Margin rates are a crucial factor in leveraged trading, as they directly affect your costs and profitability. A broker with low margin rates lets you use leverage more efficiently and keeps your borrowing costs down.
With so many options available, finding the right broker can be challenging. This article highlights the brokers in Europe with the lowest margin rates, explains how each one prices borrowing and overnight financing, and compares their key features to help you invest more effectively. Rates were checked in September 2026.
Overview of brokers with the lowest margin rates in Europe
Interactive Brokers | Best overall
Interactive Brokers offers the lowest-cost margin loans on this list: a published benchmark rate plus a spread that falls as your loan grows. You can borrow against real stocks, ETFs and bonds, not just CFDs.
XTB | Best for forex
XTB is a well-known broker with strong customer support. It publishes its swap rates for every instrument and offers competitive spreads on forex CFDs.
eToro | Best for simple pricing structure
eToro is the leading social trading broker, letting you copy the trades of other investors. Before you open a leveraged position, it shows you the exact daily overnight fee, so you know the cost in advance.
Disclaimer: eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
CMC Markets | Best for CFD trading
CMC Markets is a global CFD broker with over 12,000 instruments. It publishes a transparent holding-cost formula and competitive financing on short positions.
Plus500 | Ideal for demo account
Plus500 is a CFD broker with over 2,800 instruments across forex, shares, commodities, indices, ETFs, options and crypto. Trading is commission-free (costs are in the spread), overnight funding is shown per instrument, and its free demo account is ideal for practising.
81% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
DEGIRO | Best for European investors buying ETFs
DEGIRO is a popular low-cost broker among European investors. Its margin pricing is simple: one fixed debit interest rate (6.90% in GBP in the UK, or 5.25% if you allocate your debit), applied across all markets.
How these brokers price margin and overnight financing
There are two ways to trade with leverage, and they are priced differently:
- Margin loans on real assets (Interactive Brokers, DEGIRO): you borrow cash from the broker to buy real stocks, ETFs or bonds, and pay interest on the amount borrowed. If you sell short, you may even receive interest on the proceeds.
- Overnight financing on CFDs (XTB, eToro, CMC Markets, Plus500): you trade a leveraged contract, and every night the position stays open you pay (or occasionally receive) a financing charge, usually a benchmark rate plus or minus the broker’s markup, charged on the full position value, not just the borrowed part.
That second point is why CFD financing is usually more expensive than it looks: with 5x leverage on a €10,000 position, a margin loan charges interest on the €8,000 you borrowed, while a CFD charges financing on the whole €10,000.
| Broker | How financing is priced | Charged on | Where to check |
| Interactive Brokers | Benchmark + 1.5% on the first 100,000, falling to benchmark + 0.25% above 3 million | Amount borrowed | Margin rates page |
| DEGIRO | Fixed debit rate: 6.90%, or 5.25% allocated (UK, GBP, 2026) | Amount borrowed | Fee schedule |
| XTB | Daily swap per instrument (benchmark ± markup) | Full position value | xStation, instrument specifications |
| eToro | Daily overnight fee per instrument, shown before you trade | Full position value | Trade window, fees page |
| CMC Markets | Holding cost: benchmark ± markup, per asset class | Full position value | Product overview in the platform |
| Plus500 | Daily overnight funding per instrument | Full position value | Instrument details on the platform |
DEGIRO: UK fee schedule, rates from 1 January 2026. CFD overnight fees change daily with benchmark rates and market conditions, and weekend positions are usually charged three times on one day. Checked in September 2026. 81% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Current margin rates at Interactive Brokers
Because IBKR publishes its rates as a benchmark plus a fixed spread, it is the easiest broker to compare. For IBKR Pro, the first tier (up to 100,000 of the currency) was around 5.1% in USD, 3.4% in EUR and 5.15% in GBP in mid-2026, following each central bank’s policy rate. Larger loans pay less: the spread falls from 1.5% to 0.25% above 3 million, on a blended basis (the first 100,000 always pays the tier 1 rate).
Worked example: borrowing €10,000 in EUR at IBKR for a year at about 3.4% costs roughly €340. As an illustration, a CFD broker charging a benchmark of about 2% plus a 2.5% markup on a €12,500 position (the same trade with 5x leverage and €2,500 of your own money) would cost roughly €560 a year, before spreads.
For CFD brokers, the practical way to compare is to open the same instrument (for example the S&P 500 or Apple) on each platform and read the overnight fee before placing the trade.
Best brokers with the lowest margin rates in Europe compared
| Broker | Products | Min. deposit | Main EU/UK regulators |
| Interactive Brokers | Stocks, ETFs, options, futures, forex, bonds and funds | $0 | CBI (Ireland), FCA |
| XTB | Stocks, ETFs and CFDs on indices, commodities, forex and crypto | $0 | KNF, CySEC, FCA, CNMV |
| eToro | Stocks, ETFs, crypto and CFDs | $50 (depends on country) | CySEC, FCA |
| CMC Markets | CFDs on forex, indices, stocks, ETFs, commodities, bonds and crypto | $0 | FCA, BaFin |
| Plus500 | CFDs on forex, shares, indices, commodities, crypto and options | $100 | CySEC, FCA |
| DEGIRO | Stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, options, futures and leveraged products | €/£0 | BaFin (flatexDEGIRO Bank SE), AFM |
81% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Brokers with the lowest margin rates in Europe reviewed
Interactive Brokers at a glance
Founded in 1978, Interactive Brokers is one of the largest international brokers, listed on Nasdaq (ticker: IBKR) and regulated by many top-tier authorities. EU clients are served by Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited. It tops our list of brokers with the lowest margin rates.
IBKR offers several account base currencies with no minimum deposit, funded by bank transfer. Margin loans are priced as the IBKR benchmark rate for each currency plus a spread that falls as your loan grows:
- First 100,000: benchmark + 1.5%.
- 100,000 to 1 million: benchmark + 1.0%.
- Larger balances: lower spreads, down to benchmark + 0.25% above 3 million.
Rates are blended, so each part of the loan pays its own tier. In mid-2026, the tier 1 rate was around 5.1% in USD and 3.4% in EUR. Because the benchmark follows central bank rates, your margin cost changes automatically when rates move. See the margin rates page for today’s figures.
Besides low margin rates, Interactive Brokers charges no inactivity fee and gives you one free withdrawal per month. Its desktop platform, Trader Workstation (TWS), is one of the most powerful on the market, and it also offers the Client Portal on the web, the IBKR Mobile app and the simpler IBKR GlobalTrader app.
We recommend our comprehensive Interactive Brokers review.
XTB at a glance
69-80% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
XTB is a broker established in 2002, headquartered in Poland and listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, with more than 1 million active clients and a reputation for strong customer service. It is regulated by several European authorities, including the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Spain’s CNMV.
Besides commission-free real stocks and ETFs (on the first €100,000 of monthly turnover, then 0.2% with a €10 minimum), XTB offers CFDs on forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and crypto with competitive spreads. It publishes the swap for each CFD in its instrument specifications and updates them regularly.
XTB trades through its own xStation 5 platform (web and desktop) and mobile app, with advanced charting tools and indicators (MetaTrader is no longer offered). You can fund your account by bank transfer, card or e-wallets, and there is no minimum deposit.
Withdrawals are free. On the downside, XTB charges a €10 monthly inactivity fee, but only if you have not opened or closed a position in the last 365 days and have not made a deposit in the last 90 days.
Read our XTB review for further insights.
eToro at a glance
52% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
eToro has been known for social trading since 2007: you can copy the trades of other investors and discuss markets with a large community. It has been listed on Nasdaq (ticker: ETOR) since May 2025.
When you open a leveraged or short position, eToro executes it as a CFD and charges a daily overnight fee, which you can see in the trade window before you place the order. That transparency is the main reason it makes this list. Unleveraged purchases of real stocks and ETFs carry no overnight fee.
eToro’s web platform is user-friendly and intuitive, with one-click trading, limit orders and advanced charting tools.
Although eToro is one of the best brokers for beginners, it may not be the cheapest for day traders, because some products have wider spreads than at other brokers. EU and UK clients can now hold EUR or GBP accounts (withdrawals from these are free), while USD accounts pay a $5 withdrawal fee.
Read our in-depth eToro review for a complete evaluation.
CMC Markets at a glance
69% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
CMC Markets was established in 1989, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and gives access to over 12,000 CFDs, including one of the largest forex offerings with 330+ currency pairs. It is regulated by many top-tier authorities, including the FCA and BaFin.
At CMC Markets, costs depend on the asset class. Forex has no commission (just the spread), while share CFDs carry a commission. Holding costs apply to positions open at the end of each trading day (5 pm New York time) and can be positive or negative depending on whether you are long or short. CMC publishes its holding-cost rates for each product and updates them regularly.
CMC Markets has its own web platform and mobile app, both highly customisable, and also supports MetaTrader 4.
It suits cost-conscious traders, with tight spreads and free deposits and withdrawals, and it supports several account currencies. However, if your account has had no trading activity for 12 months, you pay a monthly inactivity fee of £10 or equivalent, and some market data subscriptions may apply depending on your account.
Plus500 at a glance
81% of retail CFD accounts lose money.
Established in 2008 and listed on the London Stock Exchange (FTSE 250), Plus500 offers its own user-friendly web platform and mobile app with over 2,800 CFDs. It keeps costs simple: no commission (costs are in the spread), free deposits and withdrawals, and overnight funding on positions held overnight.
Plus500 shows the overnight funding rate for each instrument directly on the platform, so you can check the cost before trading on margin.
Plus500 offers a wide range of indicators and drawing tools. You can open an account online and fund it by bank transfer, card, PayPal or Skrill, with a $100 minimum deposit.
On the downside, Plus500 provides few educational materials and research reports compared with other brokers. Also, if you don’t log in for three consecutive months, you pay a $10 (or equivalent) monthly inactivity fee, a shorter window than the 12 months most brokers use.
You can read our Plus500 review for further details.
DEGIRO at a glance
Investing involves risk of loss.
DEGIRO was founded in 2008 and is one of Europe’s leading low-cost brokers, now part of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, a German bank supervised by BaFin. It offers stocks, ETFs, bonds, funds, options and futures on dozens of exchanges.
To borrow on margin, you need an account profile that allows debit balances (such as Active or Trader). DEGIRO then charges a fixed debit interest rate, published in its fee schedule for each country. In the UK schedule (rates from 1 January 2026), borrowing in GBP costs 6.90% a year, or 5.25% if you allocate your debit (a Help Centre option that lowers the rate). Short selling stocks costs a further 1% to 2% a year depending on the stock’s category, and margin on futures and options is priced at benchmark + 1.25%. DEGIRO’s platform offers real-time quotes, a wide choice of order types and an economic calendar.
DEGIRO stands out for its low fees, with no account opening, inactivity or withdrawal fees, and a Core Selection of ETFs with no commission (a handling fee applies). However, it charges a 0.25% currency conversion fee on AutoFX, which matters when investing in international assets, and it offers no forex, CFDs or direct crypto.
You can check our DEGIRO review for further analysis.
Conclusion
Margin rates are a key factor when choosing a broker for leveraged trading: over months, the interest or overnight fees you pay can easily exceed your trading commissions. If you want the lowest borrowing cost on real stocks and ETFs, Interactive Brokers is the clear leader, while CFD brokers suit short-term trading, where overnight costs matter less.
In this article, we presented the brokers with the lowest margin rates in Europe. Here is a short recap:
Interactive Brokers
Best overallXTB
Best for forexeToro
Best for simple pricing structureCMC Markets
Best for CFD tradingPlus500
Ideal for demo accountDEGIRO
Best for European investors buying ETFs
When comparing brokers, look beyond margin rates to platform features, customer support and regulation.
Our BrokerMatch tool gives you personalised suggestions based on your preferences, our comparison table lets you compare brokers side by side, and our broker reviews cover each platform in depth.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. A large share of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
FAQs
What are margin rates and why do they matter?
When you trade on margin, you borrow money from your broker to increase your buying power, and the margin rate is the interest you pay on that loan. Overnight funding (also called swap or rollover) is the equivalent cost for CFD and forex positions held past the daily cut-off: it reflects the interest rate on the currency or asset you are exposed to, plus the broker’s markup, and can occasionally be credited to you.
Both costs vary a lot between brokers and asset classes. Over weeks or months, a difference of a few percentage points adds up: on a €20,000 position held for a year, every extra 1% costs €200. That is why choosing a broker with low margin rates matters if you use leverage for more than a few days.
Remember that trading on margin is high risk: it magnifies losses as well as gains, and you can lose more than you expected if the market moves against you quickly.
What are interest margin rates in trading?
Interest margin rates are the cost of borrowing funds from a broker to leverage your trades, usually expressed as an annual percentage and calculated daily on the amount you owe.
How do margin rates affect my trading costs?
Margin rates are charged for as long as you keep the loan or position open, so they matter most for positions held for weeks or months. For short-term trades closed within the day, spreads and commissions usually matter more.
Which brokers offer the lowest margin rates in Europe?
Interactive Brokers has the lowest published margin rates for borrowing against real stocks and ETFs. Among CFD brokers, XTB, eToro, CMC Markets and Plus500 all publish their overnight fees per instrument, so compare the same instrument on each platform before trading.
How often do brokers update their margin rates?
Brokers that link their rates to a benchmark (such as Interactive Brokers) update them automatically whenever central bank rates change. CFD overnight fees are usually recalculated daily. Always check the broker’s website or trade window for the current rate.
