v3.20.4

Organization and Investment Objective (Details) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Feb. 28, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Common shares	$ 0.001	$ 0.001	$ 0.001
Ellington Financial Operating Partnership LLC [Member] | Total Stockholders' Equity
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Ownership Percentage	98.70%			97.60%

X

- Definition

[Line Items] for Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Table]

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	efc_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	efc_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Face amount or stated value per share of common stock.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02(29))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CommonStockParOrStatedValuePerShare
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:perShareItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

The parent entity's interest in net assets of the subsidiary, expressed as a percentage.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_MinorityInterestOwnershipPercentageByParent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	srt_OwnershipAxis=efc_EllingtonFinancialOperatingPartnershipLLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementEquityComponentsAxis=us-gaap_ParentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: