Comparing Kalshi and Polymarket means comparing three venues, not two. Kalshi is one CFTC-regulated exchange. Polymarket runs Polymarket US, a separate CFTC-regulated exchange for US residents, and its international exchange at polymarket.com for everyone else. Which comparison applies depends on where you live.
The short version: in the US, Kalshi and Polymarket US are close. Taker fees are within a cent of each other, both need KYC and take dollars, and both have apps. Polymarket US is cheaper for makers; Kalshi has the longer record and the deepest sports books. Outside the US, Polymarket’s international exchange usually wins on cost, breadth and privacy. Kalshi’s draw there is cash deposits and sports depth, and it operates without local licences.
Kalshi vs Polymarket at a Glance
| Kalshi | Polymarket US | Polymarket International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | US + ~140 countries | US residents (not Nevada) | 100+ countries; close-only in the US |
| Regulation | CFTC DCM since Nov 2020 | CFTC DCM since Dec 2025 | Not US-regulated |
| KYC | Yes (government ID) | Yes (SSN + SMS; usually seconds) | None |
| Deposits | Bank transfer, debit card | Debit card, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, wire, USDC (iPhone) | USDC + 100+ tokens on 13 chains, Coinbase, card |
| Taker fee, max per 100 at 50¢ | $1.75 (0.07 rate) | $1.74 (0.0695 rate) | $0.75–$1.75 by category; geopolitics free |
| Maker fee | Charged on ~156 series | $0; rebate for $10M+/month makers | $0 + 15–25% rebate |
| Markets | ~80% sports; politics, crypto, economics, culture, weather, tech | Sports, politics, crypto, economics, culture, weather, tech | Widest: adds geopolitics, mentions and long-tail markets |
| Parlays | Combos (RFQ), live since Dec 2025 | Combos, 2–10 legs | Combos (sports and esports) |
| Apps | iOS, Android | iOS, Android, web (beta) | Mobile browser |
| Sign-up offer | Rotating trading credits | Rotating credits + Refer-A-Friend | None |
Polymarket US fees are from its fee schedule effective 19 October 2026. Kalshi’s rates are from its published schedule, and both have changed several times in 2026. Check before you trade size.
Which Should You Use?
- You’re in the US and trade sports: either works. Kalshi has the deepest sports books and the longest record. Polymarket US matches it on taker fees and charges makers nothing, which matters if you post limit orders.
- You’re in the US and trade politics, crypto or economics: Polymarket US is usually the better fit. Its maker pricing is better, and it carries Polymarket’s political markets.
- You’re outside the US: Polymarket’s international exchange, unless you need to fund in cash. It has no KYC, more categories, fee-free geopolitics and maker rebates. Kalshi is available in about 140 countries, but without local licences, so you don’t get the regulatory protection that is its main selling point.
- You’re in Nevada: Polymarket US says trading is unavailable there. See our state-by-state table.
Kalshi vs Polymarket for US Residents
US traders are choosing between two CFTC-regulated exchanges. The old framing, regulated Kalshi against unregulated Polymarket, is out of date: Polymarket US has held its own designated contract market licence since December 2025.
Fees. For takers it’s a wash. Polymarket US charges 0.0695 × contracts × price × (1 − price), a maximum of $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50¢. Kalshi’s standard rate is 0.07, so $1.75. The difference is on the maker side: Kalshi charges maker fees on about 156 series (around $0.44 per 100 contracts at 50¢), including NFL, NBA, MLB, CPI and Fed markets, while Polymarket US makers pay nothing and the largest makers earn a rebate. Polymarket US charges more on two things: table tennis ($2.50 per 100) and Combos ($1.92 per 100 at 50¢).
Sign-up and deposits. Both need full KYC before you trade. Polymarket US asks for your name, date of birth, address, SSN and an SMS-verified phone number, and most people are approved automatically in seconds. Both take dollars. Polymarket US has the wider list: debit card, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, wire and, on iPhone, USDC.
Apps. Both have iOS and Android apps. Polymarket US also runs a web version in beta.
States. Neither is settled law everywhere. Polymarket US is unavailable in Nevada, where a court order is in force, and several states have sent letters or sued over sports contracts. Our 50-state table tracks each one. Kalshi faces a Washington preliminary injunction (August 2026) and suits in Michigan, New York, Nevada, Kentucky and elsewhere. Minnesota’s ban on prediction markets was enjoined by a federal court in July 2026 and is not in force for either.
Parlays. Both offer them, priced by market makers on request. Kalshi’s Combos have been live since December 2025 and are now one of its biggest products. Polymarket US offers Combos of 2 to 10 legs, and a cancelled leg settles at its last fair market price rather than voiding the Combo. More in Polymarket Combos explained.
Kalshi vs Polymarket Outside the US
Abroad, the comparison is Kalshi against Polymarket’s international exchange, and the trade-offs are sharper.
- KYC: Polymarket International needs none. Sign up with Google, email or a wallet in under two minutes. Kalshi requires government ID everywhere.
- Funding: Polymarket International is crypto-first. You deposit USDC or one of 100+ tokens across 13 chains, connect Coinbase, or use a card on-ramp, and it converts to pUSD. Kalshi takes cash. If you’ve never touched crypto, that is Kalshi’s clearest advantage.
- Fees: Polymarket International charges $0.75–$1.75 per 100 shares by category (NFL and college football games are cheapest; crypto is the top rate), geopolitics is free, and makers earn a 15–25% rebate. Kalshi’s taker fee peaks at $1.75, and it charges makers on many markets.
- Licensing: Kalshi is available in about 140 countries, but without local licences, so the CFTC protection that defines it doesn’t follow you abroad. Its Member Agreement restricts about 54 jurisdictions, including Canada, the UK, Australia, France, Italy, Switzerland and Singapore. Spain and Brazil have also blocked it by law.
Is Kalshi or Polymarket Bigger?
Kalshi is bigger by notional trading volume. It overtook Polymarket’s international exchange in late April 2026 and has held roughly 62–65% of their combined volume since. In April 2026 Kalshi traded about $14.8bn against Polymarket International’s roughly $9bn, with the two together going from under $5bn a month in September 2025 to around $24bn by April.
Two caveats:
- “Polymarket” is two venues. The headline compares Kalshi with the international exchange only. Polymarket US adds to Polymarket’s side, at about $3.82bn in August 2026, up from roughly $1.3bn in April.
- Both have cooled since the peak. Polymarket’s all-in monthly volume was $8.41bn in August 2026, down about 35% from July after the World Cup. Treat any one month’s ratio as a snapshot.
Size at the venue level matters less than depth in the market you want. Both are deep at the top of their major markets and thin in the long tail.
Fees in Detail
All three use the same fee shape: fee = rate × contracts × price × (1 − price), highest at 50¢ and falling towards 1¢ and 99¢. The rates differ.
| Taker rate | Max per 100 at 50¢ | Makers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | 0.07 (index markets 0.035; crypto higher) | $1.75 | 0.0175 rate on ~156 series |
| Polymarket US | 0.0695 (table tennis 0.10) | $1.74 | $0; rebate for $10M+/month |
| Polymarket International | 0.03–0.07 by category; geopolitics free | $0.75–$1.75 | $0 + 15–25% rebate |
Two details catch people out. Kalshi rounds the whole order total up to the next cent, not each contract, so 100 contracts at 50¢ cost $1.75, not $2.00. And Polymarket US Combos pay a higher fee than single markets ($1.92 per 100 at 50¢) and earn no maker rebate.
Neither platform is the cheapest venue in the wider market. Near-zero-fee exchanges such as SX Bet and Hyperliquid undercut both for takers who can find liquidity there. For Polymarket’s international schedule in full, see Polymarket Fees Explained or the fee calculator.
Liquidity and Odds
The old line that “Polymarket is deep and Kalshi is thin” no longer holds. Kalshi leads on volume, and about 80% of it is sports, with crypto around 7%. A big NFL game or a major election is liquid on every venue. A niche market can be thin on any of them, and on a thin book the spread usually costs more than the fee.
Where Polymarket still leads is breadth: political, macro, cultural and geopolitical markets that Kalshi doesn’t list. Check the order book of the specific market before you size a trade.
Market Categories
- Kalshi: sports (by far the largest), politics, crypto (including daily BTC and ETH markets), economics and finance (CPI, Fed decisions), culture and entertainment, weather and tech.
- Polymarket US: sports, politics, crypto, economics, culture, weather and tech. Politics and economics went live in April 2026.
- Polymarket International: all of the above plus geopolitics (fee-free), mentions markets and a much longer tail of niche markets.
Sign-Up Bonuses and Referral Codes
Both US exchanges compete for new users with trading credits:
- Polymarket US runs a Refer-A-Friend program, filed with the CFTC in August 2026. After the new user completes KYC and makes a qualifying deposit (set per campaign, between $10 and $200), both people get trading credits. Credits can be used to trade and pay fees but can’t be withdrawn; winnings above them can. A referrer is paid for up to 14 referrals, and the program runs until 10 March 2027. The referral code is the referrer’s Polymarket US username.
- Kalshi also runs rotating welcome credits and refer-a-friend offers, usually tied to a first trade.
Offer amounts change from campaign to campaign, so trust the figure shown in the app over any number on a promo page. Polymarket’s international exchange has no sign-up bonus. Its referral program pays the referrer a share of fees, not the new user.
Mobile Apps
Kalshi and Polymarket US both have native iOS and Android apps, and Polymarket US also has a web version in beta. Polymarket’s international exchange has no separate app and is used through the mobile browser. That works, but a native app is smoother.
Regulation and Safety
Kalshi has been a CFTC designated contract market since November 2020. Polymarket US has been one since December 2025, with its own CFTC-registered clearing house. In the US, both offer the same kind of federal oversight.
Polymarket’s international exchange is not regulated by a single financial authority. Trades settle on the Polygon blockchain and your funds sit in your own wallet. That means more access and privacy, but less recourse if something goes wrong. Abroad, Kalshi doesn’t carry its US protection with it either, because it operates without local licences.
Who Should Use Each Platform?
Choose Polymarket International if you:
- Live outside the US in a country where it’s available (check yours)
- Want no KYC and a sign-up that takes under two minutes
- Want the widest range of markets, including fee-free geopolitics
- Post limit orders and want maker rebates, not maker fees
- Are comfortable funding with crypto (or willing to learn)
Choose Polymarket US if you:
- Live in the US (outside Nevada)
- Trade politics, crypto or economics as well as sports
- Post limit orders and don’t want to pay maker fees
- Want to fund with PayPal, Venmo or Apple Pay
Choose Kalshi if you:
- Mostly trade US sports and want the deepest books
- Want the longest-established CFTC-regulated venue
- Live outside the US, need to fund in cash, and accept that Kalshi has no local licence there
The Bottom Line
In the US, this is now a close race between two regulated exchanges. Taker fees are effectively identical, so the deciding factors are maker fees (Polymarket US charges none), market mix (Kalshi for sports depth, Polymarket for breadth) and whichever sign-up offer is running.
Outside the US, Polymarket is the stronger choice for most traders: no KYC, more markets, fee-free geopolitics and maker rebates. Kalshi is the pick if you need to deposit cash and mostly trade sports.
Related
- All Reviews & Comparisons — Browse every review
- Is Polymarket Legal in the US? All 50 States — State-by-state status
- Polymarket Review 2026 — Full review after 3 years of trading
- Best Prediction Markets 2026 — How every platform compares
- How Does Polymarket Work? — Complete platform overview
- Polymarket Combos Explained — Parlays on Polymarket
- Polymarket Fees Explained — Detailed fee breakdown (or use the fee calculator)
- Is Polymarket Available in Your Country? — Check access with our country checker