Kalshi vs Polymarket: which one should you use?

Q: Kalshi vs Polymarket: which one should you use?

Kalshi and Polymarket US both let you buy Yes or No contracts that pay $1 if you're right. Both are regulated by the CFTC for US users and both require you to be 18 or older under their terms. Kalshi publishes a fee formula of 0.07 times contracts times price times one minus price. Polymarket US shows its fees in the app. The best choice is usually whichever one has the better price on your game after fees, so many bettors keep both.

Bet Types

1 diagram•7 min read•Updated Oct 15, 2026

Written by VIMB

Short answer

Both pay $1 per winning contract and let you sell early.Both are CFTC-regulated for US users and take 18+ under their terms.The price on your game, after fees, matters more than the brand.Keeping both open is the prediction market version of line shopping.

Kalshi and Polymarket work the same way at the core. You buy Yes or No on a question, the price is in cents, and a winning contract pays $1. So the real question isn't which one is better. It's which one gives you the better price on the bet you want right now.

If you're brand new to how these contracts work, start with our full prediction markets guide first. This page assumes you know what a 62¢ contract means.

Kalshi and Polymarket US side by sideSame idea, different fees and deposit options.

↔ swipe to see the whole diagram

What's the same

▸A contract pays $1 if you're right and $0 if you're wrong.

▸The price in cents is the market's chance, so 62¢ means about 62%.

▸You trade with other people on an order book, not against the house.

▸You can sell before the game ends if someone is bidding.

What's different

	Kalshi	Polymarket US
Regulator	CFTC	CFTC
Minimum age	18+	18+ under its terms
How fees are shown	Published formula	Listed in the app
Deposit options	Bank, debit card, PayPal, Venmo, crypto, wire	Debit card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, wire, USDC

Kalshi's fee on an order you take right away is 0.07 times the number of contracts times the price times one minus the price, rounded up to the next cent. That puts the most fee on 50/50 contracts. Polymarket US lists its own fees in the app, and they can differ by market, so check them on the exact contract before you trade.

How to actually pick

1Open both apps and confirm what each one offers where you live. Sports contracts aren't available everywhere.

2Find the same game on both.

3Compare the price of the side you want. 60¢ beats 62¢ every time for the same outcome.

4Add the fee. A cheaper price can lose its edge if the fee is bigger.

5Check the spread between the best bid and best ask. A tight spread is easier to get out of early.

6Place the trade on whichever one wins after all of that.

My take

Don't marry an app. I'd keep money on both and take the better number every time, the same way you'd shop lines across sportsbooks. A cent or two a contract adds up fast over a season.

A quick example

Say the Bills are 62¢ on one app and 60¢ on the other. On 50 contracts that's $31.00 versus $30.00 before fees. Same bet, same payout of $50 if the Bills win. You just kept a dollar for checking twice.

50 contracts × $0.62 = $31.00. 50 contracts × $0.60 = $30.00. Same $50 payout if it wins.

That's the whole game. Same product, different prices. Take the better one.