Robinhood Gold, Webull Premium, Public Reserve and Acorns: where each fee pays for itself

Fees, rates and matches as posted · Checked October 4, 2026 · From each firm's own pages

A paid brokerage membership pays you back through two things you can count: a higher IRA match and a higher rate on uninvested cash. Below is the IRA contribution, or the cash balance, at which that extra money equals the fee, from what Robinhood, Webull, Public and Acorns post on their own pages. The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500 for savers under 50; the IRS: “The limit on annual contributions to an IRA is increased to $7,500 from $7,000.”

Robinhood Gold ($50 a year): repaid by a $2,500 IRA contribution or $1,388.89 of cash for a year. Robinhood's cash program is for Gold members only: “Robinhood’s High-Yield Cash Program allows Robinhood Gold subscribers ($5 monthly subscription) to earn interest on eligible cash.”
Webull Premium ($40 a year): repaid by $1,600 of IRA contributions or $1,290.32 of cash. Webull's FAQ: “The current price is $3.99 per month or $40 per year when paid annually.”
Public Reserve ($20 a month): the IRA match alone cannot repay it below age 50: a full $7,500 contribution earns $225 more than Public's free plan, leaving $15 for the cash rate to cover with $3,333.33. With no IRA contribution, it takes $53,333.33 of cash.
Acorns Silver and Gold: the 1% and 3% IRA matches apply only in your first year, so after that the extra fee over Bronze ($48 and $96 a year) has to come from the 3.59% Emergency Savings rate or the plans' other features.
Before tax, and within one firm. Interest is taxed as income, and cash can earn interest at many firms with no fee at all; see our brokerage cash rates.

What each membership adds

Membership	Fee	Rate on uninvested cash	IRA match on contributions
Robinhood Gold	$5 a month or $50 a year	3.6%; none without Gold	3%; 1% without
Webull Premium	$3.99 a month or $40 a year	3.60%; 0.5% standard	3.5%; 1% without
Public Reserve	$20 a month	3.75%; 3.30% on Core	4%; 1% without
Acorns Silver (over Bronze)	$8 a month (Bronze $4)	3.59% on Emergency Savings; Bronze has none	1% in the first year; Bronze none
Acorns Gold (over Bronze)	$12 a month (Bronze $4)	3.59% on Emergency Savings; Bronze has none	3% in the first year; Bronze none

As posted on October 4, 2026. Robinhood's rate is dated September 17, 2026 on its page. Webull's 0.5% standard rate is the starting point of the calculator on its Premium page. Acorns' Bronze plan costs $4 a month and includes the Later IRA without a match.

Where the fee pays for itself

Membership	IRA contribution that repays the fee	Cash for a year that repays the fee	Extra match on a $7,500 IRA	Cash still needed after a $7,500 IRA
Robinhood Gold $50 a year	$2,500 $3,000 billed monthly	$1,388.89 $1,666.67 billed monthly	$150.00	Covered by the match
Webull Premium $40 a year	$1,600 $1,915.20 billed monthly	$1,290.32 $1,544.52 billed monthly	$187.50	Covered by the match
Public Reserve $240 a year	$8,000 (above the $7,500 limit)	$53,333.33	$225.00	$3,333.33
Acorns Silver (over Bronze) $48 a year	$4,800	$1,337.05	$75.00	Covered by the match
Acorns Gold (over Bronze) $96 a year	$3,200	$2,674.09	$225.00	Covered by the match

Fee divided by the extra match rate (member minus standard) or by the extra cash rate. Annual billing where a firm offers it. Before tax; no other perks counted (margin rates, data, trading discounts, support). The Acorns rows compare each plan with Bronze and use the first-year match.

The conditions that can take the match back

Robinhood: “you must stay subscribed to Gold for 1 year after your first Gold match to keep the full Gold match”, and “The funds that earned the match must be kept in the account for at least 5 years to avoid a potential Early IRA Match Removal Fee.” Its rate: “The APY is 3.6% for Robinhood Gold members as of Sept 17, 2026.” Its match: “As a Gold member, you can get a 3% IRA match on eligible IRA contributions to your Robinhood IRA.” “Non-Gold customers receive a 1% match.”
Webull: “With Webull Premium’s IRA Match, you’ll receive a 3.5% match on IRA contributions.” “Non-members earn 1% on qualifying deposits.” The cash rate is for cash accounts, not IRAs or margin accounts: “Please note Webull Premium's 3.60% APY does not apply to IRA Accounts or Margin Accounts.”
Public: “The match is funded over 12 months. If Reserve is canceled within 1 year of receiving a match, Public will recoup the difference between the 4% Reserve match and the 1% standard match. Contributions that received a match must remain in your IRA for 5 years.”
Acorns: “3% or 1% IRA match included in Acorns Gold or Silver, respectively. Contributions must be kept in Later account for 4 years to earn its IRA match.” The Emergency Savings rate is “Silver and Gold subscription exclusive”.

Why SoFi Plus is not in the tables

SoFi Plus (“$10 subscription fee”) is a banking membership, and its savings rates depend on direct deposits. On its SoFi Plus page the Plus rate carries the note “Rates are current as of 5/28/26.”, while SoFi's savings page gives a rate “current as of 9/23/2026”. We will add SoFi Plus when its own pages agree on a current rate.

How we checked

We read each firm's page on October 4, 2026. Webull's rates and FAQ answers appear only after its page script runs, so we read them in a browser.
The figures assume a full year at today's rates. Cash rates move with the Federal Reserve (the next meeting is October 27 and 28); we recheck them with our monthly cash rate record.
This page does not cover how the matches are taxed, or Public's other matches, which go to accounts that charge an advisory fee.

Rechecks and changes

October 4, 2026. First published.

Sources

Dollars Ahead is not affiliated with Robinhood, Webull, Public, Acorns or SoFi, and this page contains no affiliate links. It reports what the firms post and the arithmetic that follows. It is not investment or tax advice.