Public currently has two promotions:
- Free stock valued from $3 to $300. Sign up and deposit $20 or more to earn this free share.
- Transfer bonus up to $10,000. Both new and existing Public customers can earn between $150 and $10,000 for transferring an existing brokerage account (or cash) to their Public account.
Public Free Stock Offer Explained
Many brokerages offer free stocks to new customers as a reward for signing up. Public’s offer stands out in that only a $20 deposit is needed to earn a free share.
The odds for the value of the share you can expect to receive are:
Value | Odds |
$3 | 95% |
$5 | 4.9% |
$300 | 0.1% |
Other important details include:
- You’re receiving fractional shares of stock with this offer, so the value is a flat amount of either $3, $5 or $300.
- You can choose the type of asset you’d like to receive — either a fractional share of stock, ETF or crypto — after qualifying for the bonus.
- The stock isn’t deposited into your account automatically. You have to log into the Public app and claim the offer once you’ve met the qualifications.
Public Transfer Bonus Explained
In what’s one of the top cash transfer bonuses, Public is now offering up to $10,000 for transferring existing securities or cash to your account. This offer is available to both new and existing customers.
You will receive the bonus in your account one month after you transfer the funds. However, you must keep the transferred funds in your Public account for at least one year to keep the bonus. The bonus will be taken away if you withdraw the funds before that.
Transfer Amount | Bonus |
$5,000 – $24,999 | $150 |
$25,000 – $99,999 | $250 |
$100,000 – $249,999 | $1,000 |
$250,000 – $499,999 | $2,500 |
$500,000 – $999,999 | $5,000 |
$1 million or more | $10,000 |
Here’s what else you should know:
- Public doesn’t charge transfer fees, and will pay transfer fees of up to $100 charged by your existing broker (if you’re transferring over $500).
- All qualifying transfers during the promotional period are aggregated to determine your bonus amount. For example, a $15,000 transfer and a separate $10,000 transfer will qualify you for a $500 bonus (which has a minimum transfer requirement of $25,000).
Public Investing App Summary
Public is a commission-free trading app that allows you to invest in stocks, ETFs, crypto and collectibles. The app is beginner-friendly and prioritizes social networking. It lacks many of the more advanced tools that you’ll find on competitors like Moomoo and Webull, which are targeted more towards intermediate to advanced traders.
For an in-depth summary and more analysis, see our Public review.
Public Referral Program
You can earn additional shares of free stocks by sharing Public with your friends. Specifically, for each friend who joins, you’ll both earn a free share.
The same terms apply to the referral program as to the sign-up offer:
- A minimum $20 deposit is required to earn the bonus.
- You’ll receive assets worth either $3, $5 or $300.
No referral code is required. Instead, your account has a unique link (accessible from within the app) that you can share. Anyone who uses that link to sign up counts as a referral.
Public Free Stock/Transfer Promo FAQs
After you qualify for the free stock, the reward will be added to your Public account within five business days.
While the stock can be sold at any time, the cash value of the stock cannot be withdrawn to an external bank account until 90 days have passed after it’s been claimed.
You can choose from a predetermined pool of stocks, ETFs and crypto assets. Options are chosen from the top 50 most popular stocks on the platform with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more.
How Does the Public Offer Compare to Other Free Stock Offers?
While Public has a low minimum deposit of just $20 to earn the bonus, we ranked this free stock offer below competitors like Webull and Moomoo.
In a current Moomoo promotion, you can get up to 16 free shares of stock, each valued from $3 to $2,000. While this offer requires a deposit of $2,000, you can also get six free shares for making a deposit of just $100. If you deposit $5,000, you get a full share of Tesla or Google.
In a current Webull promotion, you can get a minimum of six shares (and up to 12), each valued from $3 to $3,000, for making any deposit.
Public Bonus FAQs
You will receive the transfer bonus within 30 days of making a qualifying y transfer. While you’re free to withdraw your bonus, you must keep the transferred funds in your account for a minimum of a year to keep the bonus.
If you close your Public account before the end of the one-year holding period for the bonus, the bonus will be forfeited and removed from your account.
No. Each user can only receive one transfer bonus from Public. This means that if you transfer funds into your Public account and receive a transfer bonus, you will not be eligible for another transfer bonus for future transfers into your account.
Public Free Stock Promo: Our Verdict
While the cash transfer bonus is one the best currently available, I wouldn’t sign up for Public solely for the free stock. That said, Public is a very beginner-friendly platform in both user experience and fee structure. If you’re looking for an alternative to Robinhood, give Public a shot and consider the free stock or transfer bonus a nice added bonus.