Kalshi vs Polymarket
Polymarket is the largest crypto-native prediction market — peer-to-peer trading on USDC, hosted on Polygon, regulated outside the U.S. Kalshi and Polymarket are the two most-traded event-contract exchanges in the world, but they differ on legal access, fee structure, and market depth. This page compares the two head-to-head.
Platform profiles at a glance
Founding, scale, regulation, fees, payments — both venues side-by-side. Updated 2025-Q4 from public filings, official sites, and third-party trackers.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Dimension | Kalshi | Polymarket |
|---|---|---|
| Category | prediction market | prediction market |
| Founded | 2018 | 2020 |
| Headquarters | New York, NY | New York, NY (engineering) · Cayman Islands (legal entity) |
| Regulator | Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) | CFTC — US access via QCEX, the CFTC-licensed exchange + clearinghouse Polymarket acquired in July 2025 |
| States available | All 50 US states | US access relaunched 2025 via Polymarket US (18+, not available in all jurisdictions) + most international markets |
| Monthly volume | ~$200M+ (sports + politics combined, peaks during major events) | ~$200M+ average; spikes to $1B+ on major political event months |
| Annual volume | $1B+ (2024 — driven by ~$430M on the US presidential market alone) | $8B+ in 2024 (driven by the US presidential election cycle) |
| Total raised | $50M+ across Series A–C | $2B+ including Intercontinental Exchange's strategic investment (Oct 2025); $70M+ across earlier rounds |
| Reported valuation | ~$2B (reported, 2025) | ~$9B (reported at the ICE investment, Oct 2025) |
| Parent company | Independent | Independent |
| Public ticker | Private | Private |
| Fee structure | 0.07% per side, capped at 7¢/contract; 2¢ near 50% probability | 0% trading fee + Polygon gas (~$0.01–$0.50 per trade) |
| Min position | $0.01 (1 contract × $0.01–$0.99 YES/NO) | $1 USDC (or whatever the smallest order book allows) |
| Max position | Limited only by orderbook depth — no per-user account caps | Limited only by orderbook depth — no per-user account caps |
| Settlement | USD | USDC (Polygon network) |
| Withdrawal | 1–3 business days via ACH; same-day for wire | Instant on-chain; off-ramp to fiat depends on partner (minutes to a few days) |
| Payments | ACH (Plaid), Debit card, Wire transfer (high-volume) | Polymarket US app funding (US users, post-2025 relaunch), USDC on Polygon (bridge from any chain), Credit/debit card on-ramp via partners |
| Mobile apps | iOS (App Store), Android (Google Play) | iOS (Polymarket US app in the US; international app elsewhere) + responsive web |
| Product categories | Sports, Politics, Climate, Economics (+2 more) | Politics, Sports, Crypto, World Events (+2 more) |
Use Kalshi when…
- US users in states where sportsbooks aren't licensed (CA, TX, HI)
- Sharp users who get limited at FanDuel/DraftKings
- Anyone who wants no-vig pricing on championship/MVP/season-long markets
- Traders who want to short an outcome (sell YES) without needing to find the opposite-side book
Use Polymarket when…
- Traders who want the deepest global political and world-event markets
- Crypto-native users who already hold USDC on Polygon
- US users on iOS (Polymarket US app) after the 2025 relaunch
- Builders / quants who need a clean public API + on-chain data
FAQ: Kalshi vs Polymarket
Can U.S. residents use Polymarket?
Officially no. Polymarket settled with the CFTC in January 2022 and geo-blocks U.S. IP addresses. Some U.S. residents reportedly use VPNs to access the platform, but this violates Polymarket's terms of service. For legal U.S. event-contract trading, use Kalshi.
Which has cheaper fees: Kalshi or Polymarket?
Depends on bet size. Polymarket charges 0% trading fees but you pay gas to settle on-chain (typically $0.01-$0.50 per trade on Polygon). Kalshi charges max 7¢ per contract (peaks at 2¢ near 50% probability). For positions over ~30 contracts, Kalshi tends to be cheaper. For small positions, Polymarket's no-fee model wins.
Do Kalshi and Polymarket prices differ on the same event?
Yes, often by 1-5 percentage points on liquid markets, sometimes more on illiquid ones. The gap reflects: different user bases (Polymarket is more crypto-native + international; Kalshi is U.S. retail), different fee structures affecting marginal traders, and arbitrage friction (you can't easily move money between the two). SportsBookISH surfaces these gaps when both venues list the same market.
Is Polymarket safer than Kalshi?
From a U.S. regulatory perspective: no. Kalshi is CFTC-registered as a Designated Contract Market with full federal oversight, FDIC-equivalent customer fund segregation, and U.S. legal recourse for disputes. Polymarket operates outside U.S. jurisdiction — your funds sit in a self-custodial wallet (smart contract risk) and there's no consumer-protection framework if something goes wrong. From a smart-contract / decentralization perspective, Polymarket's contracts have been audited and operate transparently on-chain, which some users prefer.
Can I arbitrage Kalshi vs Polymarket?
Theoretically yes when the two venues price the same event meaningfully apart. Practically: capital lock-up across two platforms, FX/USDC conversion costs, gas fees on Polymarket, and counterparty risk on both sides eat most of the edge. SportsBookISH tracks the Kalshi vs Polymarket spread on overlapping markets so you can see when the gap is wide enough to be worth the friction.
Which platform has better political markets?
Polymarket — both by volume and breadth. Polymarket has historically led on election markets (presidential, primary, congressional) with hundreds of millions of dollars in volume per major election cycle. Kalshi has competitive election markets within its CFTC-approved categories but a smaller set of long-tail political contracts. For sports, the comparison flips: Kalshi has wider U.S. sports coverage.
Sources and further reading
All figures best-effort as of 2025-Q4. Funding, valuations, and volume are sourced from public filings, official communications, and third-party trackers (Crunchbase, Wikipedia). Re-verify against primary sources before quoting in compliance-sensitive contexts.
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