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Polymarket Fees Explained: What You Actually Pay (2026)

Polymarket charges no account, deposit, or inactivity fees. Trading fees follow a published formula that scales with how close a contract is to 50¢. Here's exactly what you pay.

Quick answer

Polymarket charges no per-trade commission on most markets; your real cost is the bid-ask spread plus any blockchain or withdrawal network fee. Some newer market types carry a small settlement fee, so check the individual market page before sizing a position.

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18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. See polymarket.com/tos for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing organization.

Last checked October 5, 2026

Key takeaways

  • Trading fees — small, formula-based, published. Highest near 50¢, smallest at the tails.
  • Bid/ask spreads — the gap between buy and sell prices on a market. On thin markets this is the biggest cost.
  • Withdrawal fees — shown in the app before you confirm.
Polymarket Fees Explained: What You Actually Pay (2026)

Short answer: Polymarket charges no account fees, no deposit fees, and no inactivity fees. Trading fees follow a published formula that scales with how close the contract is trading to 50¢. A contract at 5¢ or 95¢ pays a much smaller fee than one near 50/50. The full schedule lives at docs.polymarket.com/fees.

The three real costs to know

  • Trading fees — small, formula-based, published. Highest near 50¢, smallest at the tails.
  • Bid/ask spreads — the gap between buy and sell prices on a market. On thin markets this is the biggest cost.
  • Withdrawal fees — shown in the app before you confirm.

What 'formula-based' means in practice

Polymarket's fee is a function of price — it goes to zero at 0¢ and 100¢ and peaks near 50¢. The practical takeaway: tail bets (5¢ longshots, 95¢ favorites) are cheap to trade. Coin-flip bets near 50¢ carry the highest fee on a per-dollar basis. The trade ticket displays the exact fee before you confirm.

Spreads matter more than fees on small markets

On Polymarket's biggest political and crypto contracts, the YES/NO spread is often 1¢ wide — you can enter and exit cheaply. On long-tail markets (niche political subcategories, lightly traded sports props) spreads can be 3–5¢. That spread is a real cost: a 3¢ spread on a contract you flip the same day costs more than any explicit fee.

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Polymarket fees vs Kalshi fees vs OG fees

  • Polymarket — formula-based, scales with price distance from 50¢. No account/deposit/inactivity fees.
  • Kalshi — formula-based, similar shape. Published at kalshi.com/fee-schedule.
  • OG by Crypto.com — published per-contract fee schedule. Trade $25, get $25 welcome offer with code MIAPREDICTS.

Cost-control tips

  • On deep, liquid markets, spreads are the smallest cost item — size up.
  • On thin markets, use limit orders. Crossing a 4¢ spread is a 4% round-trip cost before fees.
  • Hold to resolution when conviction is high — the fee is paid once on entry, not on exit if you let it expire to $1 or $0.
Note. Fee schedules and spreads change. Always verify the current Polymarket fee schedule at docs.polymarket.com/fees and the live trade-ticket cost before confirming.
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What Is Polymarket? A Plain-English Guide for 2026

Polymarket is a CFTC-regulated event-contract exchange where you can buy YES or NO shares on real-world questions — elections, sports, crypto, weather. Here's how it actually works.

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Sources & references

  1. Polymarket US — Fee Schedule — Polymarket Docs
  2. Polymarket Announces Acquisition of QCX (CFTC-Registered DCM) — PRNewswire / Polymarket
  3. 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

What are Polymarket's fees?
Polymarket charges trading fees only — calculated by a published formula that scales with how close the contract is to 50¢. No account, deposit, ACH withdrawal, or inactivity fees.
Does Polymarket charge to deposit or withdraw?
Any deposit or withdrawal fee is shown in the Polymarket US app before you confirm.
How are Polymarket fees calculated?
Fees follow a price-dependent formula: roughly zero at 0¢ and 100¢, peaking near 50¢. The trade ticket displays the exact fee before you confirm.
Are Polymarket fees lower than Kalshi?
They're in the same ballpark — both use formula-based schedules with the same general shape. Spreads on thin markets usually matter more than the fee itself.
What's the cheapest way to trade on Polymarket?
Use limit orders on thin markets to avoid wide spreads, trade deeper books where 1¢ spreads are common, and hold conviction trades to resolution.
Does Polymarket charge a withdrawal fee?
Polymarket does not charge a platform withdrawal commission, but crypto withdrawals carry a blockchain network fee. Check the withdrawal screen for the quoted cost before confirming.