Robinhood vs Public.com: Which Investing App is Right for You?

You’re prepared to start your funding journey, however it could really feel overwhelming to decide on the appropriate platform with so many choices on the market. We get it—and we’ve acquired you coated.

Robinhood and Public.com are two of the largest names within the sport. How do you resolve which one is best for you? We all the time advocate studying about funding platforms earlier than you utilize them.

On this Public vs Robinhood overview, we’ll reveal what makes these two platforms comparable, in addition to what makes every distinctive. We’ve included details about options, the consumer expertise, charges and prices, and our tackle which sort of investor every platform is finest suited to.

By the point you’ve completed studying, you’ll have a deal with on how Public and Robinhood evaluate and which platform it’s best to use to begin investing.

Overview of Robinhood and Public.com

Let’s begin with an summary of every platform to present you a stable base of understanding of what every has to supply.

Robinhood

Robinhood is a mobile-first digital buying and selling platform that acquired its begin again in 2013, when Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt included as Robinhood Markets, Inc. Their purpose was to democratize investing by making it free, straightforward, and addictive. They launched the Robinhood app in March of 2015. The corporate is a licensed broker-dealer and a member of the Securities Investor Safety Company, SIPC.

In its early years, a lot of the corporate’s progress was achieved by buying firms corresponding to Say Applied sciences, Cove Markets, X1, and Chartr. 

They’ve additionally grown by frequently providing new merchandise. Once they first introduced the addition of cryptocurrency to their record of accessible property in 2018, they’d a ready record with two million members, and had a similarly-long record 4 years later once they launched their crypto buying and selling pockets.

Key options of Robinhood embody buying and selling shares, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies; a safe crypto pockets; and a easy and intuitive consumer interface.

Public

Public.com is an investing platform designed to make market investing accessible to all individuals. The corporate acquired its begin in 2019 and have become the primary to permit for commission-free fractional share investing, one thing that many different platforms, together with Robinhood, have since adopted. (Fractional shares aren’t new and Public.com didn’t invent them, they simply democratized them.)

Public is a licensed broker-dealer and a Monetary Trade Regulatory Authority, FINRA member.

One of many issues that makes Public distinctive is the neighborhood side of their app. Whereas there are different funding instruments which have a social side, of which Looking for Alpha is an instance, Public was the primary investing app to introduce that ingredient.

Different key options embody entry to a wide range of funding property, prolonged buying and selling hours, crypto buying and selling, fractional buying and selling, clear charges, and no charges for order stream on shares and ETFs.

Professional Tip:

Join with Robinhood as we speak! You’ll be able to refer associates to earn as much as $1500 per yr in FREE STOCK!

As of 2024, Public.com has greater than three million customers (up from lower than a million on the finish of 2020) and an estimated worth of $1.2 billion. 

We’ll get into extra element concerning the charges charged by Robinhood and Public later on this overview.

Public vs Robinhood – Options Comparability

Let’s do a deeper dive on an important options of Public and Robinhood.

Buying and selling Expertise

The buying and selling expertise on Robinhood is supposed to be user-friendly and easy, and it delivers on each counts. Utilizing the Robinhood app or internet platform, it’s straightforward to provoke trades. In actual fact, a commerce could also be accomplished in only a few minutes and with a couple of clicks, even for energetic merchants trying to conduct choices buying and selling.

The cellular buying and selling expertise on Public.com can also be easy and user-friendly. Trades and gross sales could take lower than a minute to finish. It’s additionally straightforward to fund your account and withdraw funds to your financial institution.

By way of buying and selling expertise, we’d say it’s a tie. Each platforms are straightforward to make use of and ultimate for inexperienced persons.

Professional Tip:

Join with Robinhood as we speak! You’ll be able to refer associates to earn as much as $1500 per yr in FREE STOCK!

Funding Choices

Robinhood provides a number of sorts of funding choices. It acquired its begin by permitting funding in simply two asset lessons: shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It has since expanded to permit for funding in 20 cryptocurrencies, together with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and USDC. At the moment, it’s not doable to commerce bonds or mutual funds on Robinhood, and that may pose a problem in relation to portfolio diversification.

There’s additionally an choice to arrange an IRA with Robinhood and get matching funds: 1% for normal members and three% for Robinhood Gold members. 

On Public.com, customers can commerce shares, ETFs, choices, cryptocurrencies, American Depositary Receipts, fractional shares, and bonds. The inclusion of bonds is beneficial as a result of it’s straightforward to diversify your portfolio. In complete, Public.com permits for buying and selling of 16 crypto cash via Bakkt Crypto. (It’s vital to notice that Bakkt Crypto will not be affiliated with Public.com and never a FINRA member.) 

Public com doesn’t have a retirement account, however they do provide a high-yield financial savings account that pays 4% APR, in addition to a high-yield bond account that pays 6.8%. 

Charges and Prices

Each Public and Robinhood trades are topic to regulatory charges, and people charges are handed on to you as a consumer. Right here’s a rundown of the opposite charges that will apply.

Robinhood prices $0.50 as an index choices buying and selling charge free of charge members, and $0.35 for Robinhood Gold members. ACH transfers are free, however there’s a $25 charge for outgoing wire transfers. There’s a full slate of regulatory charges, most of that are simply fractions of a penny. You will discover the total charge desk right here.

Public prices a flat charge of $2.99 for trades made throughout prolonged market hours and for OTC trades, not nice for extra energetic merchants. It additionally prices for multi-asset funding plan trades, which value between $0.49 and $1.99 free of charge customers. There’s a $75 charge to switch your property to a different dealer, and there might also be charges concerned if you wish to switch cash to your financial institution through wire. Take a look at their full charge schedule right here.

Each platforms have a premium possibility. Robinhood Gold prices $5 monthly or $50 per yr, whereas Public Premium prices $10 monthly or $96 per yr. Each plans provide customers the prospect to save cash on charges and entry extra options.

Professional Tip:

Join with Robinhood as we speak! You’ll be able to refer associates to earn as much as $1500 per yr in FREE STOCK!

Cell App Usability

Robinhood’s cellular app is well-reviewed and widespread. The interface is designed to be really easy to make use of that inexperienced persons can leap in and begin buying and selling instantly. It’s acquired a easy and easy-to-navigate menu. You will get assist throughout the app once you want it, and you can even entry Robinhood’s instructional assets to study extra about buying and selling earlier than you leap in.

Public’s app is likewise nicely regarded and simple to make use of. Trades may be positioned with only a few faucets and it’s straightforward to entry assist and assets. Newbies can begin buying and selling straight away and so they can even find out about investing on the app.

The 2 apps have almost an identical star scores. Within the Google Retailer, Robinhood’s app will get 4.2 stars out of 5, and Public’s app will get 4.1 stars.

Who Ought to Use Public vs Robinhood?

In the event you’re somebody who needs a brief record of investments which might be straightforward to grasp, and an app that’s beginner-friendly, then Robinhood could also be your best choice. You gained’t get entry to bonds and another asset lessons, however you’ll get entry to a wide selection of shares, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. 

We might additionally advocate Robinhood for anyone who doesn’t have an employer-sponsored retirement account. Robinhood provides 1% matching free of charge members and three% for Robinhood Gold members.

Public.com provides a wider array of asset lessons for investments, together with bonds and choices. It’s nonetheless an excellent platform for inexperienced persons, however could be barely extra advantageous for intermediate to superior buyers. 

We just like the social and neighborhood side of Public, too. In the event you’re somebody who likes to swap concepts with different buyers, then Public has the sting in that regard, along with each platforms having superior analysis instruments.

Since each apps are free to make use of, it could be advantageous to arrange accounts on each and see which one you like.

Public vs Robinhood – Person Expertise Comparability

Robinhood customers have a whole lot of good issues to say concerning the consumer interface and the general expertise of utilizing the app. Individuals additionally reward the IRA contribution matching, low margin charges, and money sweep. Among the complaints embody gradual customer support response instances for requests submitted via the app and the shortage of detailed funding monitoring options. Most evaluations remark that the app is finest suited to inexperienced persons.

One of many issues that stood out as we learn Public.com evaluations is that the group there may be always working to enhance the app. They’re conscious of evaluations. Customers have praised the app’s straightforward navigation and deposit mechanism, which permits customers to deposit funds utilizing a debit card and withdraw again to the cardboard, too. Some of the frequent complaints is that extra options are being paywalled, corresponding to extra superior analysis instruments. One other is the shortage of superior charting choices. 

Total, we’d say the Robinhood UX is good for inexperienced persons whereas Public is barely extra advanced and provides extra choices for superior customers.

Conclusion

The underside line when evaluating Public vs Robinhood is that each apps provide a streamlined consumer expertise. We’d say that Robinhood is finest suited to newbie buyers or those that wish to reap the benefits of IRA matching contributions, whereas Public has a couple of extra bells and whistles that will enchantment to extra skilled buyers.

Neither platform is basically suited to in-depth funding analysis and charting, so chances are you’ll must improve to premium or to make use of these apps together with an funding analysis platform to get one of the best outcomes.

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