Public.com vs. eToro

(February 2025)

In This Article

Our Verdict

When it comes to simplicity and community, Public.com emerges as the winner of this comparison. Among many reasons, you’ll find the following more prominent:

  • Offers a simple, and straightforward platform for beginner investors.
  • Allows you to follow top investors and learn from their trades in real time.
  • Offers commission-free trading.

eToro, on the other hand, caters to a wider range of investors, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced trader. The platform’s notable feature is its ability to copy the trades of successful investors, which can be an easy way for you to learn from the pros. eToro, however, charges spreads on trades, which can add up to the fees you pay over time.

Your choice of platform largely depends on your investment needs and goals. 

In all, weight your options, check your current financial standing, and the platform that resonates more with your needs and goals. 

Why Choose Public.com

Who Public.com is Best For

Opt for Public.com if you:

  • Cherish User-Friendly Interface: You’ll love Public.com for its simplicity coupled with its easy-to-use tools. If you’re a beginner, you’ll find that the platform is designed to help you navigate easily without encountering much complex features.
  • Desire a No Payment for Order Flow (PFOF): When routing orders to market markers, Public.com does not charge you a dime. That’s a feature that helps you cut down on extra costs.
  • Love Commission-free Trading: Public.com—like many modern trading platforms—won’t take a fee from you as commission, when you trade stocks and ETFs. It’s a an opportunity to keep your profits devoid of reduction.
  • Love to Learn Trading: Access a variety of learning materials that can help you improve your investment and trading knowledge over time. You can find stuffs like videos, articles, and more.

Who Public.com isn’t Right For

Avoid Public.com if you:

  • Want Detailed Analytics: Remember that Public.com is designed with learners and beginner traders in mind. If you’re a veteran trader, needing extensive research tools, and market analysis, you might have to look for a more advanced platform.
  • Desire a 24/7 Trading Experience: Keep in mind that Public.com doesn’t trade outside standard market hours except you subscribe to its premium plan. You may find this deficiency very frustrating especially if you’re actively into active trading.
  • Are an Active Trader: Public.com won’t helpful if you’re an active trader. You’ll find some features, such as advanced order types, and detailed charting are missing, making it unsuitable for you.

Why Choose eToro

Who eToro is Best For

Choose eToro for your trading and investment if you:

  • Want to mimic or copy the trades of experienced investors.
  • Desire a diverse selection of investment options, such as crypto, stocks, commodities, forex, and more.
  • Want to follow, interact, and share strategies with other traders.
  • Love trading on a secure and regulated trading platform.
  • Seek a wealth of educational material to help you improve your trading skills.
  • Need a virtual portfolio where you can practice-trade with virtual money.
  • Prefer advanced trading tools and charts that help you make informed trading decisions.
  • Love trading on the go via a mobile application.
  • Want comprehensive customer support.

Who eToro isn’t Right For

Neglect eToro if you:

  • Don’t mind paying charges spreads on trades.
  • Want a $0 withdrawal fee because eToro charges $5 per withdrawal.
  • Seek a trading platform that is available in all countries.
  • Need fast customer response, especially for urgent issues.
  • Are not an active trader, especially for the $10 inactivity fee when your account stays dormant for 12 months.
  • Desire to pay low fees for buying and selling cryptocurrencies.

Public.com vs. eToro: The Main Difference

 

Public.com

eToro

Ideal For

●       Beginner traders.

●       Commission-free trading.

●       Non-traditional traders. 

●       Mimicking trades from experienced investors.

●       Building community.

●       Advanced traders.

●       Comprehensive customer support.

●        

Pricing

Commission-free:

Trade without paying commissions.

Premium: Pay $8/month to access enhanced data, trading features, and VIP account management.

Account opening: Free

Account management: free

Inactivity fee: $10

Withdrawal from a USD account to an external account: $5.

Find more details about eToro’s fees at https://www.etoro.com/trading/fees/

 

Account Integration

Plaid

Social media.

Banks.

 

 

Crypto wallets

Banks

Plaid

Social media

Public.com vs. eToro: Product Offerings

Public.com

Public.com gives you a variety of tools that simplify your investment. Its product offerings include:

  • Stocks
  • Options
  • Bonds
  • Bond Accounts
  • Treasuries
  • High-Yield Cash Account
  • Investment Plans
  • Crypto
  • ETFs

eToro

  • Stocks
  • Copy trading
  • Crypto
  • eToro earnings reports calendar
  • Delta
  • Popular investor program
  • Investment portfolios
  • ESG

Public.com vs. eToro: Standout Features

Public.com

Public.com  stands out in several areas, making it a good option you can consider when seeking a platform to trade and invest on. See some of its key features:

  • Offers social media integration directly into the Public.com platform so you can link up with veteran investors and grow in your journey.
  • Helps you to trade stocks and ETFs with zero commissions while relieving you of the pain of starting your investment journey at expensive costs.
  • Helps you trade stocks and ETFs by searching for topics you’re interested in.
  • Allows you to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies together with other investments so you can diversify your portfolio.
  • Provides an opportunity to invest in expensive stocks with as little as $1 through its fractional share offerings.
  • Gives you an extensive perk of assets to trade on.
  • Comes with an extensive collection of educational content, ranging from articles to videos, and more.

eToro

eToro comes with a variety of standout features that make it a great option for you to consider.

  • Allows you to replicate the trades of successful investors who are on the eToro platform, allowing you to learn from experienced traders.
  • Offers a broad spectrum of assets that include stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, commodities, indices, and forex.
  • Allows you to invest in professionally managed portfolios without having to manage individual investments.
  • Lets you trade stocks without paying any commission fee, which can be a great way to buy and sell shares without incurring additional charges.
  • Has a social trading community where you can follow, interact with, and learn from other traders.

Pros and Cons of the Public.com

  • Offers several investment options.
  • Takes no charges for order flow.
  • Has a daily podcast tagged “The Open.”
  • Has a simple, and straightforward user interface.
  • Takes no commission for trading stocks and ETFs.
  • Allows you to buy fractional shares.
  • Encourages transparency by allowing you to see the trades and strategies of other investors.
  • Demands no payment for order flow.
  • Has a mobile app.
  • Offers an extensive collection of educational content.
  • Offers no margin trading, mutual funds, and IRAs.
  • Delivers hastily written learning materials.
  • Takes a fee for tipping the broker.

Pros and Cons of eToro

  • Offers communal trading experience.
  • Offers copy trading and copy portfolio features.
  • Offers a large collection of trading assets.
  • Provides commission free.
  • has a user-friendly interface.
  • Comes with a wide range of learning materials.
  • Offers a demo account feature with $100,000 in virtual money.
  • Operates under regulatory financial authorities, such as FCA, CySEC, and ASIC.
  • Charges spread fees.
  • Has a $5 withdrawal fee.

Takes $10 if your account is inactive

Public.com vs. eToro: Customer Reviews

Public.com is generally well-received for offering a user-friendly platform and social investing features. That platform has a 4.6 out of 5-star rating on NerdWallet while scoring 4.2 out of 5 stars on Finder.com. In addition, the platform has 4.0 out of 5 stars on Investing.com.

eToro, however, isn’t doing badly either. The platform is praised for offering a wide range of assets, an easy-to-use interface, and social trading experience. On Forbes Advisor, you’ll see that the has a 3.7 out of 5 star rating. On Trustpilot, however, eToro is rated 4.2 out of 5 stars, coming from 24,391 customers, while having 3.5 out of 5 stars on NerdWallet.

As you can see there is no clear winner in this section, as both platforms have great ratings. You’ll excel with both the platform’s commission-free trading and strong community features.

The bottom line: Both platforms have strong social features, and friendly interfaces, making them great choices especially if you’re a beginner trader.

Public.com vs. eToro Competitors

Be aware that there are different investment options in the marketplace. The choice you make depends on your financial goals and preferences. As you get familiar with these options, you can broaden your search, and find that platform that aligns perfectly with your needs and preferences.

Fidelity: Choose Fidelity if you want a mix of simplicity and sophistication. You’ll love the fact that the platform accommodates you as a learner or an experienced trader. When you sign up with the platform, you can enjoy commission-free trading on U.S. stocks, ETFs, options, and mutual funds.

Be aware that it also, offers strong research tools, excellent customer service, and a simple user interface.

When it comes to pricing, Fidelity offers $0 commissions on online U.S. stocks, ETFs, and options trades. Make sure you constantly check the platform to see if it offers the product assets you want to trade on.

TradeStation: Opt for TradeStation if you need access to a variety of asset classes, such as stocks, ETFs, options, and more. If you’re a professional trader seeking grade-A trading experience, the platform can come in handy. If you’re not an active trader, that is, if you don’t trade often, you may have to pay the compulsory inactivity fee.

As you consider TradeStation, think about its fee structure. The good thing is that the platform offers zero commissions on stocks and ETFs. You can increase your buying power by accessing $6 margin rates. There’s also a $5 fee you’re paying for the return mail per item and $50 for un-cashed checks.

Robinhood: Check out Robinhood if want a simple trading platform that takes no commissions for trading stocks, ETFs, and options. The platform is similar to many other trading platforms when it comes to paying commissions—just so you know. Not quite long after, Robinhood included cryptocurrency trading in its list of offerings, giving you the opportunity to choose your trading assets.

Keep in mind that Robinhood does not charge you a fee for opening or maintaining an account. That’s a great way for you to save some cost.

However, be mindful of the three regulatory organization fees Robinhood pays for trading which is passed on to you. These fees include the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), issuing banks, and the Options Clearing Corporation.

Pro Tips

  • Research and follow traders who align with your investment goals, who are successful in what they do, and
  • Stay updated about market news and trends to help you stay informed.
  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
  • Avoid using high leverage when trading, unless you’re an experienced trader.
  • Define your investment goals and risk tolerance right on time.
  • Don’t make impulsive trading decisions based on short-term market movements so you don’t end up losing all your capital.
  • Take full advantage of the stop-loss order tool to help you reduce losses especially when the market moves against your prediction.
  • Start with a virtual trading account, especially if you’re new to trading. This helps you to practice how things work on the platform, and test strategies without risking real money.
  • Don’t despise community trading. Take part in discussions, ask questions, and share insights. this way, you can learn so much from other traders, as well as get useful contacts on there.

Recap

The choice between Public.om and eToro largely depends on your specific needs and preferences as an investor. Both platforms are a great choice, though. On one hand, you’ll excel with Public.com’s commission-free trading, and strong community trading tools and features. This can help you invest with confidence and connect with experienced investors.

On the other hand, you might find eToro suitable for its broader range of investment choices, and advanced trading tools. Remember, eToro is known for providing professional-grade tools. Be aware of the several fees that come with trading on the platform. You might find it very inconvenient if you have limited trading funds.

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