Public Review 2025: Fees, Features, Safety, Pros & Cons

Public is a mobile trading platform for stocks, options, ETFs, treasury bills, and cryptocurrency. You can even trade collectibles and fine art on the platform.

In this Public review, we’ll look into all aspects of trading on the platform, including the fees, features, and possible issues, so you can decide if it’s the best choice for you.

Pros & Cons of Public

Pros

No-commission trading for US-listed stocks and ETFs between 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST.
You may earn free stocks as a sign-up bonus.
Social trading allows you to engage in discussions, create and view public profiles, and view others’ investments.
Fractional share investing: the platform allows you to buy small portions of expensive stocks instead of a whole stock.

Cons

Limited crypto offerings: Public supports around 25 cryptocurrencies.
No option to transfer crypto to a different wallet.
Crypto prices are higher compared to regular exchanges.
The platform is only for US-based users.
Trading stops during daily maintenance hours.
No third-party research, ETF screeners, charting, and other helpful tools.
No support for mutual funds, precious metals, or options.
Slow deposit clearing and no margin loans.
No IRAs: the platform only offers individual brokerage accounts.

About Public

Public Holdings, Inc. is a New York-based online brokerage founded in 2019. Public was initially founded in 2017 as Matador and rebranded to Public in 2019. It’s an online brokerage platform that has social media-like qualities for investors, allowing them to connect with each other and industry leaders.

Public is oriented toward beginners and offers limited investment vehicles: you can buy stocks, ETFs, US Treasury Bills, and crypto on the platform. There is also a marketplace for buying and selling limited edition goods (think Birkin Bags) and fine art.

Unlike most brokerages or crypto exchanges, Public doesn’t charge trading fees and is known as a no-commission platform though there are some exceptions. No-commission trading is limited to working hours (9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST). Most notably, crypto trading is free but includes markups that increase the costs of trading.

The platform doesn’t have a payment-for-order flow system, which is what competitors like Robinhood and eToro utilize.

Similar to other online brokerages, Public.com has daily maintenance hours, where you can’t trade assets. That makes the platform unsuitable for active crypto traders.

Crypto Coins Available on the Public Crypto Exchange

Public doesn’t offer a large selection of digital assets. The platform supports around 25 popular digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE), Polygon (MATIC), Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), Avalanche (AVAX), Chainlink (LINK), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Tezos (XTZ).

Like many other online brokerages (Robinhood, Revolut, and Webull), Public doesn’t operate its own crypto market. Instead, it relies on Apex Crypto to execute crypto trades and store crypto assets. Apex Crypto prices often include a 1-2% baked-in spread.

Please note that Public doesn’t offer a self-custodial crypto wallet. Digital assets you buy on Public remain in Public’s custodial wallets (through Apex Crypto). Users can’t withdraw or transfer their crypto assets to outside wallets, only buy and sell crypto within the platform.

Furthermore, Public can close your positions or liquidate your assets anytime if a cryptocurrency is no longer supported on the platform.

When you sell your assets on the platform, the fiat withdrawal may take two days to execute. Active crypto traders may find the inability to withdraw their digital assets very frustrating as they can’t take advantage of arbitrage opportunities in other markets.

It’s also important to note that Public doesn’t offer stablecoins like USDT or USDC. That means users must trade between assets like BTC and ETH directly. The spreads (baked-in fees in crypto prices) widen considerably when you trade between less liquid assets, so you might end up paying a lot more in fees than you would at other cryptocurrency exchanges.

Fiat Currencies Supported on Public

Public supports USD deposits via bank transfers and debit cards, wire transfers, and old-fashion checks.

Public works with Plaid and Micro Deposits bank connection providers to allow you to link your bank account to your Public account. You can make deposits and withdrawals via Plaid.

If your banking institution doesn’t support Plaid, Micro Deposits is another option that could work for making deposits. This option usually takes 5-7 days to clear.

You can also fund your account with your debit card. Public has partnered up with Braintree (of PayPal) and Wells Fargo to allow customers to deposit up to 1,000 USD to their accounts. You can also directly purchase crypto with a debit card, but your bank may charge additional fees for the purchase.

Countries Supported by Public

As of early 2023, Public is a US-based firm serving US-based customers. You can use the platform if you are a US citizen abroad or a person residing in the US with permanent residence or have a valid visa. Please note that you must have a valid SSN (or possibly ITIN) to trade on Public.

However, Public recently announced its expansion to international markets. The app may become available in select markets soon.

Public Crypto is available in all US states. However, crypto availability may vary depending on the state. New York residents can only trade AAVE, LINK, SNX, ETH, BCH, BTC, BAT, and LTC.

Public Trading Fees

Let’s take a detailed look at Public fees.

Crypto Trading fees

Public fulfills crypto buy and sell orders via Apex Crypto. Apex Crypto charges varying fees depending on the amount transacted.

Minimum Amount ($)	Maximum Amount ($)	Transaction Fees
$0.01	$10.00	$0.49
$10.01	$25.00	$0.69
$25.01	$50.00	$1.19
$50.01	$100.00	$1.69
$100.01	$250.00	$3.29
$250.01	$500.00	$6.29
$500.01	Unlimited	1.25% of order amount

If you have a recurring investment plan to purchase crypto, you pay a 1.25% fee for each purchase.

Other Trading Fees

You can trade US-listed stocks and ETFs with no commissions during regular market hours. If you are not a Premium Public user, you pay a flat $2.99 fee for trading during extended hours.

For trading alternative assets, you pay a 2.5% commission per transaction. There might be additional fees to cover the costs of storage, transportation, insurance, and management.

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees

ACH deposits and withdrawals	free.
Domestic wire transfers	$25.
Outgoing ACAT transfers	$75.
Instant withdrawals	3.5%.
Outgoing DRS	$115.00 per security.
Escheatment Processing	$75
TOD Account Transfer	$200

There is also a 5 USD inactivity fee for accounts with less than $20 and no activity for 90 days.

You can see a comprehensive list of fees on the Public.com website.

Main Features of the Public Platform

Public is an online brokerage for beginners and lacks some of the more complicated features other brokers or crypto exchanges offer. However, there are some aspects of the platform worth delving deeper into.

Multiple Assets Under One Account

The platform supports multiple asset types, including crypto, US Treasury bills, stocks, and ETFs. This can be beneficial to investors who want to create a diversified portfolio and manage it from one platform.

Public’s asset list isn’t as wide as some of its competitors (like TradeStation, for example), but the inclusion of US Treasury bills is pretty good.

Social Trading

Public stands out as a trading app thanks to its community element. Along with having the option to share their investment ideas with others, users can also make their profiles public for others to also view their portfolios.

Connecting with friends is as easy as scanning your phone address book on the app. You’ll also discover “celebrity” profiles from which you can view and potentially draw inspiration. Having the chance to see how successful investors strategize can be educational.

Thematic Investment and Fractional Stocks

Further, another significant upside of Public is that investors can buy fractional shares. These are useful for expensive shares, which may cost thousands of dollars. Being able to buy just a small amount of one makes it possible for you to nevertheless invest in the company.

Take the example of a stock that is currently worth $800. While you may not be able to afford a whole share, you can invest whatever it is you can afford. So if you have $400 in your account, you could invest it to purchase 0.5 shares. It also has a fractional share calculator that makes it easy to determine how many shares of a particular company you can buy with a specific amount.

Stocks on the platform are also organized into different themes, which help you better invest in particular sectors when you’re not entirely sure where to start. For example, it may organize investments into themes such as Artificial intelligence, Self-driving cars, Information security, Green power, Crypto assets, Gaming & eSports.

The themes are a great balance of health-based, financial, consumer, IT, and tech companies, as well as others. They also make it easier to engage in socially responsible investing. There will be many other themes on the platform, and these are just examples.

Education

The app offers extensive investment education and news for investors just starting out. The majority of the content, however, is quite basic and catered to beginners.

Public also has what it calls “Town Halls,” which allow you to connect with CEOs and other business owners. These are written Q&A meetings that will enable you to submit your questions in advance and then join the live chat to see your questions answered. Usually, these events are scheduled a month in advance.

Calculate Your Taxes

Finally, the platform has calculators to help users with their investments. For example, if you’ve bought or sold capital assets, you’ll need to determine the capital gains tax. Well, Public has a capital gains tax calculator to help estimate tax obligation based on variables such as length of ownership and the profit you earned.

Public Premium

You can sign up for Public Premium for 10 USD per month or 96 USD per year. Premium users can trade during extended trading hours without paying fees and receive advanced insights for their portfolios.

How Easy Is It to Open a Public Account?

Opening a Public account is pretty easy. Go to Public’s website and click on Get Started. Enter your US phone number and a valid email address.

You can also download the Public app on your mobile device and sign up via the app. Public is primarily a mobile-based platform, so having the app on your phone is the easiest way to access its services.

Please note that you must be over 18 years old and have a valid social security number to sign up for Public. Public allows legal residents of the US, including US citizens, permanent residents, and immigrants with valid visas, to sign up on the platform.

The platform announced it would launch international services for customers in certain countries but hasn’t named any specific country yet. If you are an international user, you may check the app store in your country to see if the app has become available.

Public complies with AML and KYC policies and may ask you to provide identity verification by uploading documents like a driver’s license, passport page, bank statement, state ID, and social security card photo.

How Secure Is Public?

Since Public uses Apex Crypto to manage its crypto division, your crypto assets are secured by Apex. Apex is a larger service provider for several online brokerages and claims to uphold industry-standard security measures, including cold storage and multi-sig wallets for crypto storage.

Public’s SIPC insurance provides protection for securities investments of up to $500,000 and covers cash amounts of up to $250,000. However, this doesn’t apply to crypto holdings.

As a US-based company, Public complies with all AML and KYC regulations.

Has Public Ever Been Hacked?

Public hasn’t reported any security breaches since its launch.

Is Public a Regulated Exchange?

Public is a SIPC and FINRA registered broker. All crypto trading is completed through Apex Crypto and licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

How Does Public Compare to Other Crypto Exchanges?

Public can be compared to other brokerages that work with crypto, like eToro and Robinhood. Robinhood, eToro, and Public allow you to trade a variety of assets, including stocks and crypto.

While eToro charges a 1% fee for crypto trades, Robinhood and Public offer commission-free crypto trades. However, crypto prices on Robinhood and Public are still more expensive than other crypto exchanges due to baked-in spreads.

Robinhood offers around 15 cryptocurrencies, eToro supports around 40 cryptocurrencies, and Public lands nicely in the middle with 25 crypto assets.

If you are an active crypto trader, Public may not be the right pick for you since the platform doesn’t allow withdrawals to outside wallets. Robinhood and eToro allow you to transfer certain crypto assets to outside wallets, though the process is more expensive and complicated compared to other crypto exchanges like Binance or Coinbase.

Public has a better security record compared to Robinhood, which had multiple data leaks in the past years. Similarly, eToro has been rumored to have data leaks before.

In general, it isn’t considered a good idea to store large sums of crypto in custodial crypto exchanges or trading platforms, as the platforms can be hacked or declare bankruptcy.

Does Public Have an App?

Since Public is a mobile-first broker, it has a very useful mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. You can download the app from the Google Play store or the App Store.

Signing up using the app is also quite efficient, requiring you to answer a few questions and fill out an application. The app is very user-friendly and is a platform that will take you next to no time to figure out.

Public is also available on the web.

Public Review: Final Thoughts

Public is a popular trading platform for those who want to invest in stocks, ETFs, US Treasury bills, and crypto but don’t have extensive trading knowledge.

For beginners, there are several upsides to the platform: The learning curve isn’t steep, and you can learn from other investors thanks to the social trading function.

Beginners will also benefit from the basic investment explanations (such as on the concept of volatility) provided on the platform to help them understand the complex world of investing. This, along with the news feed, offers a great starting point for younger or less-experienced investors.

The platform is oriented-towards those who prefer app-based investing. It’s pretty simple and easy to use. Unfortunately, advanced and experienced investors may find Public a bit too limiting and unable to meet their requirements.

Among the biggest downsides of the platform are its limited crypto selection, high crypto prices, and the inability to move your crypto assets. Purchasing and selling digital assets are more costly compared to regular exchanges, and crypto traders can’t take advantage of better prices offered in other markets.

To learn more about other cryptocurrency exchange platforms, check out our post on the Best 22 Crypto Exchanges and 8 Alternatives.