When we compared Kalshi vs Polymarket for trading predictions, we found that both are quite similar in many ways. They both offer contracts on real-world events, including sports, politics, cryptocurrency, culture, economics, and climate.
However, Kalshi and Polymarket charge differently for trading predictions. The former charges a variable fee on any event contract you trade. Polymarket, on the other hand, charges a taker fee on trades in selected prediction markets. But you don’t incur any fee in the Geopolitics and world events markets. Read on to find out how Kalshi and Polymarket compare.
See how these leading prediction market sites compare
Quick facts about Kalshi vs Polymarket
- Kalshi and Polymarket offer contracts on sports, crypto, economics, politics, climate, and culture.
- Both prediction markets feature a Mentions category where you can trade contracts on words that will be said in an event.
- Kalshi and Polymarket differ in their trading fees.
- You can trade live event contracts on both sites.
Pros and cons of Kalshi and Polymarket
Both Kalshi and Polymarket make trading predictions engaging. They both provide event contracts on several prediction markets, support live prediction trading, and offer dedicated mobile apps. Here are the pros and cons of both sides:
Kalshi vs Polymarket – How they compare
Kalshi and Polymarket, as prediction markets, both work similarly in many ways. They allow you to trade Yes or No contracts on several real-world events. If your prediction is correct, you get $1; if not, you receive nothing.
Some minor differences remain between the two sites. Read on to learn how Kalshi and Polymarket compare:
🔍 Prediction Markets Overview
We found that both Kalshi and Polymarket offer contracts on sports, politics, crypto, economics, climate, and culture. Both sites also feature the Mentions category, where you can trade predictions on what will be said at an event.
⚽ Sports Trading
In sports, Kalshi and Polymarket offer event contracts for up to 15 sports, including football, soccer, basketball, and esports. However, Polymarket features more esports events. We found contracts on StarCraft II, Rocket League, and Honor of Kings. Both prediction markets provide outcomes on popular esports such as Valorant, Dota 2, and League of Legends.
🏛️ Politics Trading
Besides, in the politics category, Polymarket and Kalshi list contracts on international events. We saw outcomes for the Brazilian election, China, Hungary, Slovenia, Canada, and Venezuela political events. When it comes to the US elections, both sites let you trade predictions on the Democratic Presidential Nominee 2028, the Presidential Election Winner 2028, and the Republican Presidential Nominee 2028.
💰 Crypto Trading
For crypto prediction trading, Kalshi and Polymarket feature well-known digital currencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE). Nonetheless, we observed distinct prediction markets on both sites. Kalshi provides contracts on HYPE, while Polymarket features contracts on MicroStrategy.
📈 Economics Prediction Markets
Kalshi and Polymarket have very similar economics prediction markets, including outcomes on housing, treasuries, taxes, and Fed decisions. For climate, Polymarket uniquely offers event contracts on Pandemics. During our assessment, we identified outcomes such as: Measles cases in the US in 2026, a new COVID variant of concern before 2027, and a New pandemic in 2026.
🎭 Culture Predictions
Just like on Kalshi, Polymarket features culture contracts on awards, movies, YouTube, and music. Polymarket goes a little further by specifically offering outcomes on court topics, such as Will Elon Musk win his case against Sam Altman?, and Trump drops Powell investigation by…?
📊 Live Prediction Trading
Live trading predictions are supported on Kalshi and Polymarket. During our Kalshi review, we saw 83 ongoing live events. This was primarily available for sports events, such as golf, tennis, and esports. We also traded predictions live on oil and gas and econ daily. Polymarket lets us trade event contracts live on sports and crypto prediction markets at the time of our review.
📱 Mobile App
Kalshi and Polymarket are both mobile-optimized. Still, they provide a dedicated mobile app for trading predictions on the go. We got the Kalshi app and Polymarket app on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. These mobile apps function the same way on Android and iOS devices.
💳 Payment Options
You can make deposits and withdrawals on Kalshi using debit cards, bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo, and wire transfers. Plus, you can make Kalshi deposits and withdrawals using crypto through third-party processors on the site. Polymarket primarily supports crypto for deposits and withdrawals. These include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon. After making your deposit, Polymarket automatically converts it to USDC on Polygon to facilitate trading.
💼 Trading Fees
We didn’t get the same experience regarding trading fees on both Kalshi and Polymarket. Kalshi charges you a variable fee based on the expected profit from a contract. The prediction market also charges you a fee of up to 2% for debit deposits and withdrawals. Crypto deposits and withdrawals don’t include a fee. But you may incur charges from third-party payment processors. However, you won’t be charged for ACH deposits and withdrawals. Polymarket charges a taker fee for trading predictions, but buying or selling geopolitical and world event prediction markets don’t incur any fee. Besides, the site doesn’t charge any fees for depositing or withdrawing USDC. This doesn’t mean intermediaries like MoonPay, where you purchase your USDC, won’t charge you.
📞 Customer Service
We compared how Kalshi and Polymarket support traders and found that both offer live chat and email support. There’s also a comprehensive Help Center page with answers to questions about deposits, withdrawals, and how trading predictions work on the sites.
🎁 Bonuses
Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi offers a specific welcome bonus for new traders. However, there are times you get promotional offers or codes attached to specific campaigns or partners. Polymarket provides a referral bonus. You receive 30% of all fees from direct referrals, while indirect referrals offer 10% of the fees to you. To participate, you have to trade at least $10,000 on Polymarket to generate a referral code. Polymarket also offers other ways to reward traders, such as the Liquidity Rewards program. On Kalshi, you can use a promo code to claim a reward after completing your Kalshi registration.
Here’s an overview of the difference between Kalshi and Polymarket prediction markets:
| Kalshi | Polymarket |
|---|---|
| Fees are charged variably based on your expected profit from a contract. | Charges a taker fee except for trading geopolitical and world event predictions. |
| Charges up to 2% for debit deposits and withdrawals. | No charges on crypto transactions. |
| Sometimes you might get promotional offers from certain campaigns or partners. | No fees for depositing or withdrawing USDC. |
| Referral bonus of 30% of all fees from direct referrals, and 10% of fees from indirect referrals after trading at least $10,000 on Polymarket. |
How to register on Kalshi and Polymarket
Registering on Kalshi and Polymarket is easy. Here are the steps involved:
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Click the banners on this page to visit Kalshi.
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Tap the “Sign Up” button.
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Enter your email and password.
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Enter your phone number and verify it.
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Agree to the site’s terms and conditions and privacy policy.
You have to be at least 18 years old to register. Also, both Kalshi and Polymarket conduct Know Your Customer checks to ensure you can fully participate on their sites.
Conclusion – Trade predictions on Kalshi and Polymarket
Kalshi and Polymarket let you trade contracts on several real-world events, including sports, crypto, economics, culture, politics, and climate. If your prediction matches the outcome, you get $1; otherwise, you get nothing.
Both Kalshi and Polymarket share many similarities. They both support live prediction trading, have efficient customer support, and offer mobile apps on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Payment options on Kalshi are primarily via fiat methods, including debit card, bank transfer, and PayPal. Cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals are supported through third-party processors. Polymarket, on the other hand, supports cryptocurrency payments. However, you can purchase crypto with a debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay through intermediaries.
Kalshi and Polymarket charge trading fees in peculiar ways. Kalshi charges a variable percentage on each contract you trade. Debit transactions incur up to 2% fees, but cryptocurrency payments don’t incur charges except through the processors. ACH deposits and withdrawals don’t incur any fees.
Polymarket charges a taker fee for trading predictions, but geopolitical and global markets don’t require trading fees. Plus, you don’t pay any transaction fees for USDC deposits or withdrawals.
We also found a referral bonus on Polymarket and a liquidity reward program. However, neither site has a specific welcome bonus. You can use a promo code to claim a bonus on both sites from time to time.
Click the banners on this page to visit Kalshi or Polymarket and start trading predictions on real-world topics.
Kalshi vs Polymarket FAQs
🌍 What are the available Kalshi vs Polymarket event contracts?
📱 Do Kalshi and Polymarket offer mobile apps for trading predictions?
🎁 Does Kalshi offer a welcome bonus?
🔞 What’s the age requirement to trade event contracts on Kalshi and Polymarket?
🔒 Are Kalshi and Polymarket regulated for trading predictions?
Simon Day
Simon has been writing about Gaming and Sports for over a decade, with his work featured in a variety of well-known gaming magazines. In 2025, he joined win.gg as an Editorial Specialist, where he continues to share his passion for the industry through insightful and well-crafted content pieces.
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