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Kalshi vs Polymarket US (2026): Which Prediction Market Is Right for You?

Photo of Charlon Muscat
Written by: Charlon Muscat
Fact checked by:  Joe Boozell
Last updated:  Jul. 8th, 2026

This Kalshi vs Polymarket US review compares everything from trading fees and available markets to bonuses, usability, payouts, and which one is the better fit for different users. I’ve spent a lot of time using both prediction markets myself, so much of this analysis comes from firsthand experience.

Editor’s Note: For clarity, our Kalshi vs. Polymarket US review covers Polymarket US, the CFTC-regulated exchange available to eligible U.S. users, not the company’s separate international platform.

Quick Verdict

For most people, I’d say Kalshi is better than Polymarket US because it offers more markets (especially outside sports), a full desktop platform, faster withdrawals, and stronger liquidity on many smaller contracts. Go with Polymarket US if you’re mainly looking for lower trading fees and a bigger welcome bonus. Overall, the main differentiator right now is Kalshi’s greater maturity as a product; Polymarket US still has some catching up to do.

Kalshi vs Polymarket US: Side by Side Comparison

Kalshi Review
Kalshi
Polymarket Review
Polymarket
Launch Year
2021
2021
Regulatory Status
CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market (DCM)
CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market (DCM)
US Availability
All states, except AZ, IL, MD, MI, MT (subject to change)
All states, except MA, MN, NV, TN (subject to change)
Market Categories
Sports, politics, economics, business, culture & weather
Sports, politics, crypto, economics, business, entertainment & world events
Trading Fee
Formula-based maker/taker fees (100 contracts at $0.50: $1.75 taker, $0.44 maker); no settlement fee
Formula-based maker/taker fees (100 contracts at $0.50: $1.25 taker, $0.31 maker rebate)
Crypto Required
No
No
Payment Methods
ACH bank transfer, debit card (Apple Pay & Google Pay), PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, crypto, wire transfer
ACH bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay
Withdrawal Speed
Instant - 1 business day
3 - 5 business days
Mobile App
iOS and Android + full web platform
iOS and Android (app-only)
Tax Reporting (1099)
Tax documents issued where required by law
Tax documents issued where required by law
Current Promotion
Trade $10, Get $10 Bonus (Promo Code: KALBONUS)
Deposit $20, Get $50 (Promo Code: BONUSCOM)
Best For
Traders seeking the broadest market selection, desktop trading, faster withdrawals, deeper sports props, and active trading in politics, economics, weather, and other niche event markets.
Cost-conscious and high-volume traders looking for lower fees, maker rebates, fee-free withdrawals, and a larger welcome bonus.

For a more detailed breakdown, read our full Kalshi review and Polymarket US review. Table last updated: (July 2026)

Key Differences Between Kalshi and Polymarket US

Markets Available

Kalshi Markets

Sports, politics, and economics represent Kalshi’s largest market categories. Economic contracts have been a core part of the platform since its 2021 launch, when early markets centered on inflation, unemployment, Federal Reserve decisions, weather, and other measurable events. Today, election outcomes, government actions, inflation reports, and monthly jobs data appear throughout the year, with activity increasing during periods of heightened public attention. Sports coverage spans individual games, playoff races, championships, and season-long team accomplishments across major leagues.

Crypto contracts primarily track price milestones and broader market developments, whereas weather markets cover measurable events, including hurricanes, temperatures, and snowfall, using official data sources. Kalshi also periodically lists contracts tied to business developments, public health, technology, and international affairs as news unfolds.

Polymarket US Markets

Sports are the clear centerpiece of Polymarket US. You’ll find contracts covering football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, tennis, golf, motorsports, UFC, esports, and just about everything else on the sports calendar. That includes outright winners, season-long futures, individual games and matches, plus special event contracts tied to major tournaments like the FIFA World Cup.

Outside sports, you’ll also find markets covering weather, politics, technology, the economy, culture, and cryptocurrency. Politics stands out with contracts on gubernatorial elections, Senate races, and other government-related outcomes. The remaining categories are relatively shallow, however, especially compared to the international platform. Polymarket US says additional markets are coming, so the selection is expected to expand over time.

Market Coverage: How They Compare

When comparing Kalshi vs. Polymarket US for market coverage, Kalshi comes out ahead overall. Its catalog is broader, with contracts that remain active throughout the year rather than concentrating on a single category. Polymarket US, meanwhile, puts sports front and center, although there is little there you won’t also find on Kalshi. If anything, Kalshi is where I found the strongest quoted liquidity on smaller sports props. During the World Cup, for example, player-to-score markets consistently displayed executable bids and asks on Kalshi, while comparable Polymarket US contracts often had no executable quotes available.

Fees & Pricing

Taker Fee = round up(0.07 × C × P × (1 − P))

Where:

C = number of contracts

P = contract price (from $0.01 to $0.99)

Round up = rounded up to the next cent

For example, buying 100 contracts priced at $0.50 produces a fee of $1.75:

0.07 × 100 × 0.50 × (1 − 0.50) = $1.75

Fees are always rounded up to the next cent, meaning very small trades may cost slightly more than the raw calculation. Unlike what I’ve seen elsewhere, Kalshi refunds eligible maker-order rounding differences once they exceed $10 in a month.

Kalshi charges different fees depending on whether a trade takes liquidity or provides liquidity:

  • You pay the standard taker fee (shown above) when your trade immediately matches an existing offer on the order book.
  • The lower maker fee uses the same formula but replaces 0.07 with 0.0175, applying to limit orders filled by another trader later.

Maker Fee = round up (0.0175 × C × P × (1 − P))

Maker fees apply only after another trader fills your limit order. Cancel it before execution, and you won’t pay a thing. Kalshi charges no settlement or membership fees. Debit card deposits, however, can cost up to 2%, while certain S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 markets qualify for lower trading costs.

Fee = Θ × C × p × (1 − p)

Where:

C = number of contracts
P = contract price (from $0.01 to $0.99)

The fee is highest near $0.50 (where uncertainty is greatest) and lower as prices move closer to $0.00 or $1.00. Buying 100 contracts at $0.50 as a taker produces:

0.05 × 100 × 0.50 × (1 − 0.50) = $1.25 fee

Polymarket US also distinguishes between takers and makers.

  • Takers pay the trading fee when their order executes against existing liquidity.
  • Makers receive a rebate for providing liquidity to the order book.

The maker rebate uses the same formula but applies a negative 0.0125 coefficient, equal to 25% of the taker fee.

Maker Rebate = −0.0125 × C × P × (1 − P)

Using the same 100-contract trade at $0.50, the maker receives approximately $0.31. Polymarket US rounds all fees and rebates to the nearest cent using banker’s rounding, which sends halfway values to the nearest even cent. Canceled, expired, or unfilled orders incur no trading fees.

Polymarket US occasionally offers promotional fee incentives. One example refunded 30% of eligible taker fees after $250,000 in trading volume between May 15, 2026, and June 30, 2026.

For standard trading, Polymarket US is cheaper. Both exchanges calculate fees from the same price-based curve, so costs peak at $0.50 and fall toward $0.01 or $0.99, but Polymarket US applies a lower taker coefficient (0.05 vs Kalshi’s 0.07). That advantage holds regardless of contract price or position size because both formulas scale proportionally with quantity. Liquidity providers also receive a maker rebate on Polymarket US, whereas Kalshi charges a reduced maker fee.

Kalshi becomes more cost-competitive in specific situations, such as designated S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 markets with reduced trading fees, while temporary promotions like Polymarket US’s taker rebate can widen its cost advantage even further.

Bonuses & Promotions

PlatformOfferHow to ClaimEligibilityConditions
Kalshi$10 bonus trading creditSign up, enter promo code KALBONUS, verify your identity, deposit funds, and trade at least $10 in event contracts.New users, 18+, identity verification required.Requires a minimum $10 in trading volume. Bonus issued as trading credit. Expires after 30 days
Polymarket USDeposit $20, get $50 trading bonusRegister, enter promo code BONUSCOM, verify your identity, deposit $20, and complete at least one qualifying real-money trade.New users, 18+, eligible U.S. jurisdictions, identity verification required.Requires a $20 minimum deposit and a qualifying trade. Bonus issued as trading credit. Expires after 30 days

User Experience & Mobile App

Kalshi: App & Interface

Kalshi is available on desktop through any web browser, as well as native iOS and Android apps. The desktop homepage leads with a carousel highlighting some of the platform’s most active markets. Each panel combines live contract prices, trading volume, historical probability charts, and related news. A search bar returns contracts, market categories, and trader profiles, while the tabs right below provide quick access to areas like Sports, Politics, Economics, Climate, Crypto, and Finance. Clicking on any one of them opens additional filters. Within Sports, for example, contracts can be narrowed by league and market type, including Games, Props, Futures, Win Totals, and Awards.

Opening a contract displays the historical probability chart beside the order ticket, allowing Buy and Sell orders from the same screen. Before submitting a trade, the ticket displays the current contract price, implied probability, available account balance, and maximum payout. Contract prices can also be viewed as probabilities, American odds, or dollar values.

I found the mobile app retained nearly all of the desktop functionality. The biggest difference is the dedicated home feed, which highlights featured markets, promotions, and newly added contracts. On desktop, you get a permanent top navigation bar for Markets, Live, Social, and account tools instead. I also liked the option to switch between light and dark mode, plus an accessibility setting for users with red-green color blindness.

Polymarket US: App & Interface

Polymarket US exists only as a mobile app. The desktop website simply directs users to the App Store or Google Play via a QR code. I thought the interface looked and felt a lot like a traditional sportsbook. The home screen opens with featured markets, followed by Trending and Live sections. Sports takes center stage. The horizontal category bar opens with major events like the World Cup, MLB, Tennis, UFC, and WNBA. You must scroll all the way to the end before politics, tech, economics, culture, weather, and crypto even show up. Contract prices can be displayed as American odds, implied probability, or dollar prices, and both light and dark modes are available.

When opening a market, you get a dedicated contract page with a historical probability chart, a live community chat, and a ranked list of available outcomes. Selecting a position opens a full-screen order ticket. I did encounter a few stability issues during testing, including several head-to-head markets that briefly failed to load before working normally a few minutes later. Outright markets, however, performed without issue.

App & Interface: How They Compare

Creating an account on both Kalshi and Polymarket US couldn’t be much easier. Each supports signing up by linking a social account or through the traditional email-and-password route. To comply with CFTC identity verification requirements, Kalshi asks for the last four digits of your Social Security number, then the full SSN or identity documents if automatic verification does not go through. Polymarket US instead requires the full SSN upfront. Both platforms also require phone number and email verification. I could still browse the available markets while all of this was in progress.

If you prefer trading on a desktop, Kalshi is the clear winner because it offers a full web platform, whereas Polymarket US is currently limited to iOS and Android. Both provide historical probability charts, multiple price formats, and Buy/Sell tickets, but Kalshi goes further by organizing sports contracts by league, Games, Props, Futures, Win Totals, and Awards, making it much faster to work through large contract lists. Even while using the app, I never encountered a single issue with Kalshi. Polymarket US closed on me a couple of times.

Deposits & Withdrawals

FeatureKalshiPolymarket US
Accepted Payment MethodsACH bank transfer, debit card (Apple Pay & Google Pay), PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, crypto, wire transferACH bank transfer, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay
Minimum Deposit$10 ($1,000 for wire transfers)Varies by account, typically $10
Maximum Deposit $2,500 (debit card), $10,000 (ACH/PayPal/Venmo), $500,000 (crypto), unlimited (wire).No published limit ($5,000 instant buying power; larger deposits settle later)
Withdrawal MethodsACH bank transfer, debit card, PayPal, Venmo, crypto, wire transferACH bank account, debit card (Apple Pay only via linked debit/bank)
Typical Withdrawal SpeedInstant to 1 business day (varies by payment method)3 - 5 business days
Withdrawal FeeACH, PayPal/Venmo & wire: free; debit: 2%; crypto: blockchain fees.No fees
Hold Period After First DepositNone (PayPal, Venmo, wire); 2 days (ACH); debit after settlement or 2 days; short hold for cryptoNone (up to $5,000); larger deposits unlock after 3 to 4 business days

Even though Polymarket made its name globally as a crypto prediction market, Polymarket US doesn’t currently accept cryptocurrency deposits or withdrawals. Kalshi does, using Zero Hash to convert supported digital assets into U.S. dollars when you deposit, then later back into crypto after putting in a withdrawal request.

Polymarket US looks more flexible on deposit size because it does not publish a maximum. There are no withdrawal fees, including for debit card cashouts, compared to Kalshi’s 2%.

Safety & Regulation

Kalshi, through its licensed exchange KalshiEX LLC, operates as a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market (DCM). Federal rules govern every stage of an event contract, from listing through settlement. You’ll verify your identity before trading. The exchange also monitors markets for manipulation and follows published settlement procedures.

Polymarket US exists because the company took a different path back into the U.S. market. After a 2022 settlement with the CFTC, Polymarket blocked U.S. users from its global platform. In 2025, it acquired the federally licensed QCEX exchange and clearinghouse for $112 million, then received CFTC approval to operate under the Polymarket US name. That gave Americans access to a separate, federally regulated platform with event contracts traded under U.S. derivatives law.

Both Kalshi and Polymarket US keep customer funds legally and operationally segregated from their own assets. Even when depositing cryptocurrency (on Kalshi), Zero Hash immediately converts the assets into USD. Kalshi does not provide self-custody wallets or allow trading directly from on-chain assets.

State Restrictions

Kalshi is federally legal nationwide as a CFTC-regulated exchange. That hasn’t stopped several states from going after its sports event contracts, arguing they fall under state gambling laws instead. In April 2026, the platform scored a major court win against New Jersey.

Polymarket US faces many of the same state-level challenges. Minnesota recently passed a law banning federally regulated prediction markets, prompting Polymarket to sue the state. Nevada also won a preliminary court order keeping the platform’s sports event contracts out of the state while the case moves forward.

We last verified state availability for Kalshi and Polymarket US in June 2026. Here’s where each platform is currently available:

State/RegionKalshiPolymarket US
Available nationwideNoNo
Any Restricted StatesAZ, IL, MD, MI, MTTN, NV, MA

Note: State-level restrictions on federally regulated prediction markets continue to change. Always check the latest news before signing up or trading.

Who Should Choose Kalshi?

Kalshi

  1. Desktop traders. Kalshi offers a full browser-based trading platform alongside its iOS and Android apps. The larger workspace lets you quickly scan dozens of markets and compare contract prices across categories without constantly clicking back and forth.
  2. Sports bettors who want deep markets beyond game winners. Individual games, player props, season win totals, awards, playoff races, and championship markets are available across major sports throughout the year.
  3. Users holding cryptocurrency. Supported digital assets can be deposited through Zero Hash, which converts them into USD before they reach your account.
  4. Active traders in niche markets. Smaller sports props and less mainstream event contracts often have more executable bids and asks.
  5. Traders with an interest in current affairs. Politics, business, public health, technology, and international events are regularly added as new developments unfold.

Who Should Choose Polymarket US?

Polymarket

  1. New users planning to deposit at least $20. The current Polymarket US welcome offer gives you $50 in trading credits (when using the promo code BONUSCOM) after depositing $20, completing identity verification, and placing a qualifying real-money trade.
  2. High-volume traders. Taker fees top out at $1.25 per 100 contracts, while filled maker orders earn a 25% rebate instead of paying a trading fee.
  3. Traders who want fee-free withdrawals. Polymarket US doesn’t charge withdrawal fees, whether you’re cashing out to your bank account or an eligible debit card.
  4. Former Polymarket users. If you used Polymarket before Americans were blocked, Polymarket US offers a familiar mobile interface and market format while operating as a CFTC-regulated exchange.

Best Alternatives to Kalshi and Polymarket US

Prophet X icon

Prophet X

Taking cues from sweepstakes casinos, ProphetX allows making predictions using Prophet Points and Prophet Cash. You can play for free with virtual currency or use Prophet Cash to compete for redeemable cash prizes.

ProphetX Review
Manifold Markets icon

Manifold Markets

With Manifold Markets, you can create an account and start trading without completing KYC. Identity verification is only required to claim USDC prize drawings and certain account bonuses.

Manifold Markets Review
NinjaTrader icon

NinjaTrader

NinjaTrader comes with a free futures trading simulator that uses virtual funds instead of real money. It’s especially useful for beginners learning the platform and testing new strategies because it includes the same charts, order entry, market depth, and trading tools available in live accounts.

NinjaTrader Review

Final Verdict

After using both Kalshi and Polymarket US, my overall recommendation is Kalshi. The platform feels more mature and reliable in day-to-day use. Markets span sports, politics, economics, business, weather, crypto, and other real-world events, whereas Polymarket US remains primarily centered on sports and has a much thinner selection elsewhere. Even there, Kalshi goes deeper — I found more player props, futures, and stronger liquidity across many smaller markets. Plus, you can choose between trading on desktop or through the mobile app. Polymarket US, on the other hand, applies a lower taker coefficient (0.05 vs. Kalshi’s 0.07) and frequently hosts promotions that further reduce trading costs. The welcome bonus is attractive on both platforms, though Polymarket US offers the larger incentive ($50 vs. $10), albeit with a $20 minimum deposit instead of Kalshi’s $10.

Kalshi vs Polymarket FAQ

Yes, overall, Kalshi is better than Polymarket US. A big part of that comes down to having way more markets, deeper sports coverage, stronger liquidity across a lot of niche contracts, and a full desktop platform. Choose Polymarket US if your main priorities are lower fees and a bigger welcome bonus.

The biggest difference between Kalshi and Polymarket US is what you can actually trade. Kalshi lists prediction markets across sports, politics, economics, weather, business, and more, while Polymarket US is still mostly focused on sports, with a much smaller selection in other categories.

Polymarket US has lower trading fees overall. Its taker fee coefficient is 0.05 versus Kalshi’s 0.07, so a 100-contract trade at $0.50 costs $1.25 instead of $1.75. Makers also earn a 25% rebate, while Kalshi charges a reduced maker fee.

Kalshi has more markets overall. Beyond sports, it consistently offers active contracts on politics, economics, weather, business, public health, technology, and international events year-round. If you mainly trade sports, both platforms cover the major leagues, but Kalshi generally goes deeper with more niche props and stronger liquidity.

Yes. Kalshi and Polymarket US are separate CFTC-regulated exchanges, so you can maintain funded accounts and trade on both simultaneously. Many active traders compare prices, liquidity, and available contracts across each platform before placing orders, then use whichever offers the better execution.

Kalshi is better for beginners. You can get started with a $10 deposit and trade on either desktop or mobile. Finding markets is also easier thanks to well-organized category filters. Polymarket US is mobile-only and occasionally ran into stability issues during testing.

No. Unlike the international Polymarket platform, Polymarket US does not accept cryptocurrency deposits or withdrawals. Instead, you fund your account using traditional payment methods like bank transfers, debit cards, credit cards, or Apple Pay, with all trading conducted in USD.

About the Author
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Charlon Muscat
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Charlon Muscat is an iGaming writer who has reviewed more than 1,000 online gaming platforms across a 6+ year career. The journey began at the Irish gaming giant Paddy Power™, where he gained first-hand insight into how a major operator works across casino and sportsbook. Since then, his writing has covered online casinos, sports betting, esports, sweepstakes, plus social gaming, with most coverage focused on the growing U.S. market.

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