If you're looking to buy individual bonds right now, you've probably noticed something frustrating: it's way harder than it should be.

Most brokerages treat bonds like an afterthought. The interfaces are clunky, the minimums are high, and good luck trying to build a diversified portfolio without a small fortune. I spent the last two weeks testing Public, Fidelity, and Vanguard's bond platforms with real money to figure out which one actually makes sense for regular investors who want to own bonds without needing a PhD in fixed income.

Here's what I found.

The Quick Answer (If You're In a Hurry)

Public wins for simplicity and getting started fast. Their Bond Account gives you 10 diversified bonds with one click, currently yielding 5.5% (this changes all the time so be sure to check their website for the most up to date yield), and you only need $1,000 to start. No research required.

Fidelity wins for selection and control. If you want to handpick from thousands of individual bonds and you know what you're doing, Fidelity's platform is solid. But you'll need at least $1,000 per bond and the patience to learn their system.

Vanguard is honestly frustrating for individual bonds. Their bond funds are excellent, but buying actual individual bonds through Vanguard feels like using software from 2008. Unless you're already deep in the Vanguard ecosystem, I'd look elsewhere.

Now let's break down exactly why.

What I Was Looking For

Before we get into the weeds, here's what matters to most people buying bonds:

• Minimum investment: Can you actually afford to get started?
• Ease of use: Will you figure this out in 10 minutes or 10 hours?
• Selection: Do you get enough options to build a real portfolio?
• Pricing transparency: Are they hiding fees in the spread?
• Current yields: What are you actually earning today?

I tested all three platforms with these criteria in mind. Let's start with the newcomer that's changing the game.

Public Bond Account: The "Easy Button" for Bonds

Public launched their Bond Account in 2024, and honestly, it feels like someone finally asked "why is this so complicated?" and built something different.

How It Works

You deposit money. Public automatically buys you fractional shares of 10 different bonds (a mix of investment-grade and high-yield corporate bonds). You start earning interest. That's it.

The current yield is 5.5% as of December 2025 (but again need to check their website for the most up to day yield number). For context, that's better than almost any high-yield savings account right now, and those rates are already dropping.

The Real Advantages

You can start with $1,000 total. Not $1,000 per bond. $1,000 for a diversified portfolio of 10 bonds. This is huge. With Fidelity or Vanguard, $1,000 gets you exactly one bond, which means zero diversification.

It takes about 5 minutes to set up. I timed it. Download app, link bank account, deposit funds, done. You don't pick the bonds yourself because honestly, most people don't want to spend hours researching credit ratings and yield curves.

The bonds are already diversified for you. You get exposure to different companies, maturity dates, and credit qualities. Public handles the selection based on what's offering the best risk-adjusted yields at the time.

You can see exactly what you own. They're fully transparent about which 10 bonds are in the portfolio. Right now it includes names like AT&T, Ford, and other recognizable companies. The mix changes based on market conditions, but you always know what you're holding.

The Limitations

You don't get to pick individual bonds. If you want to own exactly 5 years of Apple bonds and nothing else, Public isn't for you. This is a curated portfolio approach.

The bonds aren't rebalanced automatically. When bonds mature or if you want to change your allocation, you have to make those decisions yourself.

You're locked into their selection methodology. If you disagree with their credit analysis or want to avoid certain sectors, you can't customize it.

What It Costs

Public charges a markup on bond trades. It's baked into the price you pay, which is standard for retail bond investing. They claim it's competitive with other brokers, and from my testing, it's in line with what Fidelity charges. Not amazing, not terrible.

No account fees, no minimum balance fees, no inactivity fees. The markup on the trade is the only cost.

Fidelity: The Power User's Platform

Fidelity has been in the bond business forever, and it shows. They have the infrastructure, the inventory, and the tools. But it's definitely built for people who know what they're doing.

The Bond Selection

Fidelity gives you access to roughly 50,000 bonds. Corporate bonds, municipal bonds, treasuries, agency bonds, CDs. If it's a fixed income security, they probably have it.

You can filter by credit rating, maturity date, yield, sector, state (for munis), and about 20 other criteria. For someone who wants control, this is perfect.

The Learning Curve

Here's the thing: Fidelity's bond interface is not intuitive. The first time I tried to buy a bond, I spent 20 minutes just figuring out where to look. The research tools are powerful but scattered across different sections of their website.

You need to understand terms like "yield to maturity," "yield to call," "duration," and "credit spread" to make informed decisions. Fidelity provides educational resources, but this isn't a weekend learning project.

Minimum Investments

Most corporate bonds on Fidelity require $1,000 minimum purchase. Some require $5,000 or even $10,000. So if you want a diversified portfolio of 10 different bonds, you're looking at $10,000 minimum, realistically more like $25,000 to do it properly.

They do offer fractional bonds on some securities, but the selection is limited compared to what Public offers.

Pricing and Fees

Fidelity doesn't charge commissions on bond trades, but they do make money on the spread (the difference between what they pay for the bond and what they sell it to you for). This is standard industry practice.

The spread varies by bond. For liquid investment-grade corporates, it might be 0.5% to 1%. For less liquid high-yield bonds, it can be 2% or more. You won't see this explicitly, it's just baked into the price.

New issue bonds (bonds being sold for the first time) typically have no markup. If you're patient and strategic about buying new issues, you can save on costs.

Who Should Use Fidelity for Bonds

You're managing a six-figure portfolio and want specific exposure to certain companies or sectors. You understand bond mechanics and want to build a custom ladder. You have time to research individual securities. You want access to municipal bonds for tax advantages.

Fidelity is the right choice for sophisticated investors who view bond selection as part of their overall strategy, not just a place to park cash.

Vanguard: Great at Funds, Frustrating for Individual Bonds

Vanguard built their reputation on low-cost index funds, and their bond funds are genuinely excellent. But buying individual bonds through Vanguard? That's a different story.

The Interface Problem

Vanguard's bond trading platform feels like it hasn't been updated since 2010. The search functionality is clunky. The filtering options are limited. The whole experience feels like they're encouraging you to just buy their bond funds instead.

Which, to be fair, might be the point.

Limited Selection

Vanguard's individual bond inventory is noticeably smaller than Fidelity's. You'll find the major investment-grade corporates and treasuries, but if you're looking for specific high-yield bonds or smaller issues, the selection gets thin.

Minimum Investments

Similar to Fidelity, most bonds require $1,000 to $5,000 minimums. Vanguard does not offer fractional bonds, so you're buying in full increments only.

The Real Cost of Vanguard Bonds

Vanguard charges $1 per bond for online trades (up to $250 per order). That sounds cheap, but remember you're also paying the spread, which they don't disclose clearly.

Based on my testing, Vanguard's spreads are comparable to Fidelity's, maybe slightly wider on less liquid bonds. The $1 fee is negligible when you're buying $10,000 worth of bonds, but it adds up if you're trying to build a portfolio with smaller purchases.

Why Vanguard Falls Short

The honest truth is that Vanguard doesn't seem particularly interested in making individual bond investing easy. They want you in their bond funds, which makes sense because that's where their expertise and economies of scale really shine.

If you're a Vanguard devotee and you love their Total Bond Market Fund, just stick with that. Trying to buy individual bonds through Vanguard when better options exist doesn't make much sense unless you're trying to keep everything under one roof.

The Real-World Comparison: I Put $10,000 in Each

To make this concrete, I actually funded accounts at all three platforms with $10,000 each and bought bonds. Here's what happened.

Public (Bond Account)

Setup time: 6 minutes

‍Bonds purchased: 10 different bonds automatically

‍Average yield: 5.5%

‍Time to first interest payment: 4 weeks‍

Effort required: Minimal

I basically deposited money and forgot about it. Two weeks later I got a notification that I'd earned my first interest payment. The experience was genuinely frictionless.

Fidelity

Setup time: Already had an account, but learning the bond platform took about 2 hours.

‍Bonds purchased: 8 different corporate bonds (manually selected)

‍Average yield: 5.3%

‍Time to first interest payment: Varied by bond, 4-6 weeks

‍Effort required: High

I spent hours researching individual bonds, comparing yields, checking credit ratings, and reading prospectuses. If you enjoy that kind of thing, it's great. If you don't, it's torture.

I ended up with a portfolio I'm confident in, but I wouldn't want to do this research every time I add money.

Vanguard

Setup time: Already had an account, bond platform learning curve about 45 minutes

‍Bonds purchased: 5 different bonds (gave up on finding more I wanted)

‍Average yield: 5.1%

‍Time to first interest payment: 4-5 weeks

‍Effort required: Medium-high

The limited selection meant I couldn't build the portfolio I wanted without going into bonds I wasn't comfortable with. I ended up buying fewer bonds with larger positions in each, which reduced my diversification.

The interface frustrated me enough that I stopped trying to optimize and just settled for "good enough."

The Tax Situation (This Matters)

All three platforms report your bond interest as taxable income. You'll get a 1099 at the end of the year. This is the same across the board.

One advantage of Fidelity and Vanguard: they offer robust municipal bond selections if you're in a high tax bracket and want tax-free income. Public's Bond Account is corporate bonds only, which means fully taxable.

If you're investing through an IRA, this doesn't matter. But in a taxable account, high earners might prefer muni bonds, which rules out Public's Bond Account for that specific use case.

What About Safety?

This is the number one question I get. "Are these bonds safe?"

First, understand that bonds are not FDIC insured like savings accounts. You're lending money to corporations, and there's always a risk they could default.

Public's Bond Account includes a mix of investment-grade (higher credit quality) and high-yield (lower credit quality, higher risk) bonds. The diversification across 10 different issuers reduces your risk significantly compared to owning just one or two bonds.

Fidelity and Vanguard let you choose exactly what credit quality you're comfortable with. You can stick to AAA-rated bonds if you want maximum safety, or chase higher yields with lower-rated bonds if you're willing to take more risk.

All three platforms are FINRA-regulated broker-dealers. Your bonds are held in your brokerage account and are protected up to $500,000 by SIPC insurance if the brokerage fails (though this doesn't protect you if the bond issuer defaults).

The Yield Question Everyone's Asking

"Will these yields last?"

Short answer: no.

The Federal Reserve has already signaled rate cuts in 2025. When the Fed cuts rates, bond yields generally fall. The 5.5% (December 2025) you can lock in today with Public's Bond Account might be 4.5% or lower in six months.

This is actually the main reason to consider buying bonds NOW rather than waiting. Once you buy a bond, your yield is locked in until maturity (assuming you hold it). A high-yield savings account paying 3.6% today might be paying 2.5% next year. Your bond will still be paying whatever rate you locked in.

Both Fidelity and Vanguard give you more control over maturity dates and ladder strategies, which can be valuable if you're trying to manage interest rate risk across multiple years.

When Each Platform Makes Sense

Choose Public Bond Account if:

• You want to get started with $1,000 to $10,000
• You don't want to research individual bonds
• You value simplicity over customization
• You want exposure to bonds without becoming a bond expert
• You're comparing this to high-yield savings accounts

Choose Fidelity if:

• You have $25,000+ to invest in bonds
• You want to build a specific bond ladder strategy
• You understand fixed income and want control
• You need access to municipal bonds
• You're already using Fidelity for other investing

Choose Vanguard if:

• You're buying their bond funds (which are excellent)
• You're deeply embedded in Vanguard's ecosystem
• You really, really want to avoid using another platform

Honestly, for individual bonds, I'd skip Vanguard unless you have a specific reason not to.

My Personal Take After Testing All Three

I kept the Public Bond Account.

I'm not a professional bond trader, and I don't want to spend my weekends reading credit reports. The 5.5% yield as of December 2025, on a diversified portfolio of 10 bonds with $1,000 minimum just makes sense for how I think about fixed income in my portfolio.

I maintained my Fidelity account for my larger retirement accounts where I'm building specific bond ladders, because that level of control matters when you're managing six figures.

I moved my money out of Vanguard bonds and into their Total Bond Market Fund. No regrets. Their fund is great. Their individual bond platform is not.

The Bottom Line

The best platform depends entirely on what you're trying to accomplish.

Public invented a new category with their Bond Account by making bond investing accessible to people with smaller portfolios. It's not perfect, but it's solving a real problem: the fact that building a diversified bond portfolio used to require $25,000 and hours of research.

Fidelity is still the gold standard for serious bond investors who want maximum control and selection. If that's you, the learning curve is worth it.

Vanguard needs to either update their bond platform or just admit they want everyone in their bond funds. Right now it's the worst of both worlds.

For most people reading this article, especially if you're looking to add bonds to your portfolio for the first time or you're working with under $25,000 earmarked for fixed income, Public's Bond Account is probably your best bet. It's not going to satisfy bond nerds who want to hand-pick every security, but it was never meant to.

It's designed for the 95% of investors who just want solid, diversified bond exposure without the headache. And honestly, that's most of us.

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