Public makes money in three different ways:
1. They can lend the securities you hold – without you noticing or being affected by it – and they earn a lending rebate for doing so.
2. The firm earns an interest rate on any available cash balance they hold from investors.
3. As of February 1, 2021, Public is moving away from PFOF as a revenue generator. As a replacement of this revenue source, Public has introduce an "optional tipping" feature for customers to use when they make a trade.
Although Public does not charge a subscription fee right now, the firm plans to introduce a premium service at some point, which will provide another revenue stream for the company.