Polymarket vs Kalshi
Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated US exchange with dollar funding and full KYC; international Polymarket is a crypto platform with category-based fees and on-chain resolution. Which is better depends mostly on where you live.
Side-by-side comparison
| Polymarket (international) | Kalshi | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Crypto prediction market | Regulated exchange |
| Regulator | Not registered in the US; restricted or blocked in 40+ countries and regions | CFTC (Designated Contract Market). Ongoing state-level gaming challenges (see notes). |
| Who can use it | Countries not geoblocked by Polymarket or national regulators | US (18+, or the local age of majority: 19 in AL/NE, 21 in MS). Court orders in force as of Sept 2026: Nevada (sports, election, entertainment contracts blocked), Washington (most contracts blocked), Michigan (sports blocked). Also open to many non-US users, except 55 listed jurisdictions including Australia, Canada, France, Singapore and the UK. |
| Fees | Taker fee = shares × feeRate × p × (1 − p); feeRate 0 (geopolitics) to 0.07 (crypto). Makers pay $0 and earn rebates. No deposit or withdrawal fee. | Taker: roundup(M x 0.07 x C x P x (1-P)), where C = contracts, P = price in $, M = market multiplier (default 1). Max 1.75c per contract at 50c ($1.75 per 100 contracts). Maker: roundup(M x 0.0175 x C x P x (1-P)), with default maker M = 0, so most resting orders are free. Some series charge maker fees (e.g. KXMVE combos: maker M=2). Some series are fee-free (M=0). Fee plus position cost is rounded up to the centicent. Schedule effective July 7, 2026. No settlement or membership fees. ACH, wire and RTP deposits are free. Debit card deposits cost up to 2%. Withdrawals are free. |
| Funding | Crypto from many chains, converted to pUSD on Polygon | ACH, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, wire ($1,000 min), crypto, PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Real-Time Payments. $10 minimum on most methods. |
| Identity checks | Email or wallet sign-up | Yes. Full KYC: government ID (driver's license or passport), live ID photo, sometimes a selfie, proof of address or source of funds. |
| Markets | Politics, geopolitics, crypto, sports, economics, culture, weather, tech | 8,000+ open events across 17 categories (Sept 2026): elections, sports (game lines, props, combos/parlays), economics (CPI, Fed, GDP), financials, entertainment, politics, weather, crypto. Binary, multi-outcome, range ladders and combos. Added 24/7 perpetual futures on gold and silver (Sept 10, 2026). Trades 24/7 except a Thursday 3-5 AM ET maintenance window. |
| How outcomes are settled | Written rules + UMA Optimistic Oracle; disputes decided by UMA token-holder vote | Centralized. Each market names a resolution source (league, government data release, news organization), and Kalshi's markets team settles from it. Unclear outcomes go to an Outcome Review Committee, whose decision is final. Payouts usually arrive within about 3 hours of the source confirming. |
| Recent volume | About $4.6B notional in the 30 days to 18 October 2026 (DeFi Rate data) | September 2026: about $60.7B notional (record month, ~78% share of tracked venues, per DeFi Rate data). Weekly record of $18.37B for Sept 28-Oct 4, 2026. More than 62% of volume in Sept 14-20 came from combo contracts. |
Kalshi: strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Largest prediction market by volume in 2026, by a wide margin
- CFTC-regulated, with USD accounts and many fiat funding options
- Broadest US market catalog (sports, economics, elections, weather, combos)
- Makers trade free on most markets
Weaknesses
- Taker fee up to 1.75c per contract at 50c, higher than Polymarket international's lowest category rates
- Sports contracts blocked by court order in several states, with more state litigation pending
- Centralized resolution with no trader appeal
- Notional volume is inflated by low-priced parlay/combo contracts
What changed in 2026
2026 legal fights: New York AG sued Kalshi July 31, 2026, seeking at least $36B in damages. A Michigan TRO in late June 2026 blocked sports contracts. Washington temporarily blocked sports contracts. Massachusetts has a state case, backed by 38 AGs. Missouri's AG ordered sports contracts halted without a gaming license (Sept 2026). New Jersey petitioned the Supreme Court (Sept 2, 2026). There is a circuit split: the 3rd Circuit sided with Kalshi, while the 6th and 9th sided with the states. Kalshi has sought rehearing, and Supreme Court review is expected (the Court decides by January which cases to hear). The CFTC has sued New York and other states to assert exclusive jurisdiction. Kalshi is reportedly raising money at about a $40B valuation, is considering a 2027 IPO, and filed a margin (Kalshi Klear) petition with the CFTC on Sept 22, 2026.
Which should you choose?
Choose Kalshi if you are in the US and want dollar deposits, a regulated venue and the biggest sports and economics menu. Choose Polymarket if you are in a country where it is allowed, hold crypto, and want the widest range of world-events markets, with geopolitics fee-free. US residents comparing like with like should look at Polymarket US vs Kalshi: both are CFTC-regulated, with similar fee formulas.
By notional volume Kalshi was far larger in 2026 (about three-quarters of tracked volume), although a large share of that comes from cheap combo contracts.
Ready to try it? Check it is available where you live, then open Polymarket.
Open PolymarketFigures checked in October 2026. Fees and availability change often; confirm on each platform's own site.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kalshi better than Polymarket?
It depends on where you live and what you trade. Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated US exchange with dollar funding and full KYC; international Polymarket is a crypto platform with category-based fees and on-chain resolution. Which is better depends mostly on where you live.
Which is cheaper, Polymarket or Kalshi?
Polymarket: Taker fee = shares × feeRate × p × (1 − p); feeRate 0 (geopolitics) to 0.07 (crypto). Makers pay $0 and earn rebates. No deposit or withdrawal fee. Kalshi: Taker: roundup(M x 0.07 x C x P x (1-P)), where C = contracts, P = price in $, M = market multiplier (default 1). Max 1.75c per contract at 50c ($1.75 per 100 contracts). Maker: roundup(M x 0.0175 x C x P x (1-P)), with default maker M = 0, so most resting orders are free. Some series charge maker f