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 uncapped 1% transfer match relaunched on September 14, 2026 and now pays out over 60 monthly installments, alongside a $100 free-stock reward for both you and a friend who funds an account with $1,000 and a 1% match on IRA contributions; the crypto deposit match ended in May 2026. Rewards are limited to US residents.
Risk warning: Trading carries a high risk of losing money, especially with leveraged products such as CFDs. A bonus does not reduce that risk. Only deposit what you can afford to lose.
Public.com
Public pays a 1% cash match, with no cap, on brokerage ACAT transfers, IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers, paid in 60 monthly installments, plus up to $100 in transfer-out fees reimbursed. The offer was relaunched on September 14, 2026 with no end date.
Public.com
Public matches 1% of eligible contributions to a Traditional or Roth IRA, up to the IRS annual contribution limit, worth up to $75 per year at the 2026 limit, or $86 with the age-50 catch-up. The match is paid in 12 monthly installments.
Public.com
Public.com gives both you and a friend $100 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.
Profile checked against official sources on · How we rate
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 $100 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 of up to $100, which would wipe out the reward.
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.
Public pays an uncapped 1% cash match on brokerage ACAT transfers, IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers, one of the strongest transfer offers in the industry. The previous version, which paid the match as a single credit backed by a five-year Early Removal Fee, ended on May 31, 2026. Public relaunched the program on September 14, 2026 with no end date and a new payout schedule: the match now arrives in 60 equal monthly installments, so a $10,000 transfer earns $100 at about $1.67 a month for five years. There is no holding period or Early Removal Fee, and installments already received are yours to keep, but withdrawals beyond your Unmatched Balance permanently lower the remaining payments, and closing the account stops them.
The separate 1% crypto deposit match ran from December 2025 to May 31, 2026 and has not been relaunched. The IRA contribution match continues: it pays 1% on contributions up to the IRS limit, about $70 a year or $80 with the age-50 catch-up, and contributions settling from September 22, 2026 are matched in 12 monthly installments. 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 of other sizes 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 referral math is strong: $100 on a $1,000 deposit is 10% with a 12-month string attached, though the $500 lifetime cap limits how far it goes. The transfer match works the other way round, uncapped but slow, since 1% spread over 60 months only fully pays on assets that stay put. The products around the bonus, the 3.3% cash yield and the options rebates, matter as much as the bonus 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 $100 of it. The reward's cash value is locked for 12 months, and early withdrawal can incur a fee of up to $100 that effectively cancels it.
Yes. Public relaunched it on September 14, 2026 with no end date. It pays 1% of brokerage ACAT transfers, IRA transfers and 401(k) rollovers with no cap, in 60 equal monthly installments. There is no holding period or Early Removal Fee, but withdrawals beyond your Unmatched Balance permanently reduce the remaining installments, and closing the account stops them. The earlier version, with a single payment and a five-year hold, ended on May 31, 2026.
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.