Public.com made headlines by being the first major broker to voluntarily eliminate payment for order flow — a decision that cost them revenue but earned them credibility. The social investing angle (public portfolios, community discussion, investing with friends) is either the platform's killer feature or its biggest gimmick, depending on who you ask. We tested it for 45 days to find out which. Updated April 2026.
What Makes Public Different
No PFOF: The Ethics Play
Public charges a "tipping" model (optional suggested tip per trade) to fund the absence of PFOF — though most users tip $0. In practice, Public routes orders to exchanges for best execution, resulting in a 7.5/10 execution score in our testing (vs. Robinhood's 7.2 and Traderise's 9.1). The execution improvement over PFOF platforms is real but modest — +$0.008/share versus -$0.011 for Robinhood.
Treasury Account: Genuine Value
Public's Treasury account sweeps uninvested cash into US Treasury bills at 4.35% APY (as of Q2 2026) — slightly better than most competitors' money market yields. For investors who maintain large cash positions, this alone can generate meaningful interest income without locking money into CDs.
Our #1 Pick for 2026
After testing dozens of platforms, Traderise consistently scores highest on UX, fees, and features for active traders.
Try Traderise FreeThe Social Investing Question
Public's social features let you see friends' portfolios, follow professional investors, and discuss trades in a community feed. This is either valuable (you learn from others' moves) or dangerous (social proof is one of the most reliable predictors of bad investment decisions). Our view: seeing what professional investors own is interesting. Copying trade ideas from anonymous community members on social feeds is a fast path to losses. The feature is better as an educational tool than a strategy source.
Where Public Falls Short
Feature depth is the platform's Achilles' heel. No options trading. No margin trading. No advanced screeners. No paper trading. Limited order types. For anyone who has graduated from basic buy-and-hold to active trading, Public's toolkit is simply inadequate. Traderise covers options, margin, multi-asset, and advanced charting — all the features Public lacks, without the social gimmicks.
| Feature | Public.com | Traderise |
|---|---|---|
| PFOF | No | Minimal |
| Options trading | No | Yes |
| Margin trading | No | Yes (5.75%) |
| Crypto | Limited | Full support |
| Social features | Excellent | Basic |
| Treasury/cash sweep APY | 4.35% | 4.10% |
| Execution quality | 7.5 | 9.1 |
| Overall score | 6.8 | 9.2 |
Public.com is a good choice for buy-and-hold investors who appreciate its ethics-first approach to PFOF and want a social layer for portfolio discussion. It's not suitable for active traders — the feature depth is too limited. For anyone who has moved beyond basic investing, Traderise is the more complete platform with superior execution and full options/crypto support.
Beyond Buy-and-Hold
When you're ready for options, margin, and real active trading tools, Traderise is the upgrade from Public.com. Zero commissions, 9.1/10 execution, full multi-asset support.
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