Sports now account for more than 80% of all prediction market volume, and politics — the category that made Polymarket a household name during the 2024 election — has settled into a smaller but steady piece of the roughly $20 billion traded monthly across the industry as of February 2026. That split matters when you're picking an app, because the best prediction market apps for sports betting are not always the best ones for politics, and a handful of platforms try to do both at once with mixed results.
This guide ranks the platforms actually worth your time in 2026, based on four things: fee structure, market depth (how many contracts are live and how much open interest sits behind them), regulatory standing, and whether the app is genuinely built for sports, politics, or both. We pulled volume figures, fee schedules, and licensing details current as of Q1 2026. If you want the full mechanics of how these markets settle prices and resolve outcomes, start with our guide on how prediction markets work before you fund an account.
Polymarket and Kalshi control roughly 97.5% of total industry volume between them, so most of this list is really about how everyone else is trying to carve out the remaining 2.5% — and whether that's worth your attention.
Kalshi: Best for Regulated US Trading Across Both Categories
Kalshi is the only platform on this list operating as a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market, which means every contract clears through a federally supervised exchange rather than an offshore entity. That regulatory status is why Kalshi pulled in roughly $9.8 billion in monthly volume by February 2026 and generated approximately $260 million in 2025 revenue, edging out Polymarket in raw dollar volume even though Polymarket still leads on brand recognition. Kalshi closed a $1 billion Series E at an $11 billion valuation in December 2025 and is reportedly seeking a $20 billion valuation in its next round.
Fees run around $0.02 per contract on a variable schedule tied to price and category — see the full breakdown in our Kalshi fees explained guide. Unlike its crypto-native competitors, Kalshi pays roughly 4% APY on idle cash sitting in your account, and settlement happens in USD rather than stablecoins, which removes a layer of friction for traders who don't want to touch crypto at all. Depositing is straightforward with a debit card or bank transfer; our Kalshi deposit guide walks through the process.
On the politics side, Kalshi runs deep markets on midterm races, Fed decisions, and legislative outcomes — our 2026 midterms prediction markets guide uses Kalshi pricing throughout. On sports, Kalshi has expanded aggressively into NFL, NBA, and college football markets, though its regulatory status has made it a target: Arizona filed criminal charges against Kalshi on March 18, 2026, and state-level battles are ongoing in Nevada, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Ohio, even after Tennessee ruled in Kalshi's favor. Check our state-by-state legal map before assuming Kalshi is available where you live. Full details in our Kalshi review.
| Kalshi Quick Specs | |
|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 |
| Monthly volume (Feb 2026) | ~$9.8B |
| Fees | ~$0.02/contract, variable |
| Settlement | USD |
| Regulation | CFTC-regulated DCM |
| Idle cash yield | ~4% APY |
| Availability | 40+ states |
Polymarket: Best for Sports and Politics Market Depth
Polymarket remains the volume leader by category breadth, moving roughly $7 billion a month as of February 2026 with about $400 million in open interest sitting across live markets at any given time. What sets Polymarket apart isn't just size — it's accuracy. Independent Brier score analysis puts Polymarket's calibration around 0.09, translating to 94%+ prediction accuracy across resolved markets, which is why journalists and analysts cite Polymarket odds more than any other platform's.
The platform settles in USDC on Polygon, which means you need a crypto wallet and a stablecoin deposit before you can trade — our Polymarket deposit guide and withdrawal guide cover the exact steps. Taker fees run between 0.75% and 1.80% depending on category following the March 30, 2026 fee expansion, while maker orders remain free and earn 20-50% rebates — see the full structure in our Polymarket fees explained breakdown. Polymarket pays 0% interest on idle balances, a real disadvantage against Kalshi if you're holding cash between trades.
Polymarket's biggest 2025 move was acquiring QCEX for $112 million specifically to obtain a CFTC license, backed by an investment of up to $2 billion from Intercontinental Exchange. That's a direct bid to operate legally onshore in the US rather than relying on the geofencing workaround it's used historically. Polymarket is reportedly targeting a $20 billion valuation of its own. For World Cup 2026, Polymarket's soccer markets are among the deepest anywhere — see our World Cup 2026 winner odds coverage. Full breakdown in our Polymarket review, and if you're weighing it directly against Kalshi, read Polymarket vs Kalshi.
| Polymarket Quick Specs | |
|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 |
| Monthly volume (Feb 2026) | ~$7B |
| Open interest | ~$400M |
| Fees | 0.75%-1.80% taker, free maker |
| Settlement | USDC on Polygon |
| Brier score | ~0.09 |
| Idle cash yield | 0% |
Robinhood: Best for Traders Already on the Platform
Robinhood's prediction markets hub runs on Kalshi's regulated infrastructure, which means you get Kalshi's compliance and CFTC oversight wrapped inside an interface millions of people already use for stocks and options. That's the entire pitch: no new app, no crypto wallet, no learning curve. If you already have a Robinhood account funded with cash, you can place a prediction market trade in under a minute.
The tradeoff is depth and customization. Robinhood surfaces a curated slice of Kalshi's contract catalog rather than the full order book, so sports bettors chasing niche prop markets or politics traders wanting granular state-level Senate contracts will find gaps that don't exist on Kalshi directly. Robinhood also layers its own UX on top, which some traders find cleaner and others find limiting compared to native order entry. For a full side-by-side, read our Robinhood vs Kalshi comparison.
Robinhood is a strong fit if you want prediction markets as one more tab in an app you already trust, rather than a dedicated trading destination. It's a weaker fit if you're trying to arbitrage price differences across platforms — see our arbitrage guide for why order book access matters there. Full detail in our Robinhood prediction markets review.
| Robinhood Quick Specs | |
|---|---|
| Rating | 4.0/5 |
| Underlying exchange | Kalshi |
| Fees | Kalshi's schedule, passed through |
| Settlement | USD |
| Best for | Existing Robinhood users |
| Market depth | Curated subset of Kalshi's catalog |
OG (Crypto.com): Best for Social Prediction Trading
OG, Crypto.com's prediction market product, leans into social features that neither Kalshi nor Polymarket prioritize — leaderboards, follow feeds, and public trade history designed to make prediction trading feel more like a social app than a financial exchange. That's a deliberate bet on a younger, crypto-native user base that wants to see what other traders are doing before they place a position, similar to the copytrading dynamics we cover in our Polymarket copytrading guide.
OG covers both sports and politics markets but with noticeably less depth than Polymarket or Kalshi in either category — this is a platform built for engagement first and comprehensive market coverage second. Crypto.com has announced plans to add margin trading to OG, which would be a meaningful differentiator if it ships, since neither Polymarket nor Kalshi currently offers leveraged prediction market positions. Until then, OG is best treated as a secondary account rather than your primary trading venue.
Settlement runs through Crypto.com's existing crypto infrastructure, so if you already hold funds on Crypto.com, moving into prediction markets is frictionless. Full review at our OG prediction market review.
| OG Quick Specs | |
|---|---|
| Rating | 3.8/5 |
| Focus | Social trading, sports and politics |
| Fees | Crypto.com's standard schedule |
| Settlement | Crypto.com wallet |
| Notable feature | Planned margin trading |
| Best for | Crypto.com users, social traders |
PredictStreet: Best for European Sports Bettors
PredictStreet is Europe's answer to the US-dominated prediction market landscape, operating under a Gibraltar license rather than trying to navigate the CFTC's patchwork of state-level fights. Its headline move for 2026 is an official FIFA World Cup partnership, giving it a genuine edge on tournament-specific soccer markets ahead of the June 2026 kickoff — see our best prediction markets for World Cup 2026 for how it stacks up against Polymarket's soccer coverage.
PredictStreet is still ramping up on politics markets and doesn't yet match Kalshi or Polymarket's breadth outside soccer and a handful of major global events. Its regulatory position is arguably cleaner than any US-facing platform, since Gibraltar licensing sidesteps the state-by-state legal ambiguity described in our are prediction markets legal in the US guide — though that's only relevant if you're trading from outside the US in the first place. For a direct comparison against the market leader, see PredictStreet vs Polymarket, and check the sign-up walkthrough if you're getting started. Full review at our PredictStreet review.
| PredictStreet Quick Specs | |
|---|---|
| Rating | Unrated (pre-launch) |
| Focus | Soccer, FIFA World Cup 2026 |
| Regulation | Gibraltar license |
| Fees | Not yet fully published |
| Best for | European users, World Cup traders |
Predict.fun: Best for Zero-Fee Trading on BNB Chain
Predict.fun runs on BNB Chain and markets itself around a genuinely rare feature: zero trading fees combined with yield on posted collateral, meaning your funds keep earning while a position is open. That's a real cost advantage over Polymarket's 0.75-1.80% taker fees, and it's worth factoring into your math if you trade frequently enough that fees compound — our strategies guide covers how fee drag affects high-frequency prediction market trading.
The catch is liquidity. Predict.fun's order books are noticeably thinner than Polymarket's or Kalshi's, which means larger positions move prices more and exit spreads can widen fast during volatile news events. It covers both sports and politics but with a smaller catalog than the two market leaders, and BNB Chain settlement means you're dealing with a different wallet ecosystem than Polymarket's Polygon/USDC setup. Full review at our Predict.fun review.
| Predict.fun Quick Specs | |
|---|---|
| Rating | 3.3/5 |
| Fees | 0% |
| Notable feature | Yield on collateral |
| Settlement | BNB Chain |
| Best for | Fee-sensitive, smaller-position traders |
Opinion: Best for Macro and Politics-Heavy Traders
Opinion skews toward macroeconomic and political outcomes rather than sports, making it the outlier on this list for traders who want Fed rate decisions, inflation prints, and election outcomes without the sports noise that dominates Polymarket and Kalshi's front pages. If you're specifically hunting politics markets and don't care about NFL or NBA contracts at all, Opinion's curation actually works in its favor.
The downside is scale — Opinion's volume and open interest don't come close to Kalshi or Polymarket, which means wider spreads on anything outside its core macro focus. It's a reasonable secondary account for politics-focused traders, not a replacement for a primary platform. Full review at our Opinion review.
| Opinion Quick Specs | |
|---|---|
| Rating | 3.5/5 |
| Focus | Macro, politics, Fed decisions |
| Fees | Platform-specific, moderate |
| Best for | Politics and macro purists |
Sportsbook Entrants: FanDuel Predicts and DraftKings Predictions
Two of the biggest US sportsbooks have entered the space by launching their own prediction products rather than partnering with an existing exchange. FanDuel Predicts and DraftKings Predictions both lean heavily into their existing sports betting user bases, offering prediction-style contracts on the same games their sportsbooks already price as traditional bets. That's a meaningful structural difference from Kalshi or Polymarket — see our prediction markets vs sports betting breakdown for how the mechanics actually diverge even when the underlying event is identical.
Both products are new enough in 2026 that market depth and long-term fee structures are still settling, but they're worth watching precisely because FanDuel and DraftKings already have tens of millions of existing sports bettors who could migrate toward prediction markets if regulatory pressure on traditional sports betting increases. Full details in our FanDuel Predicts review and DraftKings Predictions review.
Master Comparison Table
| Platform | Rating | Best For | Fees | Settlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | 4.3/5 | Regulated US trading | ~$0.02/contract | USD |
| Polymarket | 4.5/5 | Deepest markets, accuracy | 0.75-1.80% taker | USDC (Polygon) |
| Robinhood | 4.0/5 | Existing Robinhood users | Kalshi's schedule | USD |
| OG | 3.8/5 | Social trading | Crypto.com standard | Crypto wallet |
| PredictStreet | Unrated | European soccer, World Cup | TBD | TBD |
| Predict.fun | 3.3/5 | Zero-fee trading | 0% | BNB Chain |
| Opinion | 3.5/5 | Macro and politics | Moderate | Platform-specific |
How to Choose Between Them
If you want the deepest, most accurate sports and politics markets in one place, Polymarket wins on both breadth and calibration, though you'll need a crypto wallet and stablecoins to get started — our apps like Polymarket guide covers alternatives if that's a dealbreaker. If regulatory clarity matters more to you than raw market depth, Kalshi's CFTC status and USD settlement make it the safer long-term bet, especially since state-level legal battles are still unresolved for offshore-style platforms.
Beginners already using a mainstream brokerage should start with Robinhood before jumping to a dedicated exchange, since the learning curve is close to zero. Sports-first traders should weigh Kalshi and Polymarket's fee schedules directly against sportsbooks in our prediction markets vs sports betting comparison, and anyone chasing World Cup 2026 specifically should compare Polymarket's soccer depth against PredictStreet's FIFA partnership before picking a primary account. Whatever you choose, keep prediction market taxes in mind — Kalshi issues 1099-MISC forms, Polymarket issues nothing, and the IRS still has zero formal guidance on which of the three tax treatments actually applies.
Serious traders running strategies across venues, including the arbitrage and copytrading approaches covered in our arbitrage guide, typically end up running accounts on both Polymarket and Kalshi simultaneously rather than picking one. For a full platform-by-platform breakdown beyond sports and politics specifically, see our best prediction market apps hub page, and if you're building automated tools on top of any of these platforms, check our best prediction market APIs guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best prediction market app for sports betting?
Polymarket and Kalshi lead on sports market depth and volume, with Polymarket offering broader global soccer coverage and Kalshi offering CFTC-regulated NFL and NBA contracts settled in USD. Our best prediction markets for sports betting guide breaks down category-by-category coverage in more detail.
What is the best prediction market app for politics?
Polymarket has historically led on political market accuracy and depth, with a Brier score around 0.09, while Kalshi has expanded aggressively into midterm and Fed-decision contracts. Opinion is a strong secondary option if you want politics and macro markets without sports noise mixed in.
Is Kalshi or Polymarket better overall?
Kalshi wins on US regulatory status, USD settlement, and idle cash yield around 4% APY. Polymarket wins on market depth, prediction accuracy, and global event coverage. See our full Polymarket vs Kalshi breakdown for a category-by-category comparison.
Are prediction market apps legal in the US?
Legality varies significantly by state. Kalshi operates as a federally regulated exchange, but Arizona filed criminal charges against it in March 2026, and states including Nevada, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Ohio have ruled against it while Tennessee ruled in its favor. Check our state-by-state legal map for current status where you live.
Do I have to pay taxes on prediction market winnings?
Yes. Kalshi issues 1099-MISC forms for reportable winnings, while Polymarket issues no tax documents at all, leaving reporting entirely on you. The IRS has issued zero formal guidance on which of three possible tax treatments applies, so our prediction market taxes guide walks through the safest reporting approach.
Can I use Robinhood for prediction market trading?
Yes, Robinhood's prediction markets hub runs on Kalshi's regulated infrastructure and is available to existing Robinhood users without opening a separate account. It offers a curated subset of Kalshi's full contract catalog rather than complete market access.
Which prediction market app has the lowest fees?
Predict.fun charges 0% trading fees and even pays yield on posted collateral, making it the cheapest option by raw fee percentage. Kalshi and Polymarket both charge more, but offer significantly deeper liquidity in exchange, which often matters more than fees for larger positions.
What is the safest prediction market app to use?
Kalshi's CFTC-regulated status makes it the most conventionally "safe" option from a compliance standpoint. Polymarket has taken steps toward US regulation by acquiring QCEX for $112 million to pursue a CFTC license; see our Is Polymarket legit and safe breakdown for the full picture.
