Public shares a rebate with you on every options trade, making Public the cheapest way to trade options. Earn up to $0.18 rebate on every option contract traded.

How it works

If you are enrolled in our Options Order Flow Rebate Program (“Program”), Public will automatically share a portion of our options order flow revenue from each completed transaction with you, reducing the cost of your options trade. We are calling the revenue that Public shares with you an “order flow rebate.”

For each trade, you will be able to view your order flow rebate throughout the checkout process — first, on the “Review” screen before submitting the trade and then on the “Order Completed” screen. You’ll also be able to view your order flow rebates on your trade history and on your trade confirmation.

On trade confirmations, order flow rebates will be displayed in the “Additional Fee” column, and will be included in the net dollars paid or received for that transaction.

Why Public is paying options order flow rebates

Payment for order flow (“PFOF”) is when brokerage firms receive compensation in exchange for routing orders for trade execution to a particular market maker or exchange. Public does not participate in PFOF for equities trades, including stocks and ETFs.

However, PFOF is an essential part of the options market structure. Unique to Public, we are choosing to share part of the options order flow revenue that we receive from our intermediaries as a rebate with our investors to help reduce your options trading costs.

How Public determines your order flow rebate

Public determines your order flow rebate based on currently-negotiated PFOF rates. Your rebate will range from $0.06 to $0.18 per contract traded, depending on when you enrolled in the Program and how many referrals you’ve done post March 31st, 2024. For the most current rates, please see our Options Order Flow Rebate Terms & Conditions.

Note that the PFOF pricing and rates may change in the future, and future options order flow rebates may have a different dollar amount per contract and/or may be dependent on factors such as total number of contracts or legs or type of options strategy. Order flow rebates are only issued for options transactions.

When you receive your order flow rebate

Public does not actually receive our order flow revenue on options orders until 1-2 months after the order has actually occurred. Because we don’t want to wait that long to pass the savings on to you, we are sharing rebates with you based on our expected revenue using the current PFOF pricing and rates at the time you place the trade. What you see as your order flow rebate amount during checkout and on your trade confirm won’t change — that’s the exact rebate that will be applied to your order. We apply the order flow rebate directly to your trade at the time of your trade.

How the rebate impacts cost basis

Since order flow rebates are directly applied to the trade, they will also impact your cost basis, reducing your cost basis on buys and increasing your realized gains on sells.

How to activate the Program

If you have a brokerage account with Public, you will activate your rebate of $0.18 per contract traded if you enroll in the Program by successfully enabling options trading on Public by 11:59 PM ET on March 31, 2024.

If you enroll in the Program after March 31, 2024, you will start by earning $0.06 per contract traded. Invite friends to earn up to $0.18 per contract traded when they sign up to Public, fund their account, and successfully enable options trading. Friends who sign up with your link will also earn more.

For more details, see our Program Terms & Conditions.

If you are enrolled in the Options Order Flow Rebate Program, Public Investing will share a portion of our estimated order flow revenue for each completed options trade as a rebate to you. The exact rebate will depend on the specifics of each transaction and will be previewed for you prior to submitting each trade. This rebate will be deducted from your cost to place the trade and will be reflected on your trade confirmation. Order flow rebates are not available for non-options transactions. To learn more, see our Fee Schedule

Options are not suitable for all investors and carry significant risk. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk. There are additional costs associated with option strategies that call for multiple purchases and sales of options, such as spreads, straddles, among others, as compared with a single option trade.

Prior to buying or selling an option, investors must read the “Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options”, also known as the options disclosure document (ODD) which can be found here.

Brokerage services for US Listed, registered securities, and options in a self-directed brokerage account are offered by Open To The Public Investing, member FINRA & SIPC. ETFs and options are available to US members only.