Best Brokers

cost ranking · Primary query: best brokers for margin trading

Best Brokers for Margin TradingUpdated August 2026 · 12 brokers, every figure sourced

Written by
Juan Manuel Gonzalez
Published
Data verified

Quick verdict

Margin interest is the largest published price difference left between US brokers. Across the eight that publish a rate card, the range runs from 3.95% to 11.825% on the same borrowed dollar. Public and Robinhood publish the lowest entry rates and quote them as a spread over the federal funds rate, so they move with the Fed rather than at the broker's discretion. Interactive Brokers publishes from 4.13%. The catch at every firm is tiering: the cheap rate belongs to the largest balances, and a retail-sized loan normally sits in the dearest band.

The ranking

Safety and regulation 30% · Fees and total cost 40% · Investment selection 12% · Account types and features 18% · Eligibility: Publishes a margin rate

Verified August 28, 2026

Positions 1–2 are a statistical tie

Fidelity, Interactive Brokers finish within 0.12 points of each other on a 10-point scale built from whole-number sub-scores. That gap is smaller than the resolution of the evidence behind it, so the order between them is not a verdict. Read their sub-scores and pick on the criterion that matters to you.

Sub-scores are integers, so the bars carry more information than the order does.

  • Safety and regulation
  • Fees and total cost
  • Investment selection
  • Account types and features

Showing 8 of 8 brokers, sorted by editorial rank.

  1. Rank 1 of 8

    Fidelity

    CRD 7784 · SIPC member

    9.1

    Strong

    • Safety and regulation9
    • Fees and total cost9
    • Investment selection8
    • Account types and features10
    Account minimum
    $0No minimums to open an account
    Margin rate
    7.50%–11.825%Tiered by debit balance
    To open
    $0No minimums to open an account
    Account types
    12/12
    Visit FidelityFull review →

  2. Rank 2 of 8

    Interactive Brokers

    CRD 36418 · SIPC member

    Cheapest at scale

    8.9

    Strong

    • Safety and regulation9
    • Fees and total cost9
    • Investment selection10
    • Account types and features8
    Account minimum
    $0No account minimums
    Margin rate
    From 4.13%Quoted as a spread over a benchmark rate and charged as a blend across balance tiers, so the rate on a large loan is not the headline rate
    To open
    $0No account minimums
    Account types
    8/12
    Visit Interactive BrokersFull review →

  3. Rank 3 of 8

    Charles Schwab

    CRD 5393 · SIPC member

    8.6

    Strong

    • Safety and regulation9
    • Fees and total cost8
    • Investment selection9
    • Account types and features9
    Account minimum
    $0$0 account minimum, $0 opening and maintenance
    Margin rate
    10.075%–11.825%Tiered by debit balance against a 10.00% base rate last changed 12 December 2025. Balances of $500,000 and above are quoted on request
    To open
    $0$0 account minimum, $0 opening and maintenance
    Account types
    10/12
    Visit Charles SchwabFull review →

  4. Rank 4 of 8

    tastytrade

    CRD 277027 · SIPC member

    7.5

    Solid

    • Safety and regulation8
    • Fees and total cost8
    • Investment selection7
    • Account types and features6
    Account minimum
    Not verified
    Margin rate
    8.00%–11.00%Tiered by debit balance against a 10.00% base rate stated as of 1 January 2025
    To open
    Not verified
    Account types
    7/12
    Visit tastytradeFull review →

  5. Rank 5 of 8

    Webull

    CRD 289063 · SIPC member

    7.3

    Mixed

    • Safety and regulation7
    • Fees and total cost9
    • Investment selection6
    • Account types and features5
    Account minimum
    $0No deposit minimum stated in the fee schedule
    Margin rate
    8.74%Standard rate at every loan size. Premium subscribers pay 5.20% falling to 4.45% and below as the loan grows, so the headline rate depends on holding a subscription
    To open
    $0No deposit minimum stated in the fee schedule
    Account types
    5/12
    Visit WebullFull review →

  6. Rank 6 of 8

    Public

    CRD 127818 · SIPC member

    Lowest published entry rate

    7.2

    Mixed

    • Safety and regulation8
    • Fees and total cost8
    • Investment selection6
    • Account types and features5
    Account minimum
    Not verified
    Margin rate
    3.95%–4.90%Tiered by debit balance. From 17 September 2026 quoted as the federal funds target upper bound plus 0.20% to 1.15%
    To open
    Not verified
    Account types
    4/12
    Visit PublicFull review →

  7. Rank 7 of 8

    TradeStation

    CRD 39473 · SIPC member

    6.7

    Mixed

    • Safety and regulation8
    • Fees and total cost6
    • Investment selection7
    • Account types and features6
    Account minimum
    $2,000Stated as the minimum to open and maintain a margin position; no cash-account opening minimum published
    Margin rate
    4.25%–11.75%Tiered by debit balance
    To open
    $2,000Stated as the minimum to open and maintain a margin position; no cash-account opening minimum published
    Account types
    6/12
    Visit TradeStationFull review →

  8. Rank 8 of 8

    Robinhood

    CRD 165998 · SIPC member

    6.6

    Mixed

    • Safety and regulation6
    • Fees and total cost8
    • Investment selection6
    • Account types and features5
    Account minimum
    $0No fees to open or maintain an account
    Margin rate
    3.95%–5.00%Tiered by settled margin balance. Rates stated as of 11 December 2025 and track the upper bound of the federal funds target range
    To open
    $0No fees to open or maintain an account
    Account types
    4/12
    Visit RobinhoodFull review →

Positions are computed from published sub-scores at build time. Fidelity, Interactive Brokers, Charles Schwab lead; their unrounded totals are 9.06, 8.94, 8.60.

Why these weights

Cost is raised to 40% because the borrowing rate is the entire question here, and safety stays at 30% because margin magnifies losses and the firm holding a leveraged position matters more, not less.

Winners by category

  • Lowest published entry rate

    Public

    3.95% at the top tier, quoted from 17 September 2026 as a formula over the federal funds rate.

  • Cheapest at scale

    Interactive Brokers

    From 4.13%, charged as a blend across balance tiers rather than a single band.

The advertised rate is usually not your rate

Every schedule here except Webull's is tiered by how much you owe, and the cheapest band belongs to the largest borrowers. TradeStation publishes 4.25%, and it applies above $2,000,000; below $50,000 the same firm charges 11.75%. Quoting the bottom of a tier table is standard practice and close to meaningless for a retail account.

The honest way to read any margin comparison is to find the tier your likely balance sits in. On $20,000 borrowed for a year, the gap between the cheapest and dearest entry tiers among these firms is roughly $1,400.

Two structures worth understanding before you borrow

Public, Robinhood and Interactive Brokers quote margin as a spread over a benchmark — for the first two, the upper bound of the federal funds target range. Their rates therefore change when the Federal Reserve moves, with no announcement from the broker. That is more transparent than a discretionary rate, and it means the number you saw at signup is not a commitment.

Webull charges 8.74% at every loan size on its standard tier, and its cheaper rates from 5.20% apply to Premium subscribers. Any comparison quoting the lower figure has to add the subscription cost back before it means anything.

Why each broker sits where it does

The figures that matter for margin trading, and the arithmetic that produced each position under this page’s weights. The same brokers rank differently elsewhere on this site because a different question is being asked; the sub-scores do not change, the weights do.

1.Fidelity

9.1/10

FIDELITY BROKERAGE SERVICES LLC · CRD 7784 · SIPC member

Margin rate
7.50%–11.825%
To open
$0
To transfer out
$0

Leads this ranking on 9.1/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 40% here and worth 3.6 of the total. Its 8/10 on investment selection adds 1.0 at 12%.

On fees and total cost: $0 equity and ETF commissions, $0.65 per options contract, no account minimum, no published account service or inactivity fee, and $0 to transfer assets. Options pricing is mid-pack rather than lowest.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Fidelity

2.Interactive Brokers

8.9/10

INTERACTIVE BROKERS LLC · CRD 36418 · SIPC member

Margin rate
From 4.13%
To open
$0
To transfer out
$0

Ranks 2nd on 8.9/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 40% here and worth 3.6 of the total. Its 10/10 on investment selection adds 1.2 at 12%.

On fees and total cost: IBKR Lite is $0 on US listed equities for US residents. IBKR Pro tiered starts at $0.0035 per share with a $0.35 order minimum and a 1% of trade value cap, which is the cheapest published schedule in our set for large orders. Small Pro orders hit the per-order minimum, so it is not universally cheapest.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Interactive Brokers

3.Charles Schwab

8.6/10

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC. · CRD 5393 · SIPC member

Margin rate
10.075%–11.825%
To open
$0
To transfer out
$50 full, $0 partial

Ranks 3rd on 8.6/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 40% here and worth 3.2 of the total. Its 9/10 on investment selection adds 1.1 at 12%.

On fees and total cost: $0 listed equity and ETF commissions, $0.65 per options contract, $0 account minimum and $0 opening and maintenance fees. Marked down from 9 on 30 August 2026 after we read the April 2026 pricing guide, which adds three costs the headline schedule does not show: a $6.95 OTC equity commission, $50 to transfer a full account out, and a currency conversion markup of up to 3% of principal. Fidelity charges none of the three.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Charles Schwab

4.tastytrade

7.5/10

TASTYTRADE, INC. · CRD 277027 · SIPC member

Margin rate
8.00%–11.00%
To transfer out
$75

Ranks 4th on 7.5/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 40% here and worth 3.2 of the total. Its 7/10 on investment selection adds 0.8 at 12%.

On fees and total cost: Free equity trades and a $10 per leg cap that makes large multi-leg options orders unusually cheap, with nothing charged to close a position. Scored below the flat-zero firms because a single equity option contract costs $1 to open, against $0.04 at the cheapest firm in our set, and — read on 30 August 2026 — closing the account costs $75 on the way out.

Every fee, source and sub-score for tastytrade

5.Webull

7.3/10

WEBULL FINANCIAL LLC · CRD 289063 · SIPC member

Margin rate
8.74%
To open
$0
To transfer out
$75

Ranks 5th on 7.3/10. The largest single contribution is 9/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 40% here and worth 3.6 of the total. Its 6/10 on investment selection adds 0.7 at 12%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: $0 on US-listed stocks, ETFs and standard options contracts, with regulatory fees itemised transparently. Held off a 10 by the $75 outgoing transfer fee, which is a real switching cost.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Webull

6.Public

7.2/10

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC INVESTING, INC. · CRD 127818 · SIPC member

Margin rate
3.95%–4.90%
To transfer out
$100

Ranks 6th on 7.2/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 40% here and worth 3.2 of the total. Its 6/10 on investment selection adds 0.7 at 12%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: $0 on US-listed stocks and ETFs in regular hours, $0 per stock and ETF options contract, and margin from 4.90% falling to 3.95% — the cheapest margin schedule we recorded, undercutting the next firm by more than six percentage points at the entry tier. Held to an 8 by three charges the headline pricing does not show: $2.99 per extended-hours or OTC trade without Premium, $100 to transfer the account out, and a 0.30% fee on currency conversion.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Public

7.TradeStation

6.7/10

TRADESTATION SECURITIES, INC. · CRD 39473 · SIPC member

Margin rate
4.25%–11.75%
To open
$2,000
To transfer out
$125

Ranks 7th on 6.7/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on safety and regulation, weighted 30% here and worth 2.4 of the total. Its 7/10 on investment selection adds 0.8 at 12%.

On safety and regulation: Active SEC-registered broker-dealer (8-48711) and SIPC member with a registration history predating the newer app-first firms. No enforcement matter identified in our sourced review.

Every fee, source and sub-score for TradeStation

8.Robinhood

6.6/10

ROBINHOOD FINANCIAL, LLC · CRD 165998 · SIPC member

Margin rate
3.95%–5.00%
To open
$0
To transfer out
$100

Ranks 8th on 6.6/10. The largest single contribution is 8/10 on fees and total cost, weighted 40% here and worth 3.2 of the total. Its 6/10 on investment selection adds 0.7 at 12%, and is what holds it back here.

On fees and total cost: $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs and $0.04 per equity options contract — the lowest per-contract fee we recorded — alongside the lowest margin rates in our set, from 5.00% down to 3.95%. Marked down from 9 on 30 August 2026 after we read the standard fee schedule, which charges $100 to move an account out, on partial transfers as well as full ones. That is the joint-largest exit charge among the firms we publish.

Every fee, source and sub-score for Robinhood

Every sub-score and why

The arithmetic behind every position on this page: each sub-score, the weight it carries here, and what it contributes to the total. If you disagree with a weight, these let you recompute the ranking yourself — that is the point of publishing them. The written reason behind each integer is on that broker’s review.

Fidelity9 / 9 / 8 / 109.1/10Strong
Safety and regulation9/10 × 30% = 2.7
Fees and total cost9/10 × 40% = 3.6
Investment selection8/10 × 12% = 1.0
Account types and features10/10 × 18% = 1.8

Total 9.1/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Fidelity review, with every fee and source
Interactive Brokers9 / 9 / 10 / 88.9/10Strong
Safety and regulation9/10 × 30% = 2.7
Fees and total cost9/10 × 40% = 3.6
Investment selection10/10 × 12% = 1.2
Account types and features8/10 × 18% = 1.4

Total 8.9/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Interactive Brokers review, with every fee and source
Charles Schwab9 / 8 / 9 / 98.6/10Strong
Safety and regulation9/10 × 30% = 2.7
Fees and total cost8/10 × 40% = 3.2
Investment selection9/10 × 12% = 1.1
Account types and features9/10 × 18% = 1.6

Total 8.6/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Charles Schwab review, with every fee and source
tastytrade8 / 8 / 7 / 67.5/10Solid
Safety and regulation8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Fees and total cost8/10 × 40% = 3.2
Investment selection7/10 × 12% = 0.8
Account types and features6/10 × 18% = 1.1

Total 7.5/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full tastytrade review, with every fee and source
Webull7 / 9 / 6 / 57.3/10Mixed
Safety and regulation7/10 × 30% = 2.1
Fees and total cost9/10 × 40% = 3.6
Investment selection6/10 × 12% = 0.7
Account types and features5/10 × 18% = 0.9

Total 7.3/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Webull review, with every fee and source
Public8 / 8 / 6 / 57.2/10Mixed
Safety and regulation8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Fees and total cost8/10 × 40% = 3.2
Investment selection6/10 × 12% = 0.7
Account types and features5/10 × 18% = 0.9

Total 7.2/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Public review, with every fee and source
TradeStation8 / 6 / 7 / 66.7/10Mixed
Safety and regulation8/10 × 30% = 2.4
Fees and total cost6/10 × 40% = 2.4
Investment selection7/10 × 12% = 0.8
Account types and features6/10 × 18% = 1.1

Total 6.7/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full TradeStation review, with every fee and source
Robinhood6 / 8 / 6 / 56.6/10Mixed
Safety and regulation6/10 × 30% = 1.8
Fees and total cost8/10 × 40% = 3.2
Investment selection6/10 × 12% = 0.7
Account types and features5/10 × 18% = 0.9

Total 6.6/10 · sum of weighted contributions, rounded to one decimal

Full Robinhood review, with every fee and source

How we evaluated

Safety and regulation30%
Evidence: FINRA BrokerCheck entity record — legal name, CRD number, SEC file number and registration status — SIPC membership, and public enforcement actions from the regulator or SRO that brought them.
Fees and total cost40%
Evidence: The firm's own published commission and fee schedule, read in full.
Investment selection12%
Evidence: The asset classes named on the firm's own published pricing or product pages.
Account types and features18%
Evidence: The account types named in the firm's own published account lineup.

Five further pillars — access and eligibility, platform and usability, research and education, customer service, execution quality — carry no weight in any ranking, because none of them can yet be settled from a document a reader can open. What each would require is set out in the methodology.

Researched but excluded

  • SoFi Invest (SOFI SECURITIES LLC, CRD 151717) — Legal entity confirmed via FINRA, but the fee page returned HTTP 403 when we attempted to read it. Re-attempted on 30 August 2026 against the published fee schedule PDF and the SoFi support articles: both returned 403 as well. Secondary summaries of SoFi’s pricing are available and we are not using them — we will not score a firm from anything but its own document.
Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

Which broker has the lowest margin rates?
Of the eight US brokers publishing a rate card, Public and Robinhood publish the lowest entry rates at 3.95%, and Interactive Brokers publishes from 4.13%. The highest published rates are 11.825% at Fidelity and Charles Schwab. All are tiered by balance.
Why do margin rates differ so much between brokers?
Because almost nobody shops for them. Commissions are advertised and compared; margin interest is a rate card several clicks deep, so the price competition that flattened commissions never reached it. The spread is now roughly threefold on an identical borrowed dollar.

Sources

  1. [1]Fidelity — Commissions and margin ratesRead August 28, 2026
  2. [2]FINRA BrokerCheck — Fidelity Brokerage Services LLCRead August 28, 2026
  3. [3]Interactive Brokers — Stocks, ETFs, warrants and structured products commissionsRead August 28, 2026
  4. [4]Interactive Brokers — Options commissionsRead August 30, 2026
  5. [5]FINRA BrokerCheck — Interactive Brokers LLCRead August 28, 2026
  6. [6]Interactive Brokers — Other feesRead August 30, 2026
  7. [7]Interactive Brokers — Mutual fund commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  8. [8]Interactive Brokers — Bond commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  9. [9]Interactive Brokers — Futures commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  10. [10]Interactive Brokers — Cryptocurrency commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  11. [11]Interactive Brokers — Margin ratesRead August 31, 2026
  12. [12]Interactive Brokers — Spot currency commissionsRead August 31, 2026
  13. [13]Charles Schwab — Pricing and account feesRead August 28, 2026
  14. [14]FINRA BrokerCheck — Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  15. [15]Charles Schwab — Pricing Guide for Individual Investors (April 2026)Read August 30, 2026
  16. [16]Charles Schwab — Margin rates and requirementsRead August 31, 2026
  17. [17]tastytrade — Pricing and commissionsRead August 28, 2026
  18. [18]FINRA BrokerCheck — tastytrade, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  19. [19]tastytrade — Commissions and fees (last updated 30 July 2026)Read August 30, 2026
  20. [20]Webull — Pricing and feesRead August 28, 2026
  21. [21]FINRA BrokerCheck — Webull Financial LLCRead August 28, 2026
  22. [22]FINRA BrokerCheck — Open to the Public Investing, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  23. [23]Public — Fee schedule (last updated 14 August 2026)Read August 30, 2026
  24. [24]Public — Account types and asset lineupRead August 30, 2026
  25. [25]TradeStation — PricingRead August 28, 2026
  26. [26]FINRA BrokerCheck — TradeStation Securities, Inc.Read August 28, 2026
  27. [27]TradeStation — Service feesRead August 30, 2026
  28. [28]TradeStation — Margin ratesRead August 30, 2026
  29. [29]Robinhood — Trading feesRead August 28, 2026
  30. [30]FINRA — Robinhood ordered to pay $3.75m restitution; fines for AML, supervisory and disclosure violations (March 2025)Read August 28, 2026
  31. [31]FINRA BrokerCheck — Robinhood Financial, LLCRead August 28, 2026
  32. [32]Robinhood Financial — Standard Pricing Fee ScheduleRead August 30, 2026

Affiliate disclosure

We currently have no affiliate or commercial relationship with any broker on this site, and every outbound link is a plain link. If that changes, it will be disclosed here and on the broker's row. Read the full disclosure.

Risk warning

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Nothing on this site is personalized investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or a solicitation. Figures are read from public sources on the dates shown and can change without notice — verify anything you intend to act on with the provider directly. Read the full risk disclosure.