Public vs Robinhood for investing and your IRA in 2026

By Nicolas StrautLast updated October 7, 20268 min read

Tweed is committed to editorial integritySome links on this page are referral or affiliate links, which means Tweed is paid when you open an account or sign up through them. That payment never changes what we write.

Payment never influences our evaluations: every fee, rate, and rule on this page comes from the provider's own terms, observed on the date shown under the headline, and our verdict would read the same without the link. Providers can change or end their offers without notice, and they do not review our pages before we publish.

Tweed's author receives $100 in a stock or ETF from Public when you open and fund an account through the link on this page.

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. Tweed does not offer advisory or brokerage services, and does not recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

Key takeaways

Robinhood had 28.6 million funded customers and $384 billion in total platform assets at the end of August 2026.¹
When choosing between Public and Robinhood, start with whether you will pay for a subscription before comparing features. Both pay the same 1% IRA match for free, and only the paid tiers set them apart.
Robinhood is best for an IRA saver who keeps Gold and contributes every year, while Public is best for an investor who wants bonds, Treasuries, and a cash yield without a subscription.

In this article

Public vs Robinhood at a glance
What is Public?
What is Robinhood?
Public vs Robinhood features compared
Public vs Robinhood total cost compared
Public vs Robinhood for a Roth IRA
Should you choose Public or Robinhood?
Price your own year before you open an account
Frequently asked questions about Public vs Robinhood

Public and Robinhood both pay a 1% match on IRA contributions without a subscription. The difference is in their paid tiers, Robinhood Gold and Public Reserve, which raise the match and the cash rate for a monthly fee.²Outside the IRA, Public pays its base cash yield with no subscription and sells bonds and Treasuries, while Robinhood ties its best perks to the $5 Gold plan. This guide compares Public and Robinhood across the IRA match, cash yield, investment choice, and what a year at each costs.

Public vs Robinhood at a glance

Public vs Robinhood ties on commissions and differs on almost everything else. Both brokers' figures were read on their own pages on October 6, 2026, so check both again before you open an account.

	Public	Robinhood
Stock and ETF commissions	$0	$0
IRA match on contributions	1%, or 4% with Reserve	1%, or 3% with Gold
Match on transfers	1% on IRA and taxable ACATS transfers, no cap stated	1% on IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers, no cap
Paid tier	Reserve, $20 a month	Gold, $5 a month
Cash yield	3.30% APY free; 3.75% with Reserve	3.6% APY with Gold
Bonds and Treasuries	Yes	No individual bonds listed
Outgoing transfer fee	$100	$100

What is Public?

Public is a commission-free brokerage that charges $0 on stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto, and sells bonds and Treasuries in the same app. Most commission-free apps do not. Public takes no payment for order flow on equity trades placed in its app. ThePublic review covers Public's crypto custody and the rest of the app.

Public's IRA page offers "a 1% match on your annual contributions," a program dating to March 2025.³Since September 14, 2026, Public's match disclosures also apply "an uncapped 1% match" to IRA and taxable ACATS transfers, with no end date stated as of October 6, 2026. Public's paid tier, Public Reserve, raises the contribution match to 4%, paid monthly over 12 months. Matched money at either tier has to stay 5 years.

What is Robinhood?

Robinhood is a commission-free broker for stocks, ETFs, options, and crypto that now competes on perks as much as on price. Robinhood offers a desktop platform called Robinhood Legend, a managed-portfolio service called Robinhood Strategies, and a $5-a-month Gold subscription that carries most of the extras. Robinhood's Gold page words its IRA offer as a "3% boost on annual IRA contributions, up to $225 based on the 2026 maximum," with no end date stated as of October 6, 2026. Most of the comparison below depends on whether you pay for Gold.

The Robinhood IRA comes in traditional and Roth versions, and you can hold up to two of each. The Robinhood IRA pays 1% on transfers and 401(k) rollovers with no cap, with or without Gold, on top of the contribution match. The Robinhood review covers the trading platform and its safety record in full.

Public vs Robinhood features compared

Public vs Robinhood features differ mainly in the subscriptions: each broker's free tier is close to the other's, and the paid tiers are where the costs and payouts differ.

The IRA match

Public Reserve members get the largest IRA match of the two, 4% on annual contributions vs 3% with Robinhood Gold. Without a subscription, both pay 1%. Both hold matched money for 5 years, and Robinhood adds a second rule: cancelling Gold within a year removes the extra 2%. The larger rate doesn't produce the larger net payout, though, because Reserve costs four times what Gold does.

Interest on uninvested cash

Public pays more on cash for anyone who will not pay for a subscription: 3.30% APY with no fees, vs 3.6% APY at Robinhood that requires Gold.⁴ Gold costs $60 a year, so on cash alone Gold pays off only above a $20,000 balance. Robinhood's pages don't confirm whether IRA cash earns the same rate. Public Reserve pays 3.75%, which beats Public's free rate only above about $53,300.

Bonds and Treasuries

Public is the only one of the two that sells bonds and Treasuries. Public showed Treasuries at 4.31% on its site on October 6, 2026, and that rate moves with the market. Robinhood's IRA lists stocks, ETFs, and options, so an investor who wants individual bonds next to stocks in one app gets that only at Public.

How each earns on a $0 trade

Public takes no payment for order flow on equity trades placed in its app, which removes a conflict of interest that Robinhood's model carries. Robinhood routes orders to market makers in exchange for payment, which it discloses in its SEC Rule 606 reports. The cost of a free trade at Robinhood shows up in the execution price instead of as a fee. Both charge $0 per contract on stock and ETF options. Public pays part of its options order flow back through a rebate of $0.06 to $0.18 per contract.

Robinhood Gold vs Public Reserve

Robinhood Gold nets more from an IRA match at any contribution up to the 2026 limit, because Reserve's extra point of match never covers its $180 higher yearly price. Reserve is worth its price only through the cash rate and its other matches.

	Robinhood Gold	Public Reserve
Price	$5 a month ($60 a year)	$20 a month ($240 a year)
IRA contribution match	3%	4%, paid monthly over 12 months
Hold on matched money	5 years, plus 1 year of Gold	5 years
Cash yield	3.6% APY on eligible brokerage cash	3.75% APY
Other matches	None beyond the IRA	1% on Generated Assets; 0.5% on Direct Indexing and Treasuries, on up to $250,000, paid over 24 months
Margin	First $1,000 interest-free	Not confirmed

Public vs Robinhood total cost compared

Public vs Robinhood total cost depends on what you do with the account, not on trading, because both charge $0 to buy a stock or ETF. The tables below price three common situations in dollars. They hold today's rates flat and leave out market returns, which move both accounts the same way.

An IRA saver who maxes out every year

For a saver putting $7,500 into an IRA every year, Robinhood with Gold comes out $450 ahead of Public Core, Public's free tier, after five years.⁵ Public Reserve finishes $75 behind Public Core. Reserve's $240 fee pays for itself on the match only above $8,000 a year, and only a saver 50 or older can contribute that much.

Five years of maxing a $7,500 IRA	Public Core	Public Reserve	Robinhood, no Gold	Robinhood with Gold
Match earned	$375	$1,500	$375	$1,125
Subscription cost	$0	$1,200	$0	$300
Net	$375	$300	$375	$825

One year at the 2026 limit, net of the subscription	Public Core (1%)	Public Reserve (4%)	Robinhood with Gold (3%)
$7,500, under 50	$75	$60	$165
$8,600, 50 and older	$86	$104	$198

A saver moving $50,000 from another account

Robinhood pays $500 on a $50,000 IRA transfer or 401(k) rollover, with no cap and no Gold requirement. Public pays the same 1% on IRA transfers made on or after September 14, 2026. Public's match terms name IRA and taxable ACATS transfers, not 401(k) rollovers, so ask Public before you count on the match for an old workplace plan.

Moving $50,000	Public	Robinhood
IRA transfer from another broker	$500	$500
401(k) rollover	Not named in Public's match terms	$500
Subscription needed	No	No
Hold on matched money	5 years	5 years

An investor holding $10,000 in cash

Public's free tier pays the most on a $10,000 cash balance, because both subscriptions cost more than their higher rates earn at this size. Above $20,000, Gold beats Public's free rate.

$10,000 in uninvested cash for a year	Public Core	Public Reserve	Robinhood with Gold
Interest at today's APY	$330	$375	$360
Subscription	$0	$240	$60
Net	$330	$135	$300

Public vs Robinhood for a Roth IRA

Public and Robinhood both offer a Roth IRA. The 2026 IRS rules below apply the same way at either broker, because the limit is per person, not per account. If you're still deciding on the account type, start with what a Roth IRA is and come back.

2026 Roth IRA rule	Figure
Contribution limit, under 50	$7,500
Limit at 50 and older	$8,600
Income phase-out, single	$153,000 to $168,000
Income phase-out, married filing jointly	$242,000 to $252,000

Transferring out costs the same at both brokers. Each charges $100 to transfer an IRA out, and matched money that leaves within 5 years can cost you the match. The Robinhood IRA review walks through Robinhood's version of both rules.

Should you choose Public or Robinhood?

The choice between Public and Robinhood depends on which subscription, if any, you would pay for. The lists below describe who each broker fits. For a wider field, Tweed's best brokerage accounts list adds Schwab and Interactive Brokers, andInteractive Brokers vs Robinhood compares Interactive Brokers with Robinhood directly.

Choose Public if

You want a cash yield without paying for a subscription
Bonds and Treasuries belong in the same app as your stocks, including Treasuries you plan to hold to maturity
You are 50 or older, max your IRA, and would use Reserve's 3.75% cash rate too

Choose Robinhood if

You contribute $3,000 or more a year to an IRA and will keep Gold for at least a year, the point where the 3% match covers Gold's cost
You are rolling over an old 401(k) and want a confirmed 1% with no cap
You want a desktop trading platform

Price your own year before you open an account

The dollar value of a match or a cash rate depends on your own balances. Run theTweed retirement calculator with your real contribution at 1%, 3%, and 4% before you choose. The Tweed Brokerage Account Bonus Calculator ranks Public's and Robinhood's transfer bonuses by what you keep. See Fidelity vs Public if mutual funds and a $0 transfer-out fee matter more than a match. If Public fits, you can open a Public account through Tweed's link, and if Robinhood fits, open a Robinhood account or IRA through Tweed's link.

Frequently asked questions about Public vs Robinhood

Who is Robinhood's biggest competitor?

Robinhood's biggest competitors are the other commission-free apps, chiefly Public, SoFi, and Webull, plus full-service brokers such as Fidelity and Charles Schwab. Public and SoFi both match IRA contributions now, so the match is no longer Robinhood's alone. The full-service brokers compete on research, mutual funds, and account tools instead.

Is there any downside to using Robinhood?

Yes, there are downsides to using Robinhood, and they fall mostly on long-term investors. Robinhood's IRA names no mutual funds among what you can hold. This matters if you build your portfolio around index funds. Fractional shares also cannot move to another broker by transfer, so they have to be sold before you transfer out.

Why can't I pull my money out of Robinhood?

You usually can't pull money out of Robinhood right away because cash from a sale has to settle first, and recent deposits can be held before withdrawal. Inside an IRA, IRS rules also apply: Roth contributions can come out at any time, but early withdrawals of earnings can be taxed and penalized.

Is Public app safe?

Yes, the Public app is backed by a SIPC-member broker-dealer, Open to the Public Investing, Inc. SIPC protects up to $500,000 of the securities in your accounts, including $250,000 in claims for cash, if the firm fails. SIPC protection does not cover market losses or crypto held through Zero Hash.

Is Public.com FDIC insured?

No, a Public brokerage account is not FDIC insured, because stocks, ETFs, and bonds are securities, not bank deposits. SIPC covers securities instead. Cash in Public's high-yield cash account works differently: Public sweeps that cash to partner banks, where FDIC insurance applies. Public's help center lists the coverage limit.

Can I transfer my Robinhood account to Public?

Yes, you can move a Robinhood account to Public by ACATS. Robinhood charges $100 to send the account. Public's match terms pay 1% on IRA transfers and on ACATS transfers into taxable accounts made on or after September 14, 2026. Fractional shares can't move by ACATS, so Robinhood makes you sell them first.

Can I have a Roth IRA at Public and Robinhood?

Yes, you can have a Roth IRA at Public and another at Robinhood, but one IRS limit covers both accounts combined. In 2026 that is $7,500, or $8,600 at 50 and older. Each broker matches only what you deposit with it, so splitting contributions never raises the total match you can earn.

Sources

https://investors.robinhood.com/news-releases/news-release-details/robinhood-markets-inc-reports-august-2026-operating-data/
https://robinhood.com/us/en/support/articles/ira-match-faq/
https://public.com/ira
https://robinhood.com/us/en/gold/
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500

Nicolas Straut

Personal finance writer, former Forbes contributor and This Week in Fintech writer. He isn't a financial advisor or a CPA.

nicstraut.com

All 28 comparisons →