Public.com vs Robinhood Comparison: Fees, Features, and More (2026)

Public.com and Robinhood 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 Robinhood (2026)
Feature Public.com Robinhood
Website https://www.public.com/ https://robinhood.com/
Broker Type Discount (self-directed online retail brokerage) Online discount brokerage (mobile app, web, Legend)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 regular hours (US-listed); $2.99 extended/OTC (waived for Premium) $0 commissions (SEC/FINRA sell fees may apply)
Fractional Shares? Yes ($5 min outside plans; $1 in Investment Plans) Yes ($1 min; most NMS stocks/ETFs)
Percent Allocations? Yes (Investment Plans: custom 1% allocations; Direct Indexing weighting) No
Crypto Trading? Yes (via zerohash; 60+ assets including BTC/ETH; 24/7; $1 min). Yes (US-wide via Robinhood Crypto, LLC; all states, DC, PR, USVI)
Crypto Fees zerohash: $0.49–$6.29 (≤$500); 1.25% (>$500). Recurring plans 1.25%. API volume-tiered (0.10–0.60%). MM routing: $0 commissions (RH rebate in spread); exchange routing: 0.00-0.95% volume-tiered maker/taker; transfers $0 + network fees
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 commissions for stock/ETF options; $0.35 Gold/$0.50 non-Gold per index contract plus regulatory/exchange fees
Bond Trading Available? Yes (fractional Treasury/corporate from $100; Bond Account; municipals coming soon). No (individual bonds/fixed-income not supported; bond ETFs/CEFs available)
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? Yes (receives PFOF on options and wholesale equity routing). Yes (receives PFOF/rebates from market makers for equities, options, and crypto)
Interface: Web trading? Yes (full web platform plus iOS/Android apps). Yes (web including Legend browser platform; iOS/Android mobile apps)
Desktop trading? No. Web platform and mobile apps only; no native downloadable desktop trading software. No; Robinhood Legend is a free browser-based (web) platform, not downloadable.
API Trading? Yes. Public Trading API (stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, bonds) available to all members; no approval required. Yes for crypto (official US Crypto Trading API); no official stocks/equities trading API.
Mutual Funds: Offered? No No
Total Mutual Funds None 0
NTF Mutual Funds None 0
Non-NTF Fund Fee N/A N/A
Early Redemption Fee? N/A N/A
Redemption Hold (Days) N/A N/A
Early Redemption Fee N/A N/A
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes (Traditional and Roth); no SEP Yes (Traditional and Roth; no SEP)
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes (High-Yield Cash Account bank sweep) Yes
CDs Offered? No No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes, via Public Advisors LLC automated Direct Indexing, Generated Assets, and Treasury Accounts. Yes (Robinhood Strategies hybrid managed portfolios)
Robo-Advisor Service Public Advisors (Direct Indexing, Generated Assets, Treasury Accounts) Robinhood Strategies
Robo-Advisor Fees Direct Indexing 0.19% AUM annual; Generated Assets 0.49%; Treasury Accounts tiered 0.09%-0.29%. Brokerage fees may apply. 0.25% AUM/yr; Gold ($5/mo): 0% over $100k ($250/yr cap). $50 min. ETF expenses extra.
Basics: Headquarters New York, NY Menlo Park, CA
Year Founded 2019 2013
Clearing Firm Apex Clearing Corporation Robinhood Securities, LLC
Local Branches? No No
New Account Minimum $0 (no account minimums; as little as $1 to start) $0

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