You never have to wait for a prediction market to resolve. Every contract on Polymarket and Kalshi can be sold at any time the market is open, at whatever price someone is willing to pay. If you bought a team at 5¢ and it now trades at 20¢, you can cash out early and take four times your money without waiting for the season to end. That is one of the biggest practical differences between a prediction market position and a sportsbook ticket.
Most traders underuse it. They buy, then treat the position as a bet that must play out, which means giving back gains they could have locked in and holding risk they no longer want. The opposite mistake is just as common: selling a winning position too early and paying a spread and a fee to exit something that was about to pay $1.
This guide covers how to cash out on both venues, what exiting early actually costs, how to decide between selling and holding, and how to take partial profits.
| Exit method | Where | Speed | What it costs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sell at the bid | Polymarket and Kalshi | Instant | Spread plus taker fee | Getting out now |
| Limit sell above the bid | Polymarket and Kalshi | Minutes to never | No taker fee on Polymarket when you rest | Patient exits on liquid markets |
| Partial sell | Polymarket and Kalshi | Instant or resting | Proportional to size | Locking in the stake, keeping upside |
| Merge YES and NO | Polymarket (advanced) | Instant on-chain | Network gas | Traders who already hold both sides |
| Hold to resolution | Both | At settlement | No settlement fee | Near-certain outcomes |
How Selling Before Resolution Works
A prediction market contract is worth whatever someone will pay for it right now. The price moves continuously as traders react to news, and your position's value moves with it. Selling is simply another trade: you place a sell order, someone buys your contracts, and the proceeds land in your cash balance.
Here is a worked example. You buy 1,000 YES contracts at 30¢, spending $300. Three weeks later the market has moved and the best bid is 55¢. Selling all 1,000 at the bid returns $550 before fees, a $250 profit, and you no longer care how the event turns out. If you had held and the event failed, you would have lost the full $300; if you had held and it succeeded, you would have received $1,000. Selling trades that range of outcomes for a certain $550.
Whether that is the right trade depends on one comparison: the price you can sell at against your own estimate of the probability. If you think the event is now 50% likely and someone will pay 55¢, selling is the better expected outcome. If you think it is 70% likely, holding is. Our expected value guide explains this comparison in detail, and it is the same comparison you should make before buying. For the mechanics of the order book behind all of this, see how prediction markets work.
How to Cash Out on Polymarket
On Polymarket, open your portfolio, select the position, and choose to sell. You can sell at the market — which fills immediately against the best bids — or set a limit price and wait for a buyer.
- Open your portfolio and select the position you want to close.
- Choose sell, and enter the number of shares to sell.
- Pick a market order to fill now, or a limit order at your chosen price.
- Review the estimated proceeds, including any fee, and confirm.
Proceeds arrive in your balance as USDC as soon as the sale fills. Polymarket charges a taker fee of 0.75–1.80% depending on the market category when your order fills against a resting order; a limit order that rests on the book and is filled by someone else pays no fee. From there, getting the money back into dollars is a separate step, which our guide to withdrawing from Polymarket covers.
For advanced traders, Polymarket's contracts have one more exit. A matched YES and NO share in the same market can be merged back into $1 of USDC through the conditional-token contract that underlies Polymarket's markets. That is mainly useful for bots and market makers who accumulate both sides; most traders will simply sell. Our Polymarket review covers how the platform is structured.
How to Cash Out on Kalshi
On Kalshi, open your portfolio, select the market, and sell your contracts. As on Polymarket, you can take the best bid or place a limit order.
- Go to your portfolio and open the position.
- Choose sell, and enter how many contracts to sell.
- Choose to fill at the current bid or set a limit price.
- Confirm the order and check the fee shown before submitting.
Kalshi nets positions within a market, so if you hold YES and buy NO in the same market, the two offset and your position shrinks rather than growing on both sides. Proceeds land in your cash balance immediately, where they begin earning Kalshi's roughly 4% annual rate on idle cash. Withdrawing to your bank is a separate step covered in our guide to withdrawing from Kalshi. Withdrawals only work on a verified account, so if you skipped identity checks when you signed up, finish them before you need the money — our guide to prediction market KYC explains what each venue asks for and the most common reasons verification stalls.
Kalshi's trading fee applies to exits as well as entries. The formula is 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up to the next cent. Selling 1,000 contracts at 55¢ costs 0.07 × 1,000 × 0.55 × 0.45, or about $17.33. There is no fee when a contract simply settles at $1 or $0. Our Kalshi fees explainer walks through the formula, and our Kalshi review covers the platform in full.
What Exiting Early Actually Costs
Two costs apply every time you sell before resolution: the spread and the fee.
The spread is the gap between where you could buy and where you can sell. If a market shows 55¢ bid and 57¢ ask, the "price" might look like 56¢, but selling at the market gets you 55¢. On liquid markets that is a cent or two; on thin markets it can be ten cents or more, which is why our guide to prediction market liquidity recommends checking the bid side before you ever enter a position.
| Scenario: sell 1,000 contracts | Price received | Kalshi fee | Net proceeds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market sell at the 55¢ bid | $550.00 | About $17.33 | About $532.67 |
| Limit sell filled at 57¢ | $570.00 | Depends on whether you rest or take | Up to $570.00 |
| Hold to a $1 settlement | $1,000.00 | None | $1,000.00 |
| Hold to a $0 settlement | $0.00 | None | $0.00 |
The fee is largest near 50¢ and shrinks toward either extreme. Selling at 97¢ costs about 0.2¢ per contract on Kalshi, while selling at 50¢ costs about 1.75¢. That shape matters for timing: exiting a position that has already moved close to certainty is cheap in fees but often expensive in the spread. Our market fee calculator runs any combination of price, size and venue.
When Cashing Out Beats Holding
Selling early makes sense in four situations.
The price has moved past your estimate. If you bought at 30¢ because you thought the event was 45% likely, and it now trades at 55¢, the market is paying you more than you think the contract is worth. Take it.
The position has grown too large for your risk tolerance. A futures contract bought at 5¢ that climbs to 25¢ has quintupled. It may still be fairly priced, but it now represents far more of your account than you originally risked. Selling part of it is risk management, not a lack of conviction. Our Super Bowl LXI odds show how quickly early-season futures can move in both directions.
New information has changed your view. The point of being able to exit is that you do not have to hold a position after you stop believing in it. If an injury, a poll or a data release undermines your reason for buying, the loss you take by selling is usually smaller than the one you take by hoping.
The money has a better use. Capital tied up in a contract that settles in two years earns nothing in the meantime. If a better opportunity appears, or if you simply want Kalshi's interest on cash, freeing the capital has value.
When Holding Beats Selling
Holding to resolution is the better choice when the outcome is close to certain and the cost of exiting is high relative to what remains. A contract at 97¢ has only 3¢ of upside left; if the bid is 95¢, selling gives up two-thirds of the remaining value to the spread. In that situation, holding for the $1 settlement usually wins, provided you have read the rules and understand how and when the market resolves — our explainer on how prediction markets resolve covers that.
Holding also wins when you still believe the price is too low. A market moving your way is not a reason to sell by itself; the reason to sell is that the price has reached or passed your estimate. Traders who sell every winner at the first profit and hold every loser in hope get the worst of both worlds. A useful discipline is to write down, when you buy, the price at which you would sell and the news that would make you sell regardless of price. Revisit those two lines whenever the market moves sharply, and act on them rather than on how the position feels.
Partial Exits and Freerolls
You do not have to choose between selling everything and selling nothing. A partial exit locks in part of the gain while keeping exposure to the rest.
The classic version is the freeroll. Suppose you bought 1,000 contracts at 20¢ for $200, and the price is now 60¢. Selling about 334 contracts at 60¢ returns roughly $200 — your entire original stake — and leaves you holding 666 contracts that cost you nothing. If the event happens, they pay $666; if it does not, you have lost nothing. The trade-off is that you have given up some of the upside, but you have removed all of the risk to your original money.
Partial exits work especially well with limit orders. You can post a sell order for a third of your position at a price above the current bid and let the market come to you. Our guide to limit orders explains how to set them, and our guide to hedging with prediction markets covers related techniques for reducing risk without closing a position entirely.
Tax Consequences of Selling Early
Selling a position realises the gain or loss in that tax year, whether or not you withdraw the money. A contract bought in December and sold at a profit in January produces income in January's tax year; a contract held to settlement produces income when it settles. The IRS has published no guidance specific to prediction markets, and three treatments are in common use.
This matters for timing near the end of the year. Selling a big winner on December 31 rather than January 1 moves the gain into the earlier year. Kalshi issues a 1099-MISC; Polymarket issues nothing, which does not remove the obligation. Our prediction market tax guide covers the treatments, and the take-home calculator shows what fees and tax leave you from any profit.
Cashing Out Versus a Sportsbook Cash-Out Offer
Many sportsbooks offer a "cash out" button on open bets, and it looks similar. It is not. A sportsbook cash-out price is set by the bookmaker, who builds a margin into it — you are selling the bet back to the house at a price the house chooses. On a prediction market, you are selling to another trader at the market price, and the only costs are the spread and the fee.
The difference compounds over time. A trader who manages positions actively — taking profits, cutting losses, trimming winners — pays the house margin every time on a sportsbook, and only the spread and fee on an exchange. Our comparison of prediction markets and sports betting covers the structural reasons, and Polymarket vs Kalshi compares the two main exchanges on fees and depth. For the wider field, see our ranking of the best prediction market apps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sell a Polymarket position before the event ends?
Yes. You can sell shares at any time the market is open, either at the best current bid or with a limit order at your chosen price. Proceeds arrive in USDC immediately.
How do I cash out early on Kalshi?
Open the position in your portfolio, choose sell, and either take the current bid or set a limit price. Proceeds land in your cash balance at once, and you can withdraw them to your bank. See our guide to withdrawing from Kalshi.
Is there a fee to sell before resolution?
On Kalshi, the normal trading fee applies to the sale: 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price). On Polymarket, a taker fee of 0.75–1.80% applies if your order fills against a resting order; a resting limit order pays none. There is no fee when a contract settles.
Should I sell or hold a winning prediction market position?
Compare the price you can sell at with your own estimate of the probability. If the market pays more than you think the contract is worth, sell; if less, hold. Our expected value calculator helps with the comparison.
What is a freeroll in prediction markets?
Selling enough of a winning position to recover your original stake, and holding the rest at no risk. If you bought at 20¢ and the price is 60¢, selling about a third returns your stake.
Why did I get less than the price shown when I sold?
Because a market sell fills at the bid, which is below the midpoint or last price, and because fees are deducted. Use a limit order to control the price you receive.
Is selling early better than a sportsbook cash out?
Usually. A sportsbook sets its own cash-out price with a margin built in, while an exchange lets you sell to another trader at the market price. See prediction markets vs sports betting.
Do I owe taxes if I sell but do not withdraw?
Yes. The taxable event is the realised gain, not the withdrawal. Our prediction market tax guide explains how gains are reported.
