Margin Rates Comparison
If you are seeking the best margin rates at U.S. brokerage firms, your search ends here. Our
list shows you who has the lowest margin rates—and who has the highest.
Best Margin Rates Brokers
The brokerage firm with the lowest margin rate is Robinhood, which charges only 5.75% on balances below $50K.
Unlike Interactive Brokers, there are no commissions to deal with. This rate is offered to all clients. In 2025, we rated Robinhood
The Best Broker For Margin Account.
You can find more information about the brokerage in the
Robinhood Review.
Margin Rates Comparison Chart
| Broker |
$0 - $4,999 |
$5,000 - $9,999 |
$10,000 - $24,999 |
$25,000 - $49,999 |
$50,000 - $99,999 |
$100,000 - $249,999 |
$250,000 - $499,999 |
$500,000 - $999,999 |
above $1,000,000 |
|
Robinhood
|
5.75%
|
5.75%
|
5.75%
|
5.75%
|
5.55%
|
5.25%
|
5.25%
|
5.25%
|
5.25%
|
|
IBKR Pro
|
5.83%
|
5.83%
|
5.83%
|
5.83%
|
5.83%
|
5.33%
|
5.33%
|
5.33%
|
5.08%
|
|
Moomoo
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
6.8%
|
|
Webull
|
8.74%
|
8.74%
|
8.74%
|
8.24%
|
8.24%
|
8.24%
|
7.74%
|
7.24%
|
6.24%
|
|
ZacksTrade
|
8.83%
|
8.83%
|
8.83%
|
8.83%
|
8.83%
|
8.33%
|
8.33%
|
8.33%
|
8.08%
|
|
Tradezero
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
|
Tradier
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
9.5%
|
|
Tastytrade
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
10.5%
|
10%
|
9.5%
|
9%
|
8.5%
|
8%
|
|
Sofi
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
11%
|
|
TIAA
|
11.625%
|
11.625%
|
11.125%
|
10.875%
|
10.625%
|
10.625%
|
10.625%
|
10.625%
|
10.625%
|
|
Ally Invest
|
12%
|
12%
|
12%
|
11.75%
|
11%
|
9.75%
|
8.75%
|
8.25%
|
7.5%
|
|
Citi
|
12.225%
|
12.225%
|
12.225%
|
11.725%
|
11.225%
|
10.725%
|
9.975%
|
9.225%
|
8.725%
|
|
JP Morgan
|
12.25%
|
12.25%
|
12.25%
|
12%
|
11.5%
|
11.25%
|
10.5%
|
10%
|
9.25%
|
|
TradeStation
|
12.5%
|
12.5%
|
12.5%
|
12.5%
|
11.5%
|
11.5%
|
11.5%
|
call
|
call
|
|
Fidelity
|
12.575%
|
12.575%
|
12.575%
|
12.075%
|
11.125%
|
11.125%
|
10.825%
|
8.55%
|
8.25%
|
|
Charles Schwab
|
12.575%
|
12.575%
|
12.575%
|
12.075%
|
12.075%
|
11.125%
|
11.075%
|
11.075%
|
10.825%
|
|
Firstrade
|
12.75%
|
12.75%
|
12.5%
|
12%
|
11.5%
|
11.25%
|
10.25%
|
10.25%
|
8.75%
|
|
Vanguard
|
12.75%
|
12.75%
|
12.75%
|
12.25%
|
11.75%
|
11.25%
|
10.75%
|
9.5%
|
call
|
|
Merrill Edge
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
12.93%
|
|
Etrade
|
13.2%
|
13.2%
|
12.95%
|
12.7%
|
12.2%
|
11.7%
|
11.2%
|
11.2%
|
11.2%
|
|
Wellstrade
|
13.25%
|
12.75%
|
12.25%
|
12%
|
11.25%
|
10.75%
|
10.75%
|
10.25%
|
10.25%
|
The Lowest Margin Rates Award
Overview of Brokerage Margin Rates
A normal brokerage account is called a cash account, because securities are purchased with a free cash balance. It’s also possible to buy securities using a loan from the brokerage house. To do this you need a margin account, which carries unique characteristics, in addition to the obvious advantage of not having to pay for securities.
Special Deals from Uncle Sam
Margin interest paid to a stockbroker is tax deductible in some situations. But the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has made an already complex issue even more complicated. If you’re paying margin interest, we recommend consulting with a qualified tax professional to determine if you could be saving part of the bill on next year’s tax return.
How Margin Interest Is Calculated
Margin interest is calculated every day and charged to an account monthly. This means that a broker figures how much an account has borrowed at the end of each trading day, multiplies that by the interest rate, and adds up all the assessed days at the end of the month. Although the interest rate is advertised as an annual figure, the brokerage firm actually converts it into a daily figure and uses that number to calculate the interest owed each day.
Let’s take an example. Suppose you have $3,000 worth of Tesla stock in your Robinhood account. Using that
position as collateral, you borrow $3,000 and buy McDonald’s stock. Now, you have $6,000 worth of
securities in your brokerage account, half of which you borrowed. That borrowed $3,000 will be charged
$204 on an annual basis.
To convert the annual rate into a daily rate, simply divide by 360. Doing this, we see the
interest charged per day in our example is $0.56. Obviously, carrying a small margin balance for a few days is
a useful service that costs very little.
Eliminating Margin Charges
After creating a margin position, you probably will want to eliminate it at some point. This can be accomplished in one of two ways. You can deposit enough cash to eliminate the margin debit from your account. In the above example, $3,000 was borrowed, and this amount of cash would be enough to eliminate the margin debit.
Another way to reduce or erase the margin balance would be to sell securities in the account. This converts them into the cash that is needed to pay down the margin liability.
Tracking Margin Balances
If you are trading on margin, it is a good idea to keep track of your account’s balance to know
what the account’s buying power is, how much you are borrowing, etc. Even if you’re not trading on margin, it’s advisable to check this information periodically as it’s possible to inadvertently trade on margin.
For example, if you do not have available funds inside a cash account, a trade will be rejected. But if the same trade is tried inside a margin account, it could execute if the account has enough collateral. This would create an accidental margin balance.
Thanks to modern software, tracking this information is quite easy nowadays. Stock broker that offer margin accounts usually show balance details on margin accounts in real time on their trading platforms. Just look in the menu for balance details. A margin account should automatically have entries that a cash account doesn’t. Usually, these entries include:
- Stock buying power (this will be higher than options buying power because options can’t be traded on margin)
- Margin balance (this is the amount interest is assessed against)
- Maintenance requirement (the minimum amount of equity the account needs to hold a marginable position)
- Margin equity percentage (the amount of leverage)
Margin Requirements Vary
Various institutions in America, namely FINRA, the SEC, and the Federal Reserve Board, are tasked with regulating margin accounts. Their rules and regulations set minimum standards, and this point we really do want to emphasize here. Individual brokerage firms are allowed to increase, but not decrease, these minimums, and this can and does lead to variations among firms.
For example, FINRA Rule 4210 requires all margin accounts to have at least $2,000 balance before it can begin borrowing. M1 Finance used to require $3,000, although it has recently lowered it to the industry standard of $2,000.
Maintenance margin requirements can vary from one firm to another as well. For example, although FINRA requires an account to maintain 25% of a margined position’s value in equity, some firms will increase this number. Schwab’s maintenance margin requirement is 30%, while Webull keeps it at 25%.
And then stock prices can affect a broker’s margin requirements. Webull’s maintenance margin requirement jumps to 50% for securities priced below $5, and then goes to 100% for securities priced below $3.
Short positions, leveraged funds, and bonds all have their own margin requirements, which can differ significantly from long stocks, and the variations among brokers can be significant.
Upgrading to Margin
A cash account can be upgraded to a margin account, usually quite easily at any of the brokerage firms in the margin rates comparison list. This typically requires just a few minutes on the broker’s website. A phone call will also work.
Cash Account or Margin Account May Be the Only Option
Some brokerage firms only offer one account version—cash or margin. Moomoo, for example, only
offers margin accounts, while Stash Invest only has cash accounts.
Margin-Enabled IRAs
Although the Federal Reserve Board won’t permit retirement accounts to borrow funds to buy assets, an IRA can add margin capability in order to trade with unsettled funds. Adding this functionality allows the IRA to day trade. This is a great feature because the IRA won’t receive a 1099-B during tax season, so all of those day trades don’t have to be reported.
Updated on 5/7/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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