Kalshi vs Polymarket 2026: Fees, Markets & Liquidity

Quick answer

Kalshi and Polymarket are the two CFTC-regulated U.S. prediction markets, both available to verified users in Florida (Kalshi in 47 states plus D.C., Polymarket US in 49 states plus D.C.). Kalshi is stronger for sports breadth and the only one with weather and hurricane contracts; Polymarket has traditionally had the deepest political and news books. Both use probability-weighted fee formulas that peak near 50¢ and shrink toward zero on lopsided outcomes — neither is uniformly cheaper. Serious multi-category traders open both accounts to capture cross-platform price gaps.

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Certain limitations apply. The offer is available to new users only, subject to the terms and conditions at kalshi.com/tc/500. 18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Please carefully consider if it is appropriate for you in light of your personal financial circumstances. Kalshi products are not available in all jurisdictions. See kalshi.com/regulatory for more information.

Last checked October 5, 2026

Key takeaways

Sports-first trader: Kalshi tends to be the more natural starting point.
Politics-first or crypto-first trader: Polymarket has traditionally had the deeper book.
Weather / hurricane trader: Kalshi is the only one of the two with weather contracts today.
Active multi-category trader: open both. Cross-platform price gaps on identical events are a recurring source of edge.

Kalshi vs Polymarket 2026: Which Is Better?

Polymarket and Kalshi are the two CFTC-registered prediction markets serving U.S. retail traders in 2026. Both accept eligible Florida residents (status: Available, as of 3 October 2026). Both operate as Designated Contract Markets. The choice between them — or whether to run both — comes down to which markets you want to trade, how you prefer to fund, and how the fee math works for your typical trade size.

Feature	Kalshi	Polymarket
Regulator	CFTC DCM	CFTC DCM (via QCX)
U.S. relaunch path	Native U.S. since launch	Returned via $112M QCX acquisition, July 2025
Sports breadth	Broad	Growing, with deep NFL/Super Bowl
Politics breadth	Solid	Historically the deepest political book
Crypto markets	Available	Historically the deepest crypto book
Weather / hurricanes	Yes	No
Deposit rails	ACH, debit, wire	US dollars in the app
Fee structure	Formula: 7¢ × C(1−C) per contract	Formula: Θ × C × p × (1−p), Θ=0.05 taker
Florida access	Full	Full

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Fees, explained simply

Both platforms use probability-weighted fee formulas rather than flat rates — fees are largest on markets close to 50¢ (most uncertain) and shrink toward zero on lopsided outcomes. Kalshi's published taker fee formula is 7¢ × C × (1−C) per contract, capped near 1.75¢ at 50¢. Polymarket US's taker formula uses a coefficient of 0.05 in Θ × C × p × (1−p), with a per-100-contract cap published in the company's fee schedule. The exact wording, parameters, and caps are at kalshi.com/fee-schedule and docs.polymarket.us/fees.

Which to open first

Sports-first trader: Kalshi tends to be the more natural starting point.
Politics-first or crypto-first trader: Polymarket has traditionally had the deeper book.
Weather / hurricane trader: Kalshi is the only one of the two with weather contracts today.
Active multi-category trader: open both. Cross-platform price gaps on identical events are a recurring source of edge.

Florida-specific

Both are accessible to Florida residents. Neither operates under the Florida-Seminole sports-betting compact. Both are funded via U.S. bank rails (ACH or debit) and both let you withdraw to a Florida bank without state-specific friction.

Side-by-side at a glance

	Kalshi	Polymarket US
Regulatory status	CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market	Trades through CFTC-registered QCX, acquired July 2025
Funding	ACH, debit, wire	US dollars in the app
Typical strengths	Weather, economics, wide sports coverage	Politics, crypto, geopolitics, long-tail contracts
Florida availability	Available statewide	Available statewide

Which one to open first

If most of your interest is in sports, economic data or hurricane contracts, Kalshi's coverage is deeper. If you want political, geopolitical and crypto markets — including long-tail contracts that no sportsbook would list — Polymarket has the broader catalogue. Many active Florida traders keep accounts on both and route each trade to whichever venue quotes the better price on that specific contract.

Costs and execution

Both charge a trading fee that scales with how close the contract trades to 50¢, and neither charges an account or inactivity fee. The bigger practical difference is usually liquidity per contract: the same event can have a tight book on one venue and a wide one on the other, so check depth before you size a position.

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What Is Kalshi? A Plain-English Explainer (2026)

Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated event-contract exchange where you trade Yes/No on real-world outcomes — sports, politics, weather, economics — at peer-to-peer prices.

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Sources & references

KalshiEX LLC — DCM Registration — CFTC.gov
Polymarket Announces Acquisition of QCX (CFTC-Registered DCM) — PRNewswire / Polymarket
Kalshi — Fee Schedule — Kalshi
Polymarket US — Fee Schedule — Polymarket Docs
Commodity Futures Trading Commission — Event Contracts — CFTC.gov

External links open in a new tab. We cite primary regulatory and major news sources where possible. Citations to trusted regulators (CFTC, SEC, IRS, NOAA, .gov, .edu) are dofollow; commercial outbound links are not endorsements.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Polymarket or Kalshi better for Florida residents?

Both work in Florida. Kalshi tends to be stronger on sports breadth and on weather; Polymarket has historically had the deeper political and news books.

Which one has lower fees?

Neither is uniformly cheaper. Both use probability-weighted fee formulas — fees scale with how close to 50¢ a contract is trading. The fee schedules are published on each company's site.

Can I arbitrage between them?

When the same event prices differently on both platforms, yes — if you have funded accounts on both. Convergence usually happens quickly once a meaningful news event drops.

Is one safer than the other?

Both are CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Markets with funds held under federal customer-protection rules.

Did Polymarket really buy a U.S. exchange?

Yes. Polymarket announced the acquisition of QCX (and sister clearinghouse) for $112 million on July 21, 2025, paving the U.S. relaunch.

Can I use both Kalshi and Polymarket from Florida?

Yes. Both are open to Florida residents, and holding accounts on both lets you take whichever venue quotes the better price on a given contract.

Which platform has lower fees?

Both use a fee that scales with distance from 50¢, so the cheaper venue depends on the specific contract price rather than on the platform overall.