Public.com vs E*Trade Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

Public.com and E*Trade are two leading discount brokerages offering commission-free stock and ETF trading. Use this head-to-head comparison table to evaluate fees, features, trading tools, and account options to help you decide which broker is right for you in 2026.

Head-to-Head Comparison: Public.com vs E*Trade (2026)
Feature Public.com E*Trade
Website https://www.public.com/ https://us.etrade.com/home
Broker Type Discount (self-directed online retail brokerage) Online self-directed brokerage (Morgan Stanley; full-service advisors available)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 regular hours (US-listed); $2.99 extended/OTC (waived for Premium) $0 online US-listed stocks/ETFs (OTC $6.95; other fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? Yes ($5 min outside plans; $1 in Investment Plans) Yes, select listed stocks/ETFs (up to 3 decimals, $5 min notional; expanding)
Percent Allocations? Yes (Investment Plans: custom 1% allocations; Direct Indexing weighting) No (Prebuilt templates with suggested allocations; Core Portfolios managed)
Crypto Trading? Yes (via zerohash; 60+ assets including BTC/ETH; 24/7; $1 min). Yes; BTC, ETH, SOL via linked zerohash account for US individual brokerage clients.
Crypto Fees zerohash: $0.49–$6.29 (≤$500); 1.25% (>$500). Recurring plans 1.25%. API volume-tiered (0.10–0.60%). 0.50% of notional value (no spread/markup); charged by zerohash (E*TRADE receives a portion).
Options Trading? Yes (stock, ETF, and index options; multi-leg strategies). Yes
Options Fee $0 commission/per-contract for stock/ETF options plus $0.06–$0.18 rebate/contract. Index: $0.35–$0.50/contract. Regulatory fees apply. $0.65/contract ($0.50 with 30+ trades/quarter) plus regulatory/exchange fees.
Bond Trading Available? Yes (fractional Treasury/corporate from $100; Bond Account; municipals coming soon). Yes; 50,000+ bonds/CDs from many issuers.
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF on options and wholesale equity routing). Yes (receives PFOF on NMS stocks, ETFs, and options).
Interface: Web trading? Yes (full web platform plus iOS/Android apps). Yes; E*TRADE web/app and Power E*TRADE web/app/desktop.
Desktop trading? No. Web platform and mobile apps only; no native downloadable desktop trading software. Yes, Power E*TRADE Pro (Windows/Mac download)
API Trading? Yes. Public Trading API (stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, bonds) available to all members; no approval required. Yes (Developer Platform REST API; unattended algo orders prohibited)
Mutual Funds: Offered? No Yes
Total Mutual Funds None 5,000+ (6,000+ NTF listed on pricing)
NTF Mutual Funds None 6,000+
Non-NTF Fund Fee N/A $0 online (no-load NTF); loads per prospectus
Early Redemption Fee? N/A Yes (no E*TRADE fee; fund fees may apply)
Redemption Hold (Days) N/A None (0 days); E*TRADE charges no short-term redemption fee (fund prospectus fees may apply)
Early Redemption Fee N/A $0 from E*TRADE; fund prospectus redemption fees may apply
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional and Roth); no SEP Yes (Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, others)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (High-Yield Cash Account bank sweep) Yes (Bank Deposit Program / BDP)
CDs Offered? No Yes
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes, via Public Advisors LLC automated Direct Indexing, Generated Assets, and Treasury Accounts. Yes
Robo-Advisor Service Public Advisors (Direct Indexing, Generated Assets, Treasury Accounts) Core Portfolios
Robo-Advisor Fees Direct Indexing 0.19% AUM annual; Generated Assets 0.49%; Treasury Accounts tiered 0.09%-0.29%. Brokerage fees may apply. 0.30% annual advisory fee ($500 min.)
Basics: Headquarters New York, NY Arlington, VA
Year Founded 2019 1982
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 (no account minimums; as little as $1 to start) $0

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