Head to head
Baraka vs Public.com — which broker is better?
Baraka or Public.com? Fees, regulation, platform and product range compared side by side — with a verdict drawn from the data.
Risk warning: CFDs and leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly. Investments can fall in value. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.
Baraka
A DFSA-licensed investing app for residents of five Gulf states: US and UAE shares, options and gold, with an Islamic Window under its own Shariah board.
- Stocks (per order)
- US$1
- Minimum deposit
- None
- 5,000 order
- €0.92
Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
Public.com
The only US broker in this comparison that pays you to trade options — plus fractional corporate bonds and Treasury ladders in the same app.
- Stocks (per order)
- Free
- Minimum deposit
- None
- 5,000 order
- €0
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
The verdict in numbers
Four decision axes, each derived from the recorded data.
Overall Public.com takes it, 3.9 against 3.6 out of 5. Public.com is the cheaper of the two: a reference EUR 5,000 stock order costs €0.00 there against €0.92. Public.com scores 68 against 44 out of 100 on the group index. Your account's protection depends on its legal entity. Public.com covers more ground with 6 of 14 asset classes against 5. On platform and app Public.com is ahead, 4.1 against 3.8 out of 5. Which one is right depends on which of these axes matters for your trading profile.
- Baraka
- 3.6
- Public.com
- 3.9 — Better
- Baraka
- €0.92
- Public.com
- €0.00 — Better
- Baraka
- 44 of 100
- Public.com
- 68 of 100
- Baraka
- 5/14
- Public.com
- 6/14 — Better
- Baraka
- 3.8
- Public.com
- 4.1 — Better
Compare brokers side by side
Up to four brokers at once — every row a decision point.
Data as of: 02 Nov 2026
| Criterion | Baraka 3.6 Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest. | Public.com 3.9 Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 3.6 | 3.9 — Better |
| Group index | 44 of 100 | 68 of 100 |
| Best for | Residents of the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait buying US sharesInvestors who want Sharia screeningArabic-speaking beginnersSmall monthly purchases within the plan's free trades | US options income tradersBond and Treasury investorsMargin borrowersMulti-asset simplicityDesign-led beginners |
| Regulation | DFSA | FINRASECFINRACFTCNYDFS |
| Top-tier licences | 0 | 4 — Better |
| Investor protection | n/a | US$500,000 |
| Listed group | No | No |
| Banking licence | No | No |
| Segregated client accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Negative balance protection | No | No |
| Audited financials | No | Yes |
| Disclosed regulatory actions | None | 3 |
| Founded | 2020 | 2019 |
| Headquarters | Dubai, AE | New York, US |
| Fees | 3.7 | 4.2 — Better |
| Safety & regulation | 3.5 | 3.7 — Better |
| Trading platform | 3.4 | 3.8 — Better |
| Product range | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Mobile app | 4.1 | 4.4 — Better |
| Research | 3.4 | 3.8 — Better |
| Customer support | 3.2 | 3.3 — Better |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 3.5 | 3.6 — Better |
| Account opening | 4.2 | 4.4 — Better |
| Education | 3.0 | 3.4 — Better |
| Reference order EUR 5,000 | €0.92 | €0.00 — Better |
| Minimum deposit | None | None |
| Stocks (per order) | US$1 | Free |
| US stocks | US$1 | Free |
| ETFs | US$1 | Free |
| Options | US$1 | Free — Better |
| Futures | Not offered | Not offered |
| Crypto | n/a | 1.25 % |
| Bonds (order) | n/a | 0.5 % |
| Funds (order) | n/a | n/a |
| EUR/USD spread | n/a | n/a |
| Index CFD spread | n/a | n/a |
| FX conversion | n/a | 0.3 % |
| Inactivity fee | US$1 · after 1 months | US$3.99 · after 6 months — Better |
| Custody fee | None | None |
| Withdrawal fee | free | free |
| Deposit fee | 0.75 % | free — Better |
| Overnight financing | n/a | n/a |
| Other fees |
|
|
| Asset classes (of 14) | 5 | 6 — Better |
| Exchanges | n/a | n/a |
| Stocks | Yes | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes | Yes |
| Options | Yes | Yes |
| Futures | No | No |
| Forex | No | No |
| CFDs | No | No |
| Crypto | No | Yes |
| Bonds | Yes | Yes |
| Funds | No | No |
| Commodities | Yes | No |
| Indices | No | Yes |
| Warrants | No | No |
| Spread betting | No | No |
| Social trading | No | No |
| Crypto access | no crypto | Broker, real coins; coins to your own wallet: possible |
| Platforms | baraka app (iOS and Android) | Public mobile appPublic WebPublic API / Agentic API |
| Demo account | No | No |
| Fractional shares | Yes | Yes |
| Maximum leverage | n/a | 1:4 |
| Account opening | Fully digital in the app: phone verification, personal details, an ID (passport, identity card or driving licence) and a GCC home address; UAE Pass sign-in is supported. Applicants must be 18 or older, resident in one of five GCC states and not US residents, and, according to Baraka's terms (clauses 2.6 and 2.9), also open an account with DriveWealth | Minutes; US residents with a Social Security number, no minimum deposit |
| Account types | StandardPremiumPremium+Islamic Windowbaraka Access (private markets) | Individual brokerage accountMargin accountTraditional and Roth IRACrypto IRA (custodied by Alto Trust Co.)Bond AccountTreasury Account (Public Advisors)High-Yield Cash Account |
| Payment methods | Debit cardApple PayGoogle PayBank transfer | Bank transfer |
| Account currencies | USDAED | USD |
| Deposit time | Debit card, Apple Pay and Google Pay are credited at once and settle in 2–3 days; Connect UAE Bank (open banking via Lean) and bank transfers take 2–5 business days | ACH typically 1–3 business days; incoming wires same or next business day and free |
| Withdrawal time | 1–3 business days to UAE banks, up to 5 business days to banks outside the UAE; US-wallet withdrawals are paid in USD | 1–3 business days by ACH; instant withdrawal available for up to 3.5% of the amount |
| Free withdrawals | n/a | n/a |
| Languages | EnglishArabic | English |
| Channels | Live chatEmail | EmailLive chat |
| Availability | In-app chat and email; one help-centre answer gives 11:00–23:00 UAE time, another advertises 24/7 support | US business hours, Monday to Friday |
Strengths and weaknesses side by side
Editorial assessment based on the recorded data.
Baraka
A DFSA-licensed investing app for residents of five Gulf states: US and UAE shares, options and gold, with an Islamic Window under its own Shariah board.
Pros
- Licensed by the DFSA in the DIFC since 2 June 2021 (F006586), with retail-client, client-assets and Islamic Window endorsements on the public register
- One free US stock or ETF trade a month on the free Standard plan, then USD 1 per order; Premium includes 12 and Premium+ 25 free trades
- US options at USD 1 per contract on 500+ US stocks, with Baraka saying it absorbs regulatory and exchange fees
- UAE shares on ADX and DFM and physical gold in the same app for UAE residents, with silver listed on Baraka's metals page
- Fractional US shares from USD 1, Auto-Invest, a free dividend reinvestment plan and no custody or account maintenance fee
- Arabic website and app, plus a Sharia Screener based on Musaffa data
- An Islamic Window that, according to a certificate of 7 August 2026 (valid until 6 August 2027), Baraka's own Shariah Supervisory Board certified; the board was constituted by Amanah Advisors
Cons
- Only for residents of the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait; Saudi Arabia is not on Baraka's list, and US residents are excluded
- Funding from a UAE bank costs 0.75% on the Standard plan (0.65% on Premium, 0.60% on Premium+), and non-UAE cards attract a third-party fee
- Cash earns no interest: the terms forfeit it and Baraka and DriveWealth share it evenly; Baraka may also receive payment for order flow
- Conflicting withdrawal information: USD 0 per the fee schedule, a flat USD 25 from the broker's bank per the terms
- We found no web or desktop trading platform, only the app, and Premium+ is available on iOS only
- US execution and custody sit with DriveWealth, whose systems an unauthorised party accessed on 4 and 5 September 2026, according to Baraka
Best for
Public.com
The only US broker in this comparison that pays you to trade options — plus fractional corporate bonds and Treasury ladders in the same app.
Pros
- Options Rebate Program pays USD 0.06–0.18 per stock or ETF contract, typically more than the roughly USD 0.05 per contract of regulatory fees — a net-negative transaction cost that no competitor here matches
- Cheapest margin of the three: 5.15% base (Fed Funds Target Rate + 1.15%, with FFTR at 4.00% as of 17 September 2026), tiering to 4.20% above USD 50 million
- A real bond desk — fractional corporate bonds at 0.35%–0.50% of par, Treasuries at 0.10%–0.25%, plus customisable Treasury ladders (the separate Jiko 6-month T-bill account stops taking new deposits after 31 October 2026)
- Genuinely multi-asset in one login: stocks, ETFs, options, bonds, Treasuries, 60+ crypto assets, IRAs, Crypto IRAs and a high-yield cash account quoted at 3.30% APY in mid-2026
- Free ACH in and out, free incoming wires and free incoming ACAT transfers, with no minimum deposit
- Transparent, well-maintained public fee schedule — the version used for this record was updated 13 October 2026 and states every line item including the awkward ones
- Index options at USD 0.35 per contract for every customer, plus the exchange fees Public passes on
Cons
- US residents only — no international entity, so European, UK or DACH investors cannot open an account
- USD 100 to transfer securities out, plus USD 115 per security for a DRS transfer; both are the highest in this comparison
- No futures, no spot forex, no mutual funds and no desktop application — active traders will find the charting and depth-of-market shallow next to Webull or moomoo
- The options rebate is funded by payment for order flow, so you are accepting a routing model in exchange for the payment; the free Wholesale route is the default, and choosing Smart Order or Lit-Exchange routing costs USD 0.003 per share
- A USD 3.99 monthly inactivity fee applies to accounts under USD 70 with no six-month activity, and there is no paper-trading environment to practise in
Best for
Open an account with either
A demo account costs nothing and answers the platform question in ten minutes.
Risk warning: CFDs and other leveraged products are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how these products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Risk warning: investing in securities involves risk. You may lose some or all of the capital you invest.
Advertising disclosure: where a partnership is active, we may earn a commission through broker links. The provider’s terms apply. Commissions do not influence our ratings; paid placements are separately labelled as sponsored.
More comparisons
Alternatives people weigh up alongside these two.
