Merrill Edge vs Public

What each platform is

Merrill Edge is a self-directed brokerage attached to a bank and wealth-management relationship. Its canonical record describes $0 online U.S. stock and ETF commissions, a $0.65 options contract fee, mutual funds, Treasuries and individual bonds, a broad retirement and business account range, Merrill Guided Investing and Bank of America integration.

Public is a multi-asset investing platform. Its canonical record describes $0 commission and $0 contract fee options with a rebate paid to the customer, a Bond Account and Treasury Account managed by Public Advisors LLC, a high-yield cash account, Generated Assets, Direct Indexing, royalties and other alternative assets, an Alpha AI research layer, Agents, a trading API and a Premium subscription.

Cost structure

Both records show $0 online U.S. stock and ETF commissions during regular hours. Beyond that the models separate. Merrill charges $0.65 per option contract. Public charges $0 commission and $0 contract fee on equity options and pays the customer an order-flow rebate of $0.06 to $0.18 per contract, while index options are $0.50 per contract, or $0.35 for Premium members, and the index-option rebate does not apply.

Public layers subscription and program pricing where Merrill layers per-ticket pricing. Public Premium is $10 monthly or $96 annually, waived at a $50,000 balance, and it removes the $2.99 extended-hours and OTC per-trade charges that apply to non-Premium accounts and the $3.99 monthly Bond Account fee. Public also carries a $3.99 monthly inactivity fee limited to accounts under $70 in total value with no activity for six months. Merrill carries no standard self-directed annual fee, but charges $19.95 for online transaction-fee mutual funds, $29.95 for broker-assisted trades and $49.95 for full outgoing account transfers, against Public at $100 for outgoing ACATS and $115 per security for outgoing DRS.

Fixed income

Both records support Treasuries and individual bonds, structured differently. Merrill prices Treasuries at $0 online, new-issue fixed income at $0 where applicable including eligible brokered CDs, and secondary corporate, municipal and agency bonds at $1 per bond with a $10 minimum and $250 maximum.

Public sells fixed income through per-$100-par pricing: $0.10 for Treasuries maturing within a year, $0.25 beyond a year, $0.35 and $0.50 for corporates on the same split, with municipal pricing following its live fee schedule rather than corporate pricing. Its Bond Account holds ten bonds with a $1,000 initial minimum, $100 par increments and no automatic rebalancing, at $3.99 monthly for non-Premium members. The Treasury Account, advised by Public Advisors LLC, spans three-month to thirty-year maturities on a marginal fee schedule from 0.29% on the first $25,000 down to 0.09% above $5,000,000.

Cash, crypto and alternatives

Public establishes a high-yield cash account with a 3.30% APY as of 2026-08, variable, with FDIC pass-through coverage headlined at $5 million subject to program-bank and depositor eligibility rules. Merrill establishes Bank of America integration and Preferred Rewards rather than a platform cash-yield product.

Public supports direct crypto through Zero Hash LLC, which executes and custodies while Public provides the interface and funding; crypto there is neither FDIC insured nor SIPC protected, staking is not supported, and tiered order fees run from $0.49 on small orders to 1.25% of order value above $500. Merrill does not support direct crypto. Public also supports Reg A securities and royalties through Dalmore Group, LLC where applicable, with offering-specific fees, a historical average true-up fee near 5%, a 2.5% secondary-market fee each side and limited liquidity. Merrill establishes no comparable alternatives program.

Research, automation and advice

Merrill brings BofA Global Research, Morningstar, CFRA, Trading Central, OptionsPlay, Idea Builder and fixed income and mutual fund screeners inside MarketPro, a web-based advanced platform that is not downloadable and not available on mobile or tablet. Public brings Alpha AI research, Agents, institutional and premium research, a bond screener, and a trading API covering stocks, options, multi-leg quotes, historical market data and short selling, plus a CLI. The Public record states that Agents do not provide investment advice.

Advisory shapes differ. Merrill offers Merrill Guided Investing and Guided Investing with an Advisor. Public does not establish a conventional robo-advisor; instead Public Advisors LLC serves as adviser to specific products, namely the Treasury Account, Generated Assets at 0.49% annually and Direct Indexing at 0.19% annually, alongside advisory accounts.

Which fits which reader

The Merrill Edge record fits a reader who wants mutual funds, conventional bond pricing, 529 or small-business retirement structures, human advisory access and integration with an existing Bank of America relationship. The Public record fits a reader who wants options rebates, a managed bond or Treasury product, high-yield cash, direct indexing, direct crypto through a third-party provider, alternative assets or programmatic access.

Because Public yields and program fees are variable and subscription dependent, and Merrill margin pricing is relationship dependent, verify current published figures before funding either account.