Key Points
• Robinhood and Public.com are two low-cost brokerage firms that provide plenty of useful features.
• Public offers some newer investment features, including bonds, Treasuries, Generated Assets, and direct indexing.
• Both companies have premium services that cost extra but add more tools and benefits.
Public.com vs. Robinhood Introduction
If you’re searching for a brokerage firm with very low trading costs, Robinhood and Public.com
are both worth a look. Some premium features require an additional fee, however, so it’s important to know in advance which
services you plan to use.
Comparison Table
Investing and Trading
Both brokerage firms in this comparison provide self-directed accounts. Robinhood also offers managed accounts through Robinhood Strategies, while Public offers advisory-style products such as Direct Index, Generated Assets, and Treasury accounts.
Self-directed traders at Robinhood can buy and sell stocks, options contracts, exchange-traded funds,
futures, and cryptocurrencies.
Public offers stocks, ETFs, options, cryptocurrencies, bonds, and Treasuries. It does not offer futures.
Public also has managed and advisory-style products, including Direct Index, Generated Assets, and Treasury accounts.
For tax structures, Robinhood and Public customers can open fully taxable accounts or Individual Retirement Accounts.
Winner: Robinhood
Banking
Robinhood customers can sign up for a cash-management service called Cash Card. As
the name suggests, it comes with a debit card and the ability to send checks through the mail.
Customers can also earn bonuses on round-ups and invest those round-ups in stocks or crypto.
Robinhood also offers an FDIC-sweep program for uninvested cash that pays up to
3.35% APY right now.
Public has a similar FDIC-insured cash program that pays 3.3%
annually without a subscription. However, the other perks available to Robinhood customers,
including a debit card, are not available.
Winner: Robinhood
Premium Services
Robinhood traders can subscribe to Gold, which is the broker-dealer’s premium service. It costs $5 per month and includes added benefits such as Morningstar research, Level II quotes, and the first $1,000 of margin borrowed interest-free.
Public’s premium service is conveniently called Premium. It adds charting tools, advanced data and insights, enhanced trading features, expanded portfolio tools, VIP customer service, and better research tools. It costs $10 per month, although the fee can be waived for accounts over $50,000.
Winner: Robinhood
Promotions
Robinhood:
Free stock + 3% IRA match or 2% transfer match at Robinhood.
Public:
Take advantage of tax-loss harvesting with direct indexing at Public.com.
Margin
For self-directed brokerage accounts, margin access can be enabled where available and approved.
Robinhood clients who want to trade on margin can choose between two pricing structures. The first is
the fairly standard approach of paying interest on borrowed money. The current cost is
5% per year on debit balances under $50K.
Public.com margin rates are from 4.9% to 3.95%.
Winner: Robinhood
Computer Trading
Robinhood’s website is fairly basic, although this focus on simplicity does make the platform easy to navigate. Robinhood also offers Robinhood Legend, a browser-based desktop platform for stocks, options, and crypto trading.
The Robinhood website has an order ticket with multiple trade types, including stop, trailing, and limit. There is also a distinctive order choice called Recurring Investing, which sets up recurring purchases for stocks and ETFs.
Charts on Robinhood’s website are fairly simple, but Robinhood Legend adds more advanced charting and analysis tools. A graph can be expanded across the full width of the computer screen. In this expanded mode, there are technical studies and multiple plot styles.
On Public.com, we found more basic charting. Basic customers only receive a small chart with one plot style. Premium customers get full-screen charts with tools.
Public’s order ticket has three trade types (stop, market, and limit), which makes it a little simpler than Robinhood’s. Public has a web platform and mobile app, although it does not have a desktop platform comparable to Robinhood Legend. Public does have something Robinhood does not: a community forum. Public traders can discuss market news and individual assets.
Winner: Robinhood
Mobile Trading
The second trading platform available at both firms is the mobile app. Robinhood’s app uses the same order form and charting tools we found on the broker’s website.
Public’s app also includes watchlists and alerts, which are available on Robinhood’s app as well. The community bulletin board from the website also appears in the app.
Winner: Robinhood
Supplementary Services
IRAs: Tax-sheltered accounts are available at both brokers in Roth and Traditional formats.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Both brokerage firms offer it.
Fractional-share Trading: Robinhood and Public.com both provide whole-dollar trading.
DRIP: Both firms offer it.
Extended Hours: Both firms offer early-morning and after-hours trading in securities, although Public traders have to pay a fee for extended-hours trades unless they have Premium. Robinhood also offers 24 Hour Market trading from 8 PM ET Sunday until 8 PM ET Friday for eligible stocks and ETFs. Cryptocurrencies trade nearly 24/7 at both firms.
IPO Access: Available at both firms when offerings are available and eligibility requirements are met.
Winner: Robinhood
Promotions
Robinhood:
Free stock + 3% IRA match or 2% transfer match at Robinhood.
Public:
Take advantage of tax-loss harvesting with direct indexing at Public.com.
Our Recommendations
Small Accounts: Neither firm has account minimums, so either one can work, although very small inactive Public accounts may face an inactivity fee.
Long-Term Investing and Retirement Planning: Because Robinhood has a stronger IRA match and a broader retirement pitch, it gets the edge here.
Beginning Traders: New traders with IRAs may benefit from Robinhood’s retirement tools and match. For taxable accounts, investors who want full-service advice may still want to compare other brokers that offer broader advisory programs.
Active Stock Trading: Robinhood has the more advanced platform.
Public vs Robinhood Verdict
Although Public has added more products and tools, they still are not enough to beat Robinhood overall.
Updated on 7/22/2026.
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