ETFs, or options, and bond trading is made more accessible. Public also allows cryptocurrency trading, although a transaction fee is charged by its crypto partner. Additionally, it provides opportunities to invest in alternative assets like luxury goods and contemporary art. The platform includes a social feed where investors can discuss trade ideas, and company executives occasionally participate in “town hall” meetings to answer investor questions.

Products and Services

Public enables investors to build customized baskets of stocks, ETFs, and other assets, set up recurring purchases for these baskets, and execute trades involving multiple investments at once. These multi-asset transactions, referred to as investment plans, are particularly useful for investors seeking to use dollar-cost averaging to gradually diversify their portfolios. However, investment plan trades incur fees for non-premium users.

Public provides a wide range of investment options for traders, including stocks (with fractional shares), corporate and government bonds, options, ETFs, major cryptocurrencies, select American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and alternative assets like art shares and music royalties. However, it does not offer futures or commodities, and its lack of mutual funds puts it at a disadvantage compared to many other brokers. In addition to individual bonds, Public also offers a “bond account” that invests in corporate bonds (which can carry more risk than Treasury bonds) and currently boasts a 6.8% yield.

Options

Public has expanded its offerings beyond stocks and ETFs by introducing options trading. The platform provides revenue sharing on options trades, where clients receive 50% of the broker’s revenue from their trades, though you must sign up for the program. This unique structure means that, in some cases, you could actually be paid for your options trades.

Bonds

In 2023, Public expanded into the fixed-income market by offering Treasury securities and corporate bonds. Traditionally, trading individual bonds has been reserved for more experienced investors, partly due to the high cost—often around $1,000 per bond—which can be a barrier for many. Public has lowered this entry point, allowing investors to purchase smaller portions of bonds for as little as $100. This move makes bond investing more accessible to a broader audience.

Fractional Shares

Public supports fractional share investing, a standout feature for beginners. With this option, investors can purchase small portions of even the most expensive stocks or ETFs. Thanks to the Investment Plan feature, the minimum trade amount is just $1, making it possible to own a small stake in virtually any asset. This approach ensures that every dollar is put to work, regardless of a stock’s price, maximizing investment opportunities for all users.

Public not only allows users to purchase fractional shares but also supports reinvesting dividends into them. With this feature, dividends can be automatically reinvested in the stock or ETF that paid them, making it easy to grow your investment over time. Both capabilities are beginner-friendly and relatively uncommon among brokers. Notable competitors offering both features include Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Robinhood, making Public a strong contender in this space for new investors.

Crypto

Public, through its partnership with Bakkt Crypto Solutions, enables users to buy cryptocurrencies directly within their brokerage accounts. The platform provides access to seven popular cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), and Shiba Inu (SHIB).

Public’s crypto trading platform is designed with the same simplicity and user-friendly approach as its stock trading experience, making it well-suited for beginners. However, it falls short of advanced features such as crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, deposit insurance, staking options, and support for external crypto wallets.

Fees

Public offers a unique pricing structure for options trading, where they actually pay you instead of charging fees. The broker also provides commission-free trades for exchange-listed stocks during market hours for all users. Free users will be charged $2.99 per trade for after-hours trades and OTC stocks. Meanwhile, multi-asset investment plan trades range from $0.49 to $1.99, depending on the number of assets involved.

After opening an account, Public requires a minimum deposit of $20. Free users don’t face any account maintenance fees, but accounts with balances under $70 that have been inactive for six months or more may incur a $3.99 monthly inactivity fee. Public Premium costs $10 per month or $96 annually, offering benefits such as waiving many fees for nonstandard trades, like OTC stocks, after-hours trades, and investment plans.

One of the higher fees charged by Public is the $75 outgoing ACAT transfer fee, which is fairly typical in the industry. However, there is no fee for selling investments and transferring the funds via ACH to your bank account.

Platform Features

Public’s user-friendly trading interface is similar to other emerging brokers like Robinhood, making it easy to buy or sell stocks and ETFs in just a few seconds. However, there are two notable drawbacks to its platform. First, the broker’s security features are somewhat lacking—there’s no passcode system like those found in Robinhood or Webull, and users may remain logged into the app after extended periods of inactivity. Second, advanced traders might find Public’s charting and screening tools to be basic and limited in customization, especially when compared to the offerings of other brokers.

Premium Membership

For those seeking deeper insights and analysis, Public offers Public Premium, a subscription service priced at $8 per month (billed annually) or $10 per month (billed monthly). The subscription provides access to enhanced financial metrics and additional company analysis to support more informed investing decisions. Subscribers also enjoy upgraded customer support and the ability to establish automatic investment plans without additional fees, making it a valuable option for investors looking to elevate their experience.

High-Yield Savings and Treasury Accounts

Public offers users the option to enroll in a high-yield savings account with an APY exceeding 4% for uninvested cash. While this yield has decreased slightly in recent months due to Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, this trend is consistent with other brokers offering similar accounts.

What sets Public apart is its variety of high-yield account options. Alongside a traditional savings account, Public provides access to a Treasury account through its partnership with Jiko Securities. This feature enables users to purchase six-month Treasury bills starting at just $100, offering the added benefit of state and local income tax exemption on interest earned.

How to Create an Account?

Public has clearly designed a streamlined sign-up process, especially for new investors. The broker takes users through a simple account setup, collecting essential details such as personal information, contact info, Social Security number, and funding preferences in just a few minutes. Once your account is approved and funded—usually within a day—you’ll be ready to start buying stocks on Public.

Customer Support

Public provides email and chat support on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, with Premium users receiving priority in the support queue. Additionally, its AI educational assistant can address basic queries. While helpful, these options are limited compared to other brokers that often offer phone support and extended hours, including nights and weekends.

That said, Public earns recognition for its educational resources, particularly for beginner investors. Its “education mode” delivers visual and written tutorials integrated into the app, while its library of educational articles and user forums further supports learning, especially in options trading.

For $10 per month or $96 per year, Public Premium members enjoy benefits like prioritized customer service, access to Morningstar research, and exclusive market news and analysis from Public’s team. Premium members are also exempt from fees on OTC trades, after-hours trades, and investment plan trades, though standard fees for crypto trades still apply.

However, Public Premium lacks certain features offered by other brokers’ premium tiers, such as enhanced FDIC insurance coverage or preferential margin rates.

Bottomline

Public stands out for its ease of use and diverse investment options, earning praise from users. Options traders may also appreciate its Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) rebate program, which sets it apart in the industry. However, Public isn’t as well-established as some competitors and lacks key features like phone support, IRAs, and custodial accounts. Additionally, fees can accumulate for non-premium users.

Despite these drawbacks, Public delivers an impressive brokerage experience, particularly for new investors and traders seeking to enhance their options trading skills.