VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

IBorrowDesk vs MarketWatch comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

MarketWatch includes News, Calendar, Screeners, Data Visualizations, Paper Trading, Financials, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, IPO, and Newsletters categories that IBorrowDesk omits.

IBorrowDesk highlights: Borrow fee percentages and shortable share availability, sourced directly from Interactive Brokers public datasets., Intraday refresh cadence: ~15 minutes during North American trading hours; hourly outside of them on weekdays., and Per-ticker pages show recent borrow snapshots with timestamps, plus options to add tickers to a watchlist or set alerts..

MarketWatch is known for: Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates..

MarketWatch offers mobile access, which IBorrowDesk skips.

IBorrowDesk logo

IBorrowDesk

iborrowdesk.com

Tracks stock-loan availability and borrow fee data as reported by Interactive Brokers (IBKR). Updates roughly every 15 minutes during North American trading hours and hourly elsewhere on weekdays. The data reflects IBKR only and not the wider market. The site is unaffiliated with IBKR; displayed quotes are provided by IEX. A paid Patron tier adds longer history, CSV exports, and more tracking capacity.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Borrow fee percentages and shortable share availability, sourced directly from Interactive Brokers public datasets.
  • Intraday refresh cadence: ~15 minutes during North American trading hours; hourly outside of them on weekdays.
  • Per-ticker pages show recent borrow snapshots with timestamps, plus options to add tickers to a watchlist or set alerts.
  • Patron plan ($10/month) unlocks 5+ years of history versus 1 year on free, enables CSV historical export, and expands watchlist capacity to ~50 securities.
  • Scope limited to Interactive Brokers—availability and fees may differ across other brokers.

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MarketWatch logo

MarketWatch

marketwatch.com

Hands-on review

A global financial-news portal from Dow Jones that combines market data, news, analysis, and investor tools. Real-time Nasdaq last-sale quotes are included, while most other intraday prices run on a standard 15-minute delay. Premium newsletters and in-depth articles are gated behind a subscription. Mobile apps extend the experience with push alerts and watchlist syncing.

Platforms

Web
Mobile

Pricing

Free
Subscription

Quick highlights

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.
  • Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar.

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

3 overlaps

Mutual strengths include Short Interest, Watchlist, and Alerts.

Where they differ

MarketWatch

Distinct strengths include:

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeIBorrowDeskMarketWatch
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Short Interest, Watchlist, Alerts

Shared: Short Interest, Watchlist, Alerts

Unique: News, Calendar, Screeners, Data Visualizations, Paper Trading, Financials, Options, ETF Overview, ETF Holdings, Analyst Price Targets, Insider Data, Interest Rates, Yield Curves, IPO, Newsletters

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, ETFs

Stocks, ETFs, Mutual Funds, Options, Futures, Commodities, Currencies, Cryptos, Bonds

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web

Web, Mobile

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free, Subscription

Free, Subscription

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Borrow fee percentages and shortable share availability, sourced directly from Interactive Brokers public datasets.
  • Intraday refresh cadence: ~15 minutes during North American trading hours; hourly outside of them on weekdays.
  • Per-ticker pages show recent borrow snapshots with timestamps, plus options to add tickers to a watchlist or set alerts.
  • Patron plan ($10/month) unlocks 5+ years of history versus 1 year on free, enables CSV historical export, and expands watchlist capacity to ~50 securities.
  • Scope limited to Interactive Brokers—availability and fees may differ across other brokers.
  • Site disclaimer notes no affiliation with IBKR; market quotes shown alongside borrow data come from IEX.

Unique

  • Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools.
  • Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts.
  • Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates.
  • BigCharts advanced charting platform with multiple timeframes (intraday to monthly) and technical overlays; intraday data typically delayed 15 minutes.
  • Options coverage with full chains per symbol and an expiration calendar.
  • ETF and mutual fund research, including top holdings for flagship funds like SPY and a comparison tool for side-by-side analysis.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Not yet

Yes

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Standard listing

Standard listing

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do IBorrowDesk and MarketWatch both support?

Both platforms cover Short Interest, Watchlist, and Alerts workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do IBorrowDesk and MarketWatch require subscriptions?

Both IBorrowDesk and MarketWatch keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

Which tool has mobile access?

MarketWatch ships a dedicated mobile experience, while IBorrowDesk focuses on web or desktop access.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

IBorrowDesk differentiates itself with Borrow fee percentages and shortable share availability, sourced directly from Interactive Brokers public datasets., Intraday refresh cadence: ~15 minutes during North American trading hours; hourly outside of them on weekdays., and Per-ticker pages show recent borrow snapshots with timestamps, plus options to add tickers to a watchlist or set alerts., whereas MarketWatch stands out for Market data hub with stock and market screeners, mutual fund research, fund comparison, and multi-quote lookup tools., Personal watchlists available free with an account; syncs across web and mobile apps with customizable price and news alerts., and Comprehensive event calendars, including U.S. economic releases, corporate earnings, IPO schedules, and options-expiration dates..

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.