Broker Reviews
A sourced look at Public.com's stock, ETF, options, and crypto fees, its tiered margin rate structure, and its account minimums, pulled directly from Public's own margin page and cross-checked against independently tracked fee data. Not a recommendation to open an account with Public.com.
Public.com is the retail trading platform of Open to the Public Investing, Inc., a broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, with clearing and execution handled by Apex Clearing Corporation. A separate affiliate, Public Advisors LLC, is an SEC-registered investment adviser for the platform's advisory products (Direct Indexing, Treasury Accounts). As part of a large, actively operating, venture-backed brokerage with no operating-status concern of the kind that applies to newer prop firms, this page summarizes its published commission schedule, margin rate structure, and account minimums as of this run. It is not a recommendation to open an account with Public.com.
Public.com charges $0 commission on U.S. stock and ETF trades during regular market hours. Non-Premium account holders are charged $2.99 per trade for extended-hours trading. Options trades carry $0 per-trade and $0 per-contract commissions, though standard regulatory and exchange fees still apply; Public also runs an Options Rebate Program that pays traders back $0.06 to $0.18 per contract depending on the underlying security, order routing (API vs. app), and the account's trading volume in the current and prior month. U.S. Treasury bonds through Public's Bond Account or Treasury Account carry a 0.05% fee of trade value with a $100 minimum, and are operated through Jiko Securities, Inc. Spot cryptocurrency trading carries meaningfully higher costs than stocks or options, independently estimated at roughly 1% built into the spread rather than charged as a stated commission, though Public's own site does not publish a single stated crypto percentage.
Sources: brokerchooser.com/broker-reviews/publiccom-review/publiccom-fees (independently tracked fee breakdown, updated June 4, 2026, fetched directly in full); public.com/invest/margin (official Public page, fetched directly in full, for the Options Rebate Program reference and account structure); crypto fee estimate cross-referenced via WebSearch, since Public's own fee schedule does not publish a single flat crypto percentage.
Public.com publishes a fully tiered margin rate table directly on its own site, with a base rate of 4.90% on balances up to $50,000, stepping down as balances increase. Public's own comparison table (dated July 14, 2026) shows its introductory rate undercutting several competitors it names directly, including Robinhood (5.00%), Interactive Brokers Lite (6.12%), Fidelity and Charles Schwab (11.83% each), Vanguard (12.00%), and E*TRADE (12.25%) at the time it was published; those competitor figures are Public's own comparison, not independently re-verified by Trading Habits this run.
| Margin Balance | Interest Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to $50,000 | 4.90% |
| $50,001 – $100,000 | 4.75% |
| $100,001 – $1,000,000 | 4.50% |
| $1,000,000 – $10,000,000 | 4.25% |
| $10,000,000 – $50,000,000 | 4.20% |
| $50,000,000+ | 3.95% |
Source: public.com/invest/margin (official Public.com margin page, fetched directly in full, tier table and competitor comparison dated 7/14/2026).
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Standard brokerage account minimum | $0–$20 to open |
| Margin account minimum | Approximately $2,000 (cross-referenced, not on Public's own fee schedule page) |
| ACH withdrawal | $0 |
| Outgoing wire transfer | $25 |
| Inactivity fee | $3.99/month, only on accounts under $70 after 6 months of no activity |
| High-Yield Cash Account APY | 3.30% (variable, FDIC pass-through via partner banks) |
Public.com's inactivity fee is narrowly scoped: it applies only to accounts holding less than $70 total after six full months without activity, rather than as a blanket monthly fee on all dormant accounts. The High-Yield Cash Account is a separate, no-minimum secondary account that sweeps uninvested cash to FDIC-insured partner banks; Public reported 20 partner banks at the time of this run's research, which would extend combined FDIC coverage well beyond the standard $250,000 single-bank limit for cash held there.
Sources: brokerchooser.com/broker-reviews/publiccom-review/publiccom-fees (fetched directly in full, updated June 4, 2026); margin account minimum figure cross-referenced via WebSearch, since it was not confirmed on Public's own margin or fee-schedule pages fetched this run.