Broker review
Public review
The lowest published margin rates in our set, on the narrowest account lineup we publish.
- Written by
- Juan Manuel Gonzalez
- Published
- Data verified
In summary
Open to the Public Investing, Inc. is an active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-66049) and a SIPC member. Its fee schedule, last updated 14 August 2026, publishes $0 on US-listed stocks and ETFs in regular hours, $0 per equity and ETF options contract, and margin from 4.90% down to 3.95% â the cheapest margin we recorded. Against that, trading outside regular hours or in OTC stocks costs $2.99 per trade unless you pay for Premium, and moving the account out costs $100.
Editorial score, based on our methodology
How this is calculated- Safety2.4
- Cost2.4
- Selection1.3
- Accounts0.9
- Headroom3.0
Legal entity and regulation
Read from FINRA BrokerCheck on August 30, 2026. Check it yourself — the reference number below is all you need.
- Legal name
- OPEN TO THE PUBLIC INVESTING, INC.
- CRD
- 127818
- SEC
- 8-66049
- Registration status
- ACTIVE
- Regulators
- SEC, FINRA
- Investor protection
- SIPC member — up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash
Published fees
10 of 14 fields verifiedRead from Public’s own published schedule. Fields we could not find on the pages we read are marked not verified — we do not fill them with estimates, and a blank would read as zero.
| US stocks and ETFs | $0US-listed stocks and ETFs in regular hours. Extended hours and OTC are $2.99 per trade unless you hold Premium |
|---|---|
| Options base commission | $0 |
| Options per contract | $0Stock and ETF options. Index options $0.50 per contract, or $0.35 with Premium |
| Account minimum | Not verified |
| Mutual funds | Not offered |
| Bonds | $0.10â$0.25 per $100 par (Treasuries); $0.35â$0.50 per $100 par (corporates)By maturity band. A Bond Account carries a $3.99 monthly maintenance fee unless you hold Premium |
| Futures | Not offered |
| Crypto | 1.25% of order amountCharged by Zero Hash, not Public. Falls to a flat $0.49â$6.29 on orders under $500 |
| Account service fee | $0Account maintenance |
| Inactivity fee | $3.99 per monthOnly on accounts holding under $70 with no activity in six months |
| Outgoing transfer fee | $100Outgoing ACAT. Incoming is $0 |
| Broker-assisted trade | Not verified |
| Margin rate | 3.95%â4.90%Tiered by debit balance. From 17 September 2026 quoted as the federal funds target upper bound plus 0.20% to 1.15% |
| Currency conversion | 0.30% of transaction volumeForeign exchange transaction fee |
Where these costs sit
Against every other broker we publish that has a verified figure for the same field. Brokers whose figure we could not verify are left out rather than plotted at zero.
What you can hold
- US stocksOffered
- ETFsOffered
- OptionsOffered
- Mutual fundsNot offered
- BondsOffered
- FuturesNot offered
- Spot currenciesNot offered
- CryptoOffered
- International listingsNot offered
- Fractional sharesNot verified
- OTC equitiesOffered
Account types
- Individual taxable offered
- Joint not offered
- Traditional IRA offered
- Roth IRA offered
- Rollover IRA not offered
- SEP / SIMPLE IRA not offered
- Custodial not offered
- Trust not offered
- Solo 401(k) not offered
- HSA not offered
- Margin offered
- Managed portfolio not offered
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- The lowest published margin rates in our set, from 4.90% down to 3.95%
- $0 per stock and ETF options contract, with a rebate programme that can pay $0.06â$0.18 per contract back
- Treasuries and fractionalised corporate bonds priced per $100 of par on the public schedule
- A complete, dated fee schedule â the document itself carries a last-updated date, which not every firm in our set publishes
Limitations
- $2.99 per trade outside regular market hours, and on OTC stocks, unless you pay for Premium
- $100 to transfer the account out, the joint-largest exit charge among the firms we publish
- No mutual funds and no futures
- Only four account types identified, with no joint, custodial or trust accounts
Check these yourself
- Crypto is traded and custodied by Zero Hash, not by Public Investing, so SIPC custody protection does not apply to it
- The $3.99 monthly inactivity fee applies only under $70 with no activity in six months â check the threshold before leaving a small balance behind
- Margin pricing is due to be restated on 17 September 2026 as a formula tied to the federal funds target rate rather than as fixed percentages
- Premium costs $10 a month or $96 a year, and is waived above $50,000 â several of the $0 fees above assume you hold it
How Public scores
Under our default weights. Individual rankings re-weight these same sub-scores, which is why Public sits in different positions on different pages.
- Safety and regulationweight 30%8/10
- Fees and total costweight 30%8/10
- Investment selectionweight 22%6/10
- Account types and featuresweight 18%5/10
- Safety and regulation8/10 · weighted 30%
- Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-66049), FINRA member and SIPC member, with no enforcement matter identified in our sourced review. Its CRD number, 127818, is lower than those of Robinhood, Webull, tastytrade and eToro, which means the legal entity has been registered longer than the appâs launch date suggests. Still well short of the multi-decade registration records that earn a 9 here.
- Fees and total cost8/10 · weighted 30%
- $0 on US-listed stocks and ETFs in regular hours, $0 per stock and ETF options contract, and margin from 4.90% falling to 3.95% â the cheapest margin schedule we recorded, undercutting the next firm by more than six percentage points at the entry tier. Held to an 8 by three charges the headline pricing does not show: $2.99 per extended-hours or OTC trade without Premium, $100 to transfer the account out, and a 0.30% fee on currency conversion.
- Investment selection6/10 · weighted 22%
- Stocks, ETFs, equity and index options, OTC stocks, Treasuries, corporate bonds and crypto are all priced on the published schedule, and the bond range is deeper than most of the set. No mutual funds and no futures, which is the same double gap that holds the other app-first brokers at this level. Fractional shares are advertised but were not confirmed from a fee schedule or pricing table.
- Account types and features5/10 · weighted 18%
- Taxable, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, a crypto IRA and margin. No joint, custodial, SEP, solo 401(k) or HSA accounts identified; trust accounts are listed as not yet available. That rules the firm out for a large share of household situations.
Not scored
- Access and eligibility — Not scored in v1.0. Requires per-country eligibility confirmed against each firm's own onboarding terms, which we have not completed.
- Platform and usability — Not scored in v1.0. Requires hands-on use of a funded account, which we have not done.
- Research and education — Not scored in v1.0. Requires logged-in access to the research suite, which we have not had.
- Customer service — Not scored in v1.0. Requires timed contact tests across channels, which we have not run.
- Execution quality — Not scored in v1.0. Requires analysis of Rule 605/606 order-execution reports, which is scheduled for a later release.
Sources
- [1]FINRA BrokerCheck â Open to the Public Investing, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
- [2]Public â Fee schedule (last updated 14 August 2026)Read August 30, 2026
- [3]Public â Account types and asset lineupRead August 30, 2026
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Risk warning
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Nothing on this site is personalized investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or a solicitation. Figures are read from public sources on the dates shown and can change without notice — verify anything you intend to act on with the provider directly. Read the full risk disclosure.