Public.com is a US investing app founded in 2019, whose broker-dealer is FINRA-registered and SIPC-covered, offering stocks, ETFs, bonds, options and crypto. Its long-running 1% transfer match and its crypto deposit match both reached their stated expiry at the end of May 2026, leaving two dependable live offers: a $20 free-stock reward shared between you and a friend who signs up and funds an account, and a standing 1% match on IRA contributions. Rewards are limited to US residents.
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Public.com
Public matches 1% of eligible contributions to a Traditional or Roth IRA, up to the IRS annual contribution limit, worth up to $70 per year, or $80 with the age-50 catch-up.
Public.com
Public.com gives both you and a friend $20 in a stock or ETF of your choice when the friend signs up through your referral link and makes a first deposit of at least $1,000.
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Public.com launched in 2019 in New York, founded by Jannick Malling and Leif Abraham and backed by about $310 million from investors including Accel and Tiger Global. The regulated brokerage is Open To The Public Investing, Inc., a FINRA and SIPC member; Treasury products run through Jiko Securities, banking through partner banks, and crypto through Zero Hash. The product range is wider than most bonus-paying apps: stocks, ETFs, options, a corporate bond account, Treasury bills from $100, IRAs and a high-yield cash account paying around 3.3% APY with FDIC coverage up to $5 million through program banks.
One structural detail worth knowing: Public does not take payment for order flow on equities during regular hours, but it does on options, and it shares half that revenue back with customers as per-contract rebates of roughly $0.06 to $0.18. It is one of the few brokers paying customers to trade options rather than charging them.
Public's standing offer pays $20 in a stock or ETF of the new user's choice to both the referrer and the referred friend, once the friend is approved and makes a one-time deposit of at least $1,000. The reward's cash value is locked for 12 months after claiming; withdrawing earlier can trigger an early-withdrawal fee up to $20 for this program (larger sign-up variants carry fees up to $100).
The overriding constraint is a lifetime cap: $500 in total promotional rewards per member across all Public offers. Reach it and future promotions stop paying, though referral links keep working. Rewards are fractional shares with no voting rights, non-transferable, and US residents only; employees of Public, FINRA member firms and marketing affiliates are excluded.
For much of 2025 Public ran an uncapped 1% cash match on brokerage ACAT transfers and IRA or 401(k) rollovers, one of the strongest transfer offers in the industry. Its terms show the door closed in stages: new IRA and 401(k) enrollments ended June 30, 2025, brokerage transfers September 10, 2025, and the whole program's stated expiry was May 31, 2026. Matches paid under the later terms carry a five-year hold on both the transferred assets and the bonus, with forfeiture if moved early.
Public has revived transfer promotions before, and a crypto deposit match has also appeared in its disclosure documents, so it is worth checking the app before moving a large portfolio. Public separately reimburses up to $100 in transfer-out fees your old broker charges on transfers of $5,000 or more.
Sign-up stock offers larger than $20 also appear periodically through specific referral-code campaigns, typically requiring the same $1,000 deposit. They all count against the same $500 lifetime promotional cap.
All Public promotions require US residency and an account in good standing, and referral rewards require choosing the stock within the claim window, typically 30 days. Rewards float with the market between claim and sale, and bonuses can be taxable income.
As bonus economics go, Public's math is fair rather than generous: $20 on a $1,000 deposit is 2% with a 12-month string attached, better proportionally than most big-broker offers but small in absolute terms. The products around the bonus, the 3.3% cash yield and the options rebates, are arguably worth more than the bonus itself for anyone actually using the platform.
Yes. Open To The Public Investing, Inc. is a FINRA-member, SIPC-covered broker-dealer, with Treasury products through Jiko Securities (also FINRA/SIPC) and banking through FDIC-member partner banks. Crypto runs through Zero Hash and is not SIPC-protected.
You share your link; your friend opens an account and deposits at least $1,000 in one transaction. You each pick a stock or ETF and receive $20 of it. The reward's cash value is locked for 12 months, and early withdrawal can incur a fee up to $20 that effectively cancels it.
By its own terms, no: new IRA/401(k) enrollments ended June 30, 2025, brokerage transfers September 10, 2025, and the program's stated expiry was May 31, 2026. Public has revived transfer offers before, so check the app before initiating a large ACAT; if a match is live, note the five-year holding period attached to recent versions.
Up to a $500 lifetime cap across all Public promotional programs combined, including referrals and sign-up offers. Once you hit it, further promotions stop paying out for your account.
They can be treated as taxable income, and rewards are paid as fractional shares whose value moves with the market between claiming and selling. Keep records of the reward value at receipt.
The brokerage and its promotions require US residency. There is no international version of the bonus program.