Intro and winners
Top 5 brokers for short selling in 2023:
- Webull is the best broker for short selling real stocks in 2023 - Free stock, ETF and options trading. Fast and easy account opening. Great trading platforms.
- Interactive Brokers - Low trading fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- moomoo - Free stocks, ETFs and options. Fast and easy account opening. Quality analytical tools and excellent education.
- Zacks Trade - Low fees. Extensive stock and ETF selection. Great customer service.
- Merrill Edge - Low trading fees. Easy and seamless account opening. Strong parent company.
How did BrokerChooser pick the best brokers for short selling?
- We checked whether the broker is regulated by a trusted regulator,
- Compared fees, especially for stocks and options (including spreads, withdrawal fee, commission),
- Took a close look at margin rates,
- Checked the dekstop platform,
- Checked minimum deposit requirements,
- Opened an account and tested the platform (charting, features, usability) with real money.
Our expert team has done all the work for you, and reviewed brokers based on BrokerChooser's unique methodology. Let's jump straight to the results.
BrokerChooser evaluates 9 key areas for all brokers including fees, safety, ease of account opening, education, and trading platforms. We check more than 500 criteria for each broker and finetune our methodology every year based on our own and our users' experiences. We have more than 100 brokers reviewed on our site and our team of analysts examines more than 50,000 data points overall.
Best brokers for short selling in 2023
Key features of the best brokers for short selling
While many online brokers and trading platforms offer an excellent service, the ones in our toplist go the extra mile.
| Broker | Stock fee class | Minimum deposit | Withdrawal fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webull | Low | $0 | $0 |
| Interactive Brokers | Low | $0 | $0 |
| moomoo | Low | $0 | $0 |
| Zacks Trade | Low | $0 | $0 |
| Merrill Edge | Low | $0 | $0 |
Best brokers for short selling in 2023
Trading fees at the best brokers for short selling
How much you have to pay for a trade in spreads, commissions and other trading costs is a key broker selection criteria. We calculated a benchmark fee for the most important stock fees, which you can see in the table below. This is the total of how much you have to pay in spreads, commissions and other costs for a trade in each asset class.
| Webull | Interactive Brokers | moomoo | Zacks Trade | Merrill Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US stock | $0.0 | $1.0 | $0.0 | $1.0 | $0.0 |
| German stock | - | $3.0 | - | $11.9 | - |
| UK stock | - | $3.4 | - | $13.6 | - |
Commission for a $2,000 position
If you are unsure how brokerage fees work, check out our article on the various fees, charges and costs.
Best brokers for short selling in 2023
Non-trading fees at the top brokers for short selling
Non-trading fees are charges not directly related to a given trade and typically include the account maintenance fee, deposit/withdrawal fees, and the inactivity fee.
| Webull | Interactive Brokers | moomoo | Zacks Trade | Merrill Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account fee | No | No | No | No | No |
| Inactivity fee | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Deposit fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Your broker toplist will be selected based on your answers.
Best brokers for short selling in 2023
What is short selling?
A short sale (or 'shorting') is when you sell a stock you borrowed at the current price, in the hope of buying it back later for less money and pocketing the difference. It is the opposite of taking a 'long' position, i.e. buying a stock, in the hope that its price will increase. In order to do this, you need to have a margin account.
The first step in short selling is borrowing a stock from somebody and selling it immediately at the current price. Eventually you will have to buy the stock in order to give it back to the lender and close the positon. So you are hoping that the future price will be lower than the current price because the difference would be your gain. Who would loan you the stock? Your broker.
As this is a loan, your broker will charge you interest. Remember, the stock is not yours, you just borrow it. You would only short sell a stock if you firmly believe that its price will drop. In this case you hope that you can buy the stock back at that lower price in the future and pocket the difference. As the price of the stock rises, so do the unrealized (or floating) losses on your open position.
What makes a good broker for short selling?
Most importantly, they need to offer fair margin fees. To size them up in this regard, we checked the margin costs of trading real stocks. Second, they should offer fair stock fees. A great desktop platform that makes technical analysis easy also weighed into our ranking. Last, but not least, we prefer brokers with a great overall service quality and score.
#1 Best brokers for short selling in 2022
Webull
Recommended for investors and traders looking for zero-commission trading and easy platforms
| Webull snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Webull services, check out our review for 2023 |
#2 Best brokers for short selling in 2022
Interactive Brokers
Recommended for traders looking for broad market access and a professional trading environment
| Interactive Brokers snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Interactive Brokers services, check out our review for 2023 |
#3 Best brokers for short selling in 2022
moomoo
Recommended for investors and traders looking for zero-commission trading and focusing on us markets.
| moomoo snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of moomoo services, check out our review for 2023 |
#4 Best brokers for short selling in 2022
Zacks Trade
Recommended for traders and investors looking for comprehensive research tools, a wide product selection and low fees
| Zacks Trade snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Zacks Trade services, check out our review for 2023 |
#5 Best brokers for short selling in 2022
Merrill Edge
Recommended for investors and traders looking for low fees, quick account opening and simple platforms
| Merrill Edge snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Deposit methods | Bank transfer |
| Withdrawal methods | Bank transfer |
| Read review | For a detailed analysis of Merrill Edge services, check out our review for 2023 |
Best brokers for short selling in 2023
FAQ
Can short selling be profitable?
Yes, short selling can be profitable and traders may make handsome profits. Nevertheless, short selling real stocks are very risky, especially because these assets are borrowed from your broker in the form of a loan. You need to have a margin account which allows you to invest a much larger amount of money. Short selling is by no means a guarantee for getting rich overnight.
Is short selling good for beginners?
Short selling can be complicated for the first time, so in this sense it is not good for beginners.
Which broker is best for short selling?
These are the top brokers for short selling in your country in 2023:
- Webull - Free stock, ETF and options trading. Fast and easy account opening. Great trading platforms.
- Interactive Brokers - Low trading fees. Wide range of products. Many great research tools.
- moomoo - Free stocks, ETFs and options. Fast and easy account opening. Quality analytical tools and excellent education.
- Zacks Trade - Low fees. Extensive stock and ETF selection. Great customer service.
- Merrill Edge - Low trading fees. Easy and seamless account opening. Strong parent company.
Are these brokers reliable?
Absolutely. You can be sure that none of them is a scam. They are all regulated by at least one top-tier financial authority.
Want to understand short selling in more detail?
Check out these articles written by our broker and trading experts:
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