Options Foundations

Order Flow Rebate

Public shares a rebate with you on every options trade, making Public the cheapest way to trade options. Earn a $0.06-$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. We decided that our customers would be best served if we did not accept PFOF, which would get them very good execution prices and also avoid the conflicts of interest that are inherent in payment for order flow.

By contrast, we do accept PFOF for options trades because the options market is a bit different. Here, we decided that the best outcome for our customers would be to route to market makers and share the resulting PFOF with the customer, which aligns our interests and also results in better prices for our customers.

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 monthly contracts you’ve traded.

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 different or additional factors. Order flow rebates are only issued for completed options transactions.

Receiving 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 Public determines your rebate each month

Currently, Public offers four options rebate tiers. For the current rates associated with each tier, please see our Options Rebate Terms & Conditions.

If you enrolled in the Program before September 30, 2024, your base rate will be the tier you were at prior to this date. If you enrolled in the Program on or after September 30, 2024, your base rate will be Tier 1, unless you enrolled using a promo code that automatically grants a higher base tier.

You can increase your base tier if you trade enough contracts in a given calendar month. Upon reaching increased tier(s), this new tier will hold for the rest of the current month and for all of the following month. Afterwards, your rebate rate will reset back to your base rate. For the full terms and conditions, please see our Options Rebate Terms & Conditions

For example, let’s say you enrolled in the Program on October 1, 2024 without any promo codes. Your base rate will start at Tier 1. In October, you trade the following amounts:

Less than 1,000 contracts: you will remain at Tier 1 for October and all of November.
1,000 – 4,999 contracts: your rebate rate will temporarily increase to Tier 2 for the remainder of October and all of November.
5,000 – 9,999 contracts: your rebate rate will temporarily increase to Tier 3 for the remainder of October and all of November.
10,000+ contracts: your rebate rate will temporarily increase to Tier 4 for the remainder of October and all of November.

If you don’t trade any contracts in November, then your rebate rate will reset to your base rate on December 1. But if you trade enough contracts in November, then you may qualify for a higher rebate for the remainder of November and all of December.

How to activate the Program

If you have a brokerage account with Public, you will enroll in the Program by successfully enabling options trading on Public. 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.