tastytrade vs Public options fees (2026)
Public is cheaper per contract ($0.00 vs $1.00). Exercise/assignment fees can't be compared because Public doesn't publish one we could verify. At the smallest balance tier each lists, tastytrade charges 11.0% ($0-$24,999) and Public charges 5.15% (Up to $50,000).
| tastytrade | Public | |
|---|---|---|
| Per-contract commission | $1.00 Source: tastytrade.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 | $0.00 Source: public.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 |
| Exercise / assignment fee | $5.00 Source: tastytrade.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 | unverified (not listed in fee schedule) Source: public.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 |
| Index option fees | $1.00/contract to open, $0 to close + $0.10 clearing + proprietary fee (SPX $0.60, RUT $0.18, VIX $0.35, NDX $0.25, XSP $0/$0.07) Source: tastytrade.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 | $0.35/contract + exchange fees Source: public.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 |
| Margin rates | $0-$24,999: 11.0% $25,000-$49,999: 10.5% $50,000-$99,999: 10.0% $100,000-$249,999: 9.5% $250,000-$499,999: 9.0% $500,000-$999,999: 8.5% $1M+: 8.0% Source: tastytrade.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 | Up to $50,000: 5.15% $50k-$100k: 5.0% $100k-$1M: 4.75% $1M-$10M: 4.5% $10M-$50M: 4.45% $50M+: 4.2% Source: public.com, retrieved 2026-10-25 |
Per-contract figures exclude regulatory pass-through fees. Estimate your yearly cost with the calculator. See full pages for tastytrade and Public.