Broker Reviews
Public and Robinhood both publish full tiered margin rate tables directly on their own sites — a side-by-side look at both tables, options contract fees, and account minimums, pulled from each broker's own margin and pricing pages. Not a recommendation to open an account with either broker.
Public.com (operated by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC) and Robinhood (Robinhood Financial LLC / Robinhood Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC) are both large, actively operating retail brokerages with no operating-status concern. Both have built their marketing partly around undercutting larger, older brokers on margin interest — Public's own margin page names Robinhood directly as its closest competitor on rate. This page compares both firms' published margin rate tables, options fees, and account minimums as of this run. It is not a recommendation to open an account with either broker.
| Category | Public.com | Robinhood |
|---|---|---|
| Stock & ETF commissions | $0 (regular hours) | $0 (regular hours) |
| Options commission | $0 per trade, no per-contract fee (Options Rebate Program pays $0.06–$0.18/contract back) | $0.50 per contract standard, $0.35 per contract for Gold members, plus small regulatory pass-through fees on sell orders |
| Introductory margin rate | 4.90% (balances up to $50,000) | 5.00% (balances up to $50,000) |
| Lowest published tier rate | 3.95% (balances over $50,000,000) | 3.95% (balances over $50,000,000) |
| Free margin allowance | None published | First $1,000 of margin interest-free for Robinhood Gold members ($5/month or $50/year) |
| Margin account minimum | Approximately $2,000 (not confirmed on Public's own margin or fee pages) | $2,000 (FINRA regulatory minimum, confirmed on Robinhood's own margin account requirements) |
| Standard account minimum | $0–$20 to open | $0, no minimum balance requirement |
Sources: public.com/invest/margin (official Public.com margin page, dated modified July 21, 2026, fetched directly in full this run, including Public's own named comparison against Robinhood and 6 other brokerages); Robinhood's own margin rates page (robinhood.com) did not return readable content through this run's automated fetch (JavaScript-rendered), so Robinhood's rate table is drawn from firstcard.app's independently tracked breakdown (dated July 15, 2026, fetched directly in full) and cross-referenced via WebSearch against tradersbest.com and stockbrokerreview.com, both showing the same tier figures. Options fee and Gold membership figures cross-referenced via WebSearch against brokerchooser.com's and Robinhood's own published fee schedule PDF.
Both brokers use the same tier structure — six balance bands from "up to $50,000" through "$50,000,000+" — which makes a direct comparison unusually clean. Public's introductory rate undercuts Robinhood's by 10 basis points at the bottom tier; the two converge exactly at the top tier.
| Margin Balance | Public.com | Robinhood |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $50,000 | 4.90% | 5.00% |
| $50,001 – $100,000 | 4.75% | 4.80% |
| $100,001 – $1,000,000 | 4.50% | 4.50% |
| $1,000,000 – $10,000,000 | 4.25% | 4.25% |
| $10,000,000 – $50,000,000 | 4.20% | 4.20% |
| $50,000,000+ | 3.95% | 3.95% |
The two tables are close enough that account-level extras decide the real cost for most traders. Robinhood's Gold membership makes the first $1,000 of any margin balance interest-free for a $5/month or $50/year subscription fee — on a small, steadily-carried balance, that can outweigh Public's lower headline rate. Public does not publish an equivalent interest-free allowance. Neither broker locks its rate; both float with the Federal Funds Target Rate and can change without notice, and Robinhood's own table was last updated by the firm in December 2025 per the independent tracking source, while Public's page carries a July 21, 2026 modification date.
Sources: public.com/invest/margin (official page, fetched in full, tier table dated 7/14/2026 within the page's own competitor comparison); firstcard.app/learn/robinhood-margin-interest-rate (independently tracked breakdown, dated July 15, 2026, fetched directly in full, citing Robinhood's own December 2025 rate update).
Options pricing is the clearest structural difference between the two: Public charges no options commission at all and instead runs a rebate program that pays traders back a small amount per contract, while Robinhood charges a flat per-contract fee that drops for Gold subscribers. For an options-heavy trader, Public's $0 base cost plus rebate is a lower floor than Robinhood's $0.35–$0.50 per contract, though Robinhood's Gold subscription also bundles other benefits (higher cash APY, the free margin allowance, research tools) beyond just the reduced options rate.
Sources: public.com/invest/margin (official page, fetched in full, Options Rebate Program reference); firstcard.app and brokerchooser.com (Robinhood options fee and Gold membership figures, cross-referenced via WebSearch, since Robinhood's own fee schedule PDF was not fetched directly this run).