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

Vanguard and Public.com 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: Vanguard vs Public.com (2026)
Feature Vanguard Public.com
Website https://investor.vanguard.com/ https://www.public.com/
Broker Type Full-Service Discount (self-directed online retail brokerage)
Trading: Stock & ETF? Yes Yes
ETF & Stock commission $0 online $0 regular hours (US-listed); $2.99 extended/OTC (waived for Premium)
Fractional Shares? Yes; eligible Vanguard ETFs/dollar-based trading Yes ($5 min outside plans; $1 in Investment Plans)
Percent Allocations? Yes; Vanguard Digital Advisor/asset-allocation tools Yes (Investment Plans: custom 1% allocations; Direct Indexing weighting)
Crypto Trading? No Yes (via zerohash; 60+ assets including BTC/ETH; 24/7; $1 min).
Crypto Fees Not applicable zerohash: $0.49–$6.29 (≤$500); 1.25% (>$500). Recurring plans 1.25%. API volume-tiered (0.10–0.60%).
Options Trading? Yes Yes (stock, ETF, and index options; multi-leg strategies).
Options Fee $1/contract $0 commission/per-contract for stock/ETF options plus $0.06–$0.18 rebate/contract. Index: $0.35–$0.50/contract. Regulatory fees apply.
Bond Trading Available? Yes; Treasuries, bonds, and CDs Yes (fractional Treasury/corporate from $100; Bond Account; municipals coming soon).
Receives payment for order flow (PFOF)? No Yes (receives PFOF on options and wholesale equity routing).
Interface: Web trading? Yes Yes (full web platform plus iOS/Android apps).
Desktop trading? No No. Web platform and mobile apps only; no native downloadable desktop trading software.
API Trading? No Yes. Public Trading API (stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, bonds) available to all members; no approval required.
Mutual Funds: Offered? Yes No
Total Mutual Funds Over 3,000 None
NTF Mutual Funds Over 1,800 None
Non-NTF Fund Fee $20 online for transaction-fee funds; $0 for NTF funds N/A
Early Redemption Fee? No N/A
Redemption Hold (Days) 60 days N/A
Early Redemption Fee $50 N/A
Accounts: Margin Accounts? Yes Yes
IRAs Offered? Yes; Traditional, Roth, SEP, Rollover, and Custodial Yes (Traditional and Roth); no SEP
HSAs Offered? No No
Money Market Sweep? Yes; settlement-fund/cash-deposit sweep Yes (High-Yield Cash Account bank sweep)
CDs Offered? Yes No
Robo-Advisor: Offered Yes Yes, via Public Advisors LLC automated Direct Indexing, Generated Assets, and Treasury Accounts.
Robo-Advisor Service Vanguard Digital Advisor Public Advisors (Direct Indexing, Generated Assets, Treasury Accounts)
Robo-Advisor Fees 0.20% all-index; 0.25% active/index mix Direct Indexing 0.19% AUM annual; Generated Assets 0.49%; Treasury Accounts tiered 0.09%-0.29%. Brokerage fees may apply.
Basics: Headquarters Valley Forge, PA New York, NY
Year Founded 1975 2019
Clearing Firm Vanguard Brokerage Services Apex Clearing Corporation
Local Branches? No; phone/online service No
New Account Minimum $0 (no account minimums; as little as $1 to start)

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