Investing is one of the best ways to build up some passive income for yourself, and these investing apps can help make that a breeze…
Today we’re going to compare two free investing apps, Cash App and Public, and see which app is best for investors.
Which investing app is best, Cash App or Public?
Cash App
Public
Both of these investing apps are very easy to use and feel polished, but they both also feel lacking in the features department.
I still enjoyed using both apps, and think they are perfectly fine for people who just want a basic investing experience without getting overwhelmed by a bunch of fancy charts and indicators.
Which of these apps is best? Well… that’s kind of tough to say. Both are fine, but if I had to pick one I’d pick Cash App, mostly because the money transfer service is really useful.
Plus I feel like Cash App has a higher chance of getting updated with more features because the owners have been making pretty big business deals with people like Joe Rogan promoting them, and the 100Thieves gaming crew.
Cash App vs Public: Services and features
Everyone loves being able to compare features in a nice table, so here’s a comparison between the Cash App and Public features and services.
| Cash App Features | Free Account | Premium Account | Public Features | Free Account | Premium Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Fee | $0 | N/A | Monthly Fee | $0 | N/A |
| Minimum Balance | $0 | N/A | Minimum Balance | $0 | N/A |
| Instant Deposits |  | N/A | Instant Deposits |  | N/A |
| Automatic Deposits | | N/A | Automatic Deposits | | N/A |
| Stocks | | N/A | Stocks | | N/A |
| ETFs | | N/A | ETFs | | N/A |
| Options | | N/A | Options | | N/A |
| Cryptocurrency | | N/A | Cryptocurrency | | N/A |
| Fractional Shares | | N/A | Fractional Shares | | N/A |
| DRIP/FRIP | | N/A | DRIP/FRIP | | N/A |
| Bonds | | N/A | Bonds | | N/A |
| Mutual Funds | | N/A | Mutual Funds | | N/A |
| Paper Trading | | N/A | Paper Trading | | N/A |
| Margin Accounts | | N/A | Margin Accounts | | N/A |
| Retirement Accounts | | N/A | Retirement Accounts | | N/A |
| Banking Services | | N/A | Banking Services | | N/A |
| Human Advisors | | N/A | Human Advisors | | N/A |
| Robo Advisors | | N/A | Robo Advisors | | N/A |
| Stock Screeners | | N/A | Stock Screeners | | N/A |
| Level 2 Market Data | | N/A | Level 2 Market Data | | N/A |
| Other | Money Transfer | N/A | Other | Community Messaging | N/A |
Which investment app has the best services, Cash App or Public?
When it comes down to it, neither one of these apps have a lot of features, BUT Cash App’s money transferring service works well and is really useful, and the investing side of the app is really clean too, which I like.
The community messaging inside the Public app is pretty useless for most people, and other than those two features these apps are fairly similar in usefulness.
Both apps offer fractional shares, which makes investing or trading much more simple, but for some reason Cash App doesn’t have a Dividend Re-Investment Plan.
Still, I’d rather use Cash App than Public, personally.
Which investing app is easier to use, Cash App or Public?
Cash App simplicity
Cash App is pretty much the simplest you can get, as far as active investing apps are concerned anyway.
Part of that simplicity is due to a lack of features, but overall, the app is really simple and easy to understand. They even include a really fun and simple introduction to the stock market for new investors.
Public simplicity
Public is mostly simple to use because the only features it really has are fractional shares and a DRIP.
That’s perfectly fine, since easy investing apps feel a lot more approachable than the overwhelming ones, but, I feel like the app is missing something…
I’m not sure what it is, it just feels that way to me.
Which investment app is easiest to use?
Cash App is extremely easy and really the only two apps that are easier to use is Acorns, and possibly M1 Finance.
Public is really easy to understand though too, so I wouldn’t be intimidated by it.
Cash App and Public sign-up and referral bonuses
Sign-up bonuses and referral bonuses are pretty much just free money in the bank, and that’s how we make a living, so we figure other people might be trying to make a living doing this too…
So here’s what we think about the Cash App and Public affiliate programs.
Cash App sign-up and referral bonuses
Cash App isn’t known for having an amazing affiliate program, and once you see how much it pays out compared to some of the other brokerages, you’ll see why.
A brokerage like Webull will offer users 2 free stocks, one worth $2.50 – $250, and another worth $10-$1400 if people sign up and deposit $100 within 30 days.
Cash App offers $5, IF you join AND send someone $5 within 14 days. Or $5 whenever a person you refer joins and sends their first $5 within 14 days.
As you can see, the bonus is okay, but it’s not really amazing.
Public sign-up and referral bonuses
Public’s sign-up and referral bonus rewards are a little better, since they don’t require any kind of deposit, and they have relatively high payout at ~$7 per sign up.
Best sign-up and referral program?
Public has a better sign-up and referral reward than Cash App does, and the $7 per sign-up can really add up fast, especially if you’re good at promoting products to people.
Cash App vs Public - best research tools
Cash App investment research tools
The stock research tools on Cash App are pretty much a joke. I hate to say it, but it’s just true…
They mad their app extremely simple, which is great for the most part, but they should probably try to work on their tools a little bit in the future.
Public investment research tools
Most of these mobile investing apps, specially free ones, are going to have fairly weak stock research tools, and Public isn’t an exception to that, unfortunately…
Hopefully in the future these companies will put a little more effort into their research tools, but for now people are going to have to use Webull if they want powerful tools.
Best stock research tools, Cash App or Public?
This is too close to call for me.
Both of them are just mediocre, and I wouldn’t choose one or the other based on the tools. You’ll probably need to find another source of stock research anyway if you use either one of these.
Which app did you choose, Cash App or Public?
Everyone has different investing needs and preferences, so which app was best for you?
If you didn’t like either of these investing apps, there are more comparisons here.
Or you can just visit our homepage for a quick and easy breakdown of all of the investing apps we have reviewed.
Thank you, and good luck with your investments.
