Public.com vs Tastytrade (2026) — Which Is Better?
Compare Public.com and Tastytrade — features, pricing, pros and cons.
Data below reflects each vendor's official docs at time of writing. Pricing, features, and account terms can change; check the source of truth on each provider's site. Methodology →
The Short Version
Higher Rated
Tastytrade (4.4)
More Affordable
Public.com (Free)
Public.com
Commission-free social investing platform offering stocks, ETFs, options, crypto, and bonds with a built-in investor community and AI-powered insights.
Tastytrade
Options-first brokerage and trading platform built by the founders of thinkorswim, featuring $0 stock commissions, $1/contract options with no close fees, and tastylive — the largest live financial media network for options traders.
Fee & Feature Breakdown
| Feature | Public.com | Tastytrade |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ★ 4.0 | ★ 4.4 |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Markets | stocks, etfs, options, crypto, bonds, alternatives | stocks, options, futures, crypto |
| AI Analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Backtesting | ✗ | ✗ |
| Paper Trading | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price Alerts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Access | ✗ | ✓ |
| Social Features | ✓ | ✗ |
| Broker Integration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Indicators | ✗ | ✗ |
| Automated Trading | ✗ | ✗ |
| Trade Journaling | ✗ | ✗ |
| Performance Analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Risk Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| News Feed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Education Content | ✓ | ✓ |
Broker Head-to-Head
Public.com and Tastytrade serve distinct trader profiles. Public.com emphasizes community learning and accessibility with commission-free stocks, ETFs, $0-per-contract options, and built-in social features plus Alpha AI analysis. Tastytrade targets options professionals with industry-leading pricing ($10/leg cap), probability-based tools, and continuous education via Tastylive. Both are free, but Public.com prioritizes exploration while Tastytrade optimizes execution and strategy depth.
Public.com's key strength is its integrated community and accessible AI insights for learning traders. Tastytrade's competitive advantage is options-specific tools and superior pricing that directly reduces trading costs for active strategies. Public.com lacks desktop charting and backtesting capabilities; Tastytrade sacrifices broad charting complexity for focused options specialization.
Choose Public.com if you're building trading knowledge across stocks, ETFs, and casual options—especially valuing peer learning. Choose Tastytrade if you're executing serious options strategies and need probability analysis, tight spreads, and professional education. Public.com works for diversified portfolios; Tastytrade works for dedicated options traders seeking cost efficiency and strategic depth.
Public.com: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Strong social community ideal for learning from other investors
- + Commission-free stocks, ETFs, and $0 per-contract options
- + Alpha AI tool provides accessible plain-language stock analysis
- + Competitive High-Yield Cash Account integrated with brokerage
- + Clean, intuitive mobile-first interface
Cons
- - No desktop/web charting tools for technical analysis
- - No paper trading or backtesting capabilities
- - Not suited for active traders needing advanced order types or futures
- - Premium pricing adds up compared to free alternatives
Tastytrade: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Built by the founders of thinkorswim — Tom Sosnoff, Tony Battista, Scott Sheridan
- + Cheapest options commissions: $1 to open, $0 to close, capped at $10/leg for large orders
- + $0 stock and ETF commissions
- + Platform purpose-built for options selling strategies — IV rank, probability of profit, and theta front and center
- + tastylive media network: 8+ hours of live daily programming with data-driven options strategy analysis
- + Follow Feed lets you see and optionally replicate trades from tastylive hosts
- + Portfolio beta weighting shows entire portfolio exposure as a single number
- + Well-designed mobile app with full trading capability
- + Curve analysis with visual P&L diagrams integrated into the brokerage
Cons
- - Basic charting compared to TradingView or thinkorswim — functional but limited
- - No advanced scripting or custom indicator development
- - No order flow tools — no footprint charts, volume profiles, or DOM
- - No API for programmatic trading
- - Limited stock research and fundamental analysis tools — options-focused platform
- - 1% crypto trading fee is higher than dedicated crypto exchanges