Best Brokers For Short Selling 2026

We’ve tested the top brokers that allow short selling, enabling you to capitalize on market downturns through derivatives, such as futures, options, and CFDs (not available in some countries like the US).

Written By
Royston Wild

Fact Checked By
Tobias Robinson

Edited By
James Barra

Updated
October 21, 2026

Jump To: Top List Compare Opinions Tutorial

Your capital is at risk. Trade only with funds you can afford to lose.

Tested with a live trading account Accept traders from United States

Our Top Pick in USA 1

Interactive Brokers 4.3/5

NinjaTrader 4.5/5

Plus500US 4.0/5

Compare Interactive Brokers and NinjaTrader Details

Showing 3 of 3 matching brokers

1

Interactive Brokers

4.3/5 our rating

Available in United States Not available in United States

Rating breakdown

Regulation & Trust 4.5

Assets & Markets 4.7

Fees & Costs 4.3

Platforms & Tools 3.3

Customer Support 3.0

Education 4.3

Research 4.4

Accounts & Banking 3.5

Visit Interactive Brokers Read Review

In our tests, Interactive Brokers offered flexible short selling for stocks and forex. Its platforms and market data are better than many competitors, making it well suited for advanced traders using precise short-selling strategies.

Demo Account
✓

Minimum Deposit
$0

Minimum Trade
$1

Leverage
1:50 (major forex pairs), 1:2-1:4 (equities)

Copy Trading
✗

Regulator
SEC, FINRA, CFTC, NFA, CIRO, FCA, CBI, ASIC, SFC, SEBI, JFSA, MAS

Instruments
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Cryptocurrencies, CFDs Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Cryptocurrencies

Platforms
Trader Workstation (TWS), IBKR Desktop, GlobalTrader, Mobile, Client Portal, AlgoTrader, OmniTrader, TradingView, eSignal, TradingCentral, ProRealTime, Quantower

Account Currencies
USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, INR, JPY, SEK, NOK, DKK, CHF, AED, HUF

Automated Trading
TWS API

AI
✓

Guaranteed Stop Loss
✗
2

NinjaTrader

4.5/5 our rating

Available in United States Not available in United States

Rating breakdown

Regulation & Trust 4.1

Assets & Markets 3.5

Fees & Costs 4.3

Platforms & Tools 4.5

Customer Support 4.0

Education 4.0

Research 4.0

Accounts & Banking 3.3

Visit NinjaTrader Read Review

In our tests, NinjaTrader made short selling futures and forex easy. It offers more futures instruments and tools for short selling than most firms we reviewed.

Demo Account
✓

Minimum Deposit
$0 (live trades must meet intraday margin minimums, e.g., $50 to trade micro contracts)

Minimum Trade
1 contract

Leverage
$50 intraday margins for Micro contracts and $500 for popular E-mini contracts

Copy Trading
✗

Regulator
NFA, CFTC, CySEC

Instruments
Futures, Forex, Stocks, Options, Commodities, Futures, Crypto (non-futures depend on provider)

Platforms
NinjaTrader Desktop, Web & Mobile, eSignal

Account Currencies
USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD

Automated Trading
NinjaScript or via Automated Trading Interface

AI
✗

Guaranteed Stop Loss
✗
3

Plus500US

4.0/5 our rating

Available in United States Not available in United States

Rating breakdown

Regulation & Trust 3.5

Assets & Markets 3.8

Fees & Costs 3.3

Platforms & Tools 3.3

Customer Support 3.5

Education 3.5

Research 2.8

Accounts & Banking 3.7

Visit Plus500US Read Review
Trading in futures and options involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone.

At Plus500US, short selling was simple: sell to open futures contracts, such as micro equity indices and crude oil, then buy to close. Futures costs are clear (commission + exchange/NFA fees), margin updates in real time, and the web platform is intuitive with integrated research tools.

Demo Account
✓

Minimum Deposit
$10

Minimum Trade
Variable

Leverage
Variable

Copy Trading
✗

Regulator
CFTC, NFA

Instruments
Futures on Cryptocurrencies, Metals, Agriculture, Forex, Interest rates, Energy, Equity Index Future Contracts, Prediction Markets

Platforms
WebTrader, App

Account Currencies
USD

Automated Trading
✗

AI
✗

Guaranteed Stop Loss
✗

Compare the Best Short Selling Brokers by Core Features

We evaluated each broker offering short selling across the metrics that matter most. Here’s how the top platforms compare:

Broker	USD Account	Demo Account	Minimum Deposit	Minimum Trade	Leverage	Copy Trading	Regulator	Instruments	Platforms	Account Currencies	Automated Trading	AI	Guaranteed Stop Loss
	✓	✓	$0	$1	1:50 (major forex pairs), 1:2-1:4 (equities)	✗	SEC, FINRA, CFTC, NFA, CIRO, FCA, CBI, ASIC, SFC, SEBI, JFSA, MAS	Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Cryptocurrencies, CFDs Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Cryptocurrencies	Trader Workstation (TWS), IBKR Desktop, GlobalTrader, Mobile, Client Portal, AlgoTrader, OmniTrader, TradingView, eSignal, TradingCentral, ProRealTime, Quantower	USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, INR, JPY, SEK, NOK, DKK, CHF, AED, HUF	TWS API	✓	✗
	✓	✓	$0 (live trades must meet intraday margin minimums, e.g., $50 to trade micro contracts)	1 contract	$50 intraday margins for Micro contracts and $500 for popular E-mini contracts	✗	NFA, CFTC, CySEC	Futures, Forex, Stocks, Options, Commodities, Futures, Crypto (non-futures depend on provider)	NinjaTrader Desktop, Web & Mobile, eSignal	USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD	NinjaScript or via Automated Trading Interface	✗	✗
	✓	✓	$10	Variable	Variable	✗	CFTC, NFA	Futures on Cryptocurrencies, Metals, Agriculture, Forex, Interest rates, Energy, Equity Index Future Contracts, Prediction Markets	WebTrader, App	USD	✗	✗	✗
Broker	USD Account	Demo Account	Minimum Deposit	Minimum Trade	Leverage	Copy Trading	Regulator	Instruments	Platforms	Account Currencies	Automated Trading	AI	Guaranteed Stop Loss

How Secure Are the Top Short Selling Platforms?

When engaging in leveraged strategies like short selling, platform security is critical. See how leading brokers protect your capital:

Broker	Trust Rating	Guaranteed Stop Loss	Negative Balance Protection	Segregated Accounts
	4.5	✗	✗	✓
	4.1	✗	✗	✓
	3.5	✗	✗	✓
Broker	Trust Rating	Guaranteed Stop Loss	Negative Balance Protection	Segregated Accounts

Best Short Selling Apps for On-the-Go Traders

We tested mobile platforms that support short selling, focusing on execution speed, reliability, and advanced functionality. Here’s how they ranked:

Broker	Mobile Apps	iOS Rating	Android Rating	Smart Watch App
	iOS & Android	4.3	4.5	✓
	iOS & Android	3.0	3.2	✗
	iOS & Android	4.1	4.3	✗
Broker	Mobile Apps	iOS Rating	Android Rating	Smart Watch App

Are The Best Short Selling Brokers Good For Beginners?

New to short selling? These brokers offer user-friendly interfaces, educational resources, and built-in risk tools to help you get started:

Broker	Demo Account	Minimum Deposit	Minimum Trade	Education Rating	Support Rating	Fractional Shares	Demo Competitions
	✓	$0	$1	4.3	3.0	✓	✗
	✓	$0 (live trades must meet intraday margin minimums, e.g., $50 to trade micro contracts)	1 contract	4.0	4.0	✗	✗
	✓	$10	Variable	3.5	3.5	✗	✗
Broker	Demo Account	Minimum Deposit	Minimum Trade	Education Rating	Support Rating	Fractional Shares	Demo Competitions

Are The Best Short Selling Brokers Good For Advanced Traders?

See which short selling brokers deliver for pros, with advanced charting tools, ultra-fast execution, and access to a wide range of shortable markets:

Broker	Automated Trading	VPS	API	AI	Pro Account	Leverage	Low Latency	Extended Hours
	TWS API	✗	✓	✓	✗	1:50 (major forex pairs), 1:2-1:4 (equities)	✓	✓
	NinjaScript or via Automated Trading Interface	✗	✗	✗	✗	$50 intraday margins for Micro contracts and $500 for popular E-mini contracts	✓	✗
	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	Variable	✓	✗
Broker	Automated Trading	VPS	API	AI	Pro Account	Leverage	Low Latency	Extended Hours

Accounts Comparison

Compare the trading accounts offered by Best Brokers For Short Selling 2026.

Broker	Demo Account	Interest on Cash	Islamic Account	Joint Account	Managed Account	PAMM	MAM	LAMM	Pro Account
	✓	USD: 3.14%, GBP: 3.24%	✗	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗
	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Broker	Demo Account	Interest on Cash	Islamic Account	Joint Account	Managed Account	PAMM	MAM	LAMM	Pro Account

Short Selling Broker Ratings – Our Complete Scorecard

Dive into the full ratings breakdown for the highest-performing short selling brokers, based on our independent tests and expert reviews:

Broker	Trust	Platforms	Assets	Mobile	Fees	Accounts	Research	Education	Support
	4.5	3.3	4.7	4.4	4.3	3.5	4.4	4.3	3.0
	4.1	4.5	3.5	3.1	4.3	3.3	4.0	4.0	4.0
	3.5	3.3	3.8	4.2	3.3	3.7	2.8	3.5	3.5
Broker	Trust	Platforms	Assets	Mobile	Fees	Accounts	Research	Education	Support

Trading Fees Compared – Where’s the Best Value for Short Sellers?

We analyzed commissions and spread structures to find brokers offering the most competitive pricing for short selling strategies:

Broker	Cost Rating	Fixed Spreads	Inactivity Fee	EUR/USD Spread	Crypto Spread
	4.3	✗	$0	0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.12%-0.18%
	4.3	✗	$35	1.3	Floating
	3.3	✗	$0	0.75	✗
Broker	Cost Rating	Fixed Spreads	Inactivity Fee	EUR/USD Spread	Crypto Spread

Customer Ratings

Compare how customers of these brokers feel about them, with real user ratings from Trustpilot, the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Broker	Customers	Trustpilot Score	Trustpilot Reviews	Android App Rating	iOS App Rating
	4,300,000	3.0	5,531	4.5	4.3
	1,800,000	3.8	1,251	3.2	3.0
	33,000,000	4.2	20,136	4.3	4.1
Broker	Customers	Trustpilot Score	Trustpilot Reviews	Android App Rating	iOS App Rating

Most Popular Short Selling Brokers Among Active Traders

Want to know which platforms short sellers are turning to? These brokers are attracting the most clients:

Broker	Popularity
Plus500US	33,000,000
Interactive Brokers	4,300,000
NinjaTrader	1,800,000

Why Trade With Interactive Brokers?

4.3/5

Interactive Brokers is ideal for seasoned traders due to its robust charting platforms, updated data, and adaptability, especially with the IBKR Desktop application. Its exceptional pricing and advanced order features appeal to traders, and its variety of stocks remains unmatched in the market.

Christian Harris
Review Author

Pros

IBKR, primarily designed for skilled traders, has expanded its appeal recently by eliminating its initial $10,000 deposit requirement.
The TWS platform is designed for intermediate to advanced traders. It includes over 100 order types and a dependable real-time market data feed that rarely experiences downtime.
There's a large selection of free or paid research subscriptions available to all traders. If you subscribe to Toggle AI, you will also receive commission refunds from IBKR.

Cons

In 2025, IBKR was fined $11.8 million by the US OFAC for offering services in restricted areas. It also faced a $125,000 fine from FINRA in 2025 for failing to disclose municipal bond information.
Only one active session per account is allowed, which means you can't run the desktop version and mobile app at the same time. This can sometimes lead to a frustrating trading experience.
IBKR offers many research tools. However, the tools are not uniformly distributed across trading platforms and the web-based 'Account Management' page, causing confusion for the users.

Visit Interactive Brokers Read Review

Why Trade With NinjaTrader?

4.5/5

NinjaTrader consistently satisfies active futures traders with its low-cost service and high-quality analysis tools. It offers superior charting features, including hundreds of indicators and over 10 chart types.

James Barra
Review Author

Pros

Nano contracts, which are one-hundredth the size of standard contracts, let traders adjust positions precisely and manage risks on a smaller scale. This is beneficial for those who build positions gradually.
The market replay feature lets you download tick-by-tick historical data, go back to any date, and interact with it as if trading live. It's useful for strategy testing and real-world practice.
's ecosystem offers traders access to thousands of add-ons and applications from developers in over 150 countries. These include indicators, strategies, and custom tools that extend the platform's native features.

Cons

NinjaTrader was bought by Kraken in May 2025. Although it still operates independently, traders concerned about long-term stability may worry about changes in the platform's direction and pricing under new ownership.
Intraday margin requirements can rise up to four times in the 15 minutes before major economic news and remain high for several minutes after volatility decreases.
NinjaTrader was fined $250,000 in 2025 for not implementing a sufficient anti-money laundering program and for supervisory failures.

Visit NinjaTrader Read Review

Why Trade With Plus500US?

4.0/5

Plus500US is a strong choice for beginners, with an easy-to-use platform and Futures Academy training. Its tools and reliable service earned second place in DayTrading.com's annual “Best US Broker” award.

James Barra
Review Author

Pros

Plus500US stands out for its low fees, competitive trading margins, and no charges for inactivity, live data, routing, or platform use.
The trading app offers an excellent user interface with an updated design, straightforward layout, and charts optimized for mobile use.
The Futures Academy is a useful resource for beginner traders due to its captivating videos and simple articles. Its unrestricted demo account is also beneficial for practicing trading strategies.

Cons

The proprietary platform is easy to use but lacks advanced analysis tools available in third-party platforms like MetaTrader 4.
Plus500US offers competitive pricing but does not have a discount program for high-volume traders, unlike brokers like Interactive Brokers.
Plus500US lacks social trading features, unlike competitors such as eToro US, which might enhance its appeal to aspiring traders.

Visit Plus500US Read Review

Trading in futures and options involves the risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone.

Top Rated Broker

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✖

Filters

How We Chose The Best Brokers For Short Selling

Short selling – or ‘going short’ – allows traders to potentially profit from falling markets. However, not all brokers support this approach, and the quality of the short selling experience can vary widely across platforms.

To identify the best brokers for short selling, we first filtered platforms that offer the necessary products, such as contracts for difference (CFDs). This initial step ensured that every broker we considered genuinely supports trading strategies designed to capitalize on market downturns.

From there, we ranked the eligible brokers using our comprehensive broker rating system, which takes into account over 200 data points across key categories like fees, execution speed, platform usability, regulatory standing, risk management tools, and more.

We also incorporated findings from our hands-on testing, where we assess each broker’s features in the trading environment.

BrokerListings.com Broker Testing Methodology

What To Look For In A Broker Offering Short Selling

The key things to consider when selecting a brokerage to use for going short are:

Trust

Irrespective of your investing style or strategy, it’s critical to ensure that the brokerage in question is licensed to trade by a respected global regulator. You wouldn’t put your cash in a bank that’s not properly vetted and regulated by a trusted authority, right?

Regulators in regions with developed financial markets like the FCA in the UK and ASIC in Australia typically provide a cataloge of approved brokerages on their websites. Some also provide ‘warning lists’ of companies and individuals that have been prohibited from doing business in their territories.

Pro tip: Regulatory status isn’t the only thing to check when assessing a broker’s trustworthiness, however. Can a licensed company be considered reliable if, for instance, their trading platform stops working during a short sell, traders have issues withdrawing funds, or they offer a poor level of customer support?

It is therefore also a good idea to read through user reviews and analyses from respected financial websites to get a full picture of what to expect.

Top broker for trust: Pepperstone is among the most trusted brokers for short selling that we’ve tested. It’s authorized in multiple regions across the globe, including the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), BaFin (Germany, and DFSA (Dubai). It’s also scooped the financial education website, DayTading.com’s, ‘Best Overall Broker’ award.

Asset Range

When a trader chooses to go ‘short,’ having a wide selection of securities to choose from is often a good idea. This increases the chances you have of finding lucrative trading opportunities to capitalize on.

Retail investors have a multitude of asset classes they can trade today, including stocks, forex, bonds, commodities and cryptocurrencies. However, the range of securities on offer can differ greatly from broker to broker based on our tests.

Pro tip: Some brokerages restrict short selling on less liquid assets, however, as the availability of such securities for lending purposes can be extremely low.

For short sellers, it’s essential to check whether the broker offers trading using derivatives like contracts for difference (CFDs). With these financial instruments, investors can speculate on market movements without having to borrow any underlying asset.

Top broker for asset range: CMC Markets offers trading on more than 12,000 financial instruments – more than most short selling brokers we’ve evaluated. Investors can go short on currencies, equities, commodities, indices, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and US government bonds (Treasuries).

Setting up a sell order on the CMC Markets platform

CMC Markets offers an easy-to-use interface for short selling via CFDs

Trading Platform

When it comes to assessing the broker’s platform, there are several important factors to consider, including:

Is the trading software easy to navigate and customizable?
Does the platform include real-time data and advanced charting tools?
How quickly can short trades be executed?
Is algorithmic/automated trading available?
Does it provide price alerts and notifications on key events?
How secure and stable is the trading platform?

Traders also need to ensure that the broker supports the use of a third-party trading platform (like one of the MetaTrader systems, cTrader and TradingView) if they wish to go down that path.

Short sellers especially need to pay close attention to the platform’s risk management tools, as there’s no ceiling on an asset’s potential price increases, bringing the risk of gigantic losses. Order types like stop loss and take profit instructions, for instance, are powerful weapons in helping traders to limit losses and book profits respectively.

Top broker for trading platform: While XTB no longer supports trading with MetaTrader, we’ve found its xStation proprietary system super simple to navigate and it offers a variety of tools (including a stock screener, configurable alerts and excellent charting software).

XTB also allows customers to effectively trade ‘on the go.’ Sophisticated smartphone apps for iOS and Android systems are available. Traders can even short sell through their smartwatch.

Importantly for short sellers, XTB also offers multiple order types to help them manage risk. These include stop loss orders, trailing stop losses and take profit instructions.

Dealing Costs

Keeping trading costs to a minimum is essential, especially for active short sellers. So closely analyze things like transaction fees, account charges, withdrawal and deposit fees when tallying up different brokerages.

It’s also important to consider the size of the broker’s bid (buy) and offer (sell) spreads. Paying a transaction fee can be more cost-effective than using an intermediary that inflates spreads to boost their profits.

Short sellers specifically need to pay close attention to borrowing fees. The broker will charge for locating and then borrowing a security for the trader to sell. Alternatively, for derivative contracts like CFDs, daily financing fees – also known as overnight costs or swap fees – will apply if the trader holds the position overnight.

Tip: Some firms may technically have no minimum account deposit to open an account, such as Interactive Brokers, but they may require a certain amount to short. For instance, in the US, clients of Interactive Brokers need $2,000 minimum equity for a margin account to short stocks.

Top broker for dealing costs: IC is renowned for its narrow bid-offer spreads, beating out most of the competition in our tests, with its price generation system aggregating a selection from up to 25 separate price providers. Forex spreads begin at 0.0 pips on the MetaTrader 4 and 5 platforms, and average spreads of 0.1 pips on the EUR/USD (euro vs US dollar) currency pairing.

Trade commissions are also low, ranging from zero on a standard MetaTrader account to $3.50 on a raw spread MetaTrader account. Traders are also safeguarded from monthly inactivity fees, while overnight fees are pretty modest, an important factor for CFD short sellers.

How To Short Guides

Due to their complexity and interest amongst retail investors, we’ve developed step-by-step guides to shorting on some high-profile trading platforms:

Short Selling Rules Vary

Short selling is a contraversial, closely watched practice in some countries with evolving rules. For example, the UK introduced a fresh regime in July 2026, replacing the public disclosure of individual large short positions with annonymized aggregate data and pushed out the reporting deadline to 11:59 PM on T+1.

Elsewhere, the US pushed back its institutional short position reporting requirements under Rule 13f-2 and Form SHO until January 2028 following a court challenge, though this is aimed at institutional investors.

The takeaway for retail traders? Always check the latest local rules, and how they pertain to retail traders, before engaging in short selling. Brokers may be able to provide some information on this but you may need to seek external professional guidance if you’re unclear.

FAQ

What Is Short Selling?

Traders take a ‘short position’ when they believe the value of an asset will fall. They will borrow the security from a counterparty, and sell it on the expectation of buying it back more cheaply (and returning it to the lender).

The difference between the selling price and the repurchase price – excluding trading fees – is the trader’s profit.

Who Is The Counterparty In A Short Sell Trade?

This is typically the broker, although ultimately they are not the true lender of the asset. They act as a financial intermediary between the borrower and the actual asset owner, locating and borrowing the security from a client account.

In this sense, the client (such as a retail investor or institutional investor) is the ultimate lender.

Do Traders Need To Own The Asset To ‘Go Short’?

Not always. In some markets, investors can speculate that an asset’s price will decline using a derivative product like a CFD.

Who Can Short Sell?

Institutional investors like hedge funds are the most active short sellers, though the number of retail traders using this strategy is growing with access to various derivatives and investment vehicles.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Short Selling?

Going short provides traders with added flexibility. All financial markets experience reversals, so short selling allows individuals to turn a profit when prices drop and not just when they appreciate.

On top of this, shorting can be used as part of a trader’s risk management strategy. ‘Hedging’ is where investors take a short position to limit potential losses when they also ‘go long’ (buy) on the same asset.

At the same time, however, short selling carries its own risks. This is because the security a trader borrows and sells could keep increasing in value over time, resulting in losses that keep on growing.

A rising asset price can also mean the brokerage issues margin calls, requiring the investor to deposit more cash. If the trader fails to do so, the broker may shut out the position before the asset price potentially falls again, thus locking in the individual’s loss.

Article Sources

Escalator Up, Elevator Down: Understanding the New Landscape of Retail Short Selling – MOMO

Guide To Financial Markets 7th Edition: Why They Exist And How They Work – The Economist, Mark Levinson