Freetrade vs Public.com — which broker is better?

Pros

• GBP 0 dealing commission on every UK and US stock, ETF and investment trust, on all three plans including free Basic
• Stocks and shares ISA, Junior ISA and SIPP are included on the free plan — most UK app brokers charge for at least one wrapper
• FCA authorised under firm reference 783189 with FSCS cover up to GBP 85,000, and since 2025 part of FTSE 100-listed IG Group
• FX markup falls to 0.39% on the Plus plan, which is competitive for a UK app broker buying US shares
• US fractional shares let small amounts be invested in high-priced names without rounding down to zero
• Around 720,000 customers and GBP 3.3 billion under administration as reported by its listed owner IG Group — real scale rather than a startup pilot
• Account opening is genuinely a few minutes, with no minimum deposit and free deposits and withdrawals
• No inactivity fee, no custody fee and no platform fee on the free tier

Cons

• The 0.99% FX markup on the free plan is the real cost of the account: a GBP 2,000 US order costs GBP 19.80 to convert, which is worse than a flat-commission broker
• UK residents only — there is no route in from Germany, Austria, Switzerland or Ireland, and Freetrade withdrew from its earlier European markets
• No options, futures, forex, CFDs, spot crypto or corporate bonds; the asset range is UK and US equities, ETFs, investment trusts, funds, gilts and T-bills
• No telephone support at all — everything goes through in-app chat and email, with priority routing reserved for Plus subscribers
• Research, screening and charting are minimal; you will need an external tool for anything beyond a price chart and a fundamentals summary
• Monthly billing costs 20% more than annual (GBP 5.99 versus an effective GBP 4.99), so the advertised plan prices require a twelve-month commitment

Pros

• Options Rebate Program pays USD 0.06–0.18 per stock or ETF contract, typically more than the roughly USD 0.05 per contract of regulatory fees — a net-negative transaction cost that no competitor here matches
• Cheapest margin of the three: 5.15% base (Fed Funds Target Rate + 1.15%, with FFTR at 4.00% as of 17 September 2026), tiering to 4.20% above USD 50 million
• A real bond desk — fractional corporate bonds at 0.35%–0.50% of par, Treasuries at 0.10%–0.25%, plus customisable Treasury ladders and a 6-month T-bill account from USD 100
• Genuinely multi-asset in one login: stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, Treasuries, 60+ crypto assets, IRAs, Crypto IRAs and a high-yield cash account quoted at 3.30% APY in mid-2026
• Free ACH in and out, free incoming wires and free incoming ACAT transfers, with no minimum deposit
• Transparent, well-maintained public fee schedule — the version used for this record was updated 17 September 2026 and states every line item including the awkward ones
• Index options at USD 0.35 per contract for every customer, plus the exchange fees Public passes on

Cons

• US residents only — no international entity, so European, UK or DACH investors cannot open an account
• USD 100 to transfer securities out, plus USD 115 per security for a DRS transfer; both are the highest in this comparison
• No futures, no spot forex, no mutual funds and no desktop application — active traders will find the charting and depth-of-market shallow next to Webull or moomoo
• The options rebate is funded by payment for order flow, so you are accepting a routing model in exchange for the payment; the free Wholesale route is the default, and choosing Smart Order or Lit-Exchange routing costs USD 0.003 per share
• A USD 3.99 monthly inactivity fee applies to accounts under USD 70 with no six-month activity, and there is no paper-trading environment to practise in