Kalshi does not charge a flat percentage on trades. That single fact confuses more new traders than anything else on the platform, because most people arrive expecting a simple "2% fee" line item like a brokerage commission. Instead, Kalshi fees are calculated with a formula tied to contract price, which means the same 100-contract trade can cost you $0.63 or $1.75 depending entirely on where the market is pricing the outcome. Understanding kalshi fees is the difference between a strategy that's actually profitable and one that looks profitable until the fee line eats the edge.
This guide breaks down exactly how much does Kalshi charge, how the fee formula works with real numbers, what withdrawals and deposits cost, and how the whole kalshi fee structure stacks up against Polymarket. Kalshi processed roughly $9.8 billion in monthly volume as of February 2026 and generated approximately $260 million in 2025 revenue — almost entirely from trading fees. That revenue has to come from somewhere, and it comes from a formula most traders never bother to read.
We'll also cover the parts Kalshi's help center glosses over: debit card costs, withdrawal fees, and why "maker/taker fees" doesn't mean the same thing on Kalshi that it means on Polymarket. If you're deciding between the two platforms, see our full Polymarket vs Kalshi comparison for the complete picture beyond fees alone.
Kalshi Fee Structure at a Glance
| Fee Type | Amount | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| Taker fee | 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up | Orders that fill immediately against the book (buys and sells) |
| Maker fee | $0 on most markets; a 0.0175 formula on some series | Resting limit orders, when they fill |
| Settlement/resolution fee | $0 on most markets | Some markets charge a small settlement fee |
| ACH deposit | Free | Standard bank transfer, 1-3 business days |
| Debit card deposit | 2% | Instant funding |
| ACH withdrawal | Free | 1-3 business days |
| Debit card withdrawal | Up to $2 flat | Arrives in about 30 minutes |
| Idle cash yield | ~4% APY | Uninvested balance sitting in your account |
That idle cash yield is one of Kalshi's real structural advantages. Polymarket pays 0% interest on balances sitting in USDC, while Kalshi's ~4% APY means your uncommitted cash is earning something even when you're not actively trading.
How Kalshi Calculates Its Trading Fee
Kalshi's trading fee isn't a flat percentage — it's calculated using a formula that scales with how close the contract price sits to 50 cents. The taker formula is: fee = round up (0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price)), where price is expressed in dollars between $0.01 and $0.99. It applies every time an order fills as a taker, buying or selling, so a round trip made with two market orders pays the formula twice.
Here's what that means in practice. A contract trading at exactly $0.50 sits at the peak of the fee curve, because 0.50 × 0.50 = 0.25 is the maximum value that price × (1 − price) can produce. That means coin-flip markets carry the highest fee per contract on the platform. A contract trading at $0.10 sits near the bottom of the curve in dollar terms, but the fee is a larger percentage of your stake because each contract costs so little; at $0.90 the same dollar fee is a small slice of a much bigger stake.
This is the opposite of how most traders assume fees work. You'd expect long-shot bets to be cheaper across the board, but relative to your stake, Kalshi's formula charges far more on cheap long-shot contracts than on 50/50 coin flips, even though the dollar amount is smaller. If you're running strategies across both Polymarket and Kalshi, this formula difference matters — see our guide on prediction market strategies and how to profit for how fee structure should shape which platform you route a given trade through.
Kalshi Maker vs Taker Fees
Here's where Kalshi's fee structure diverges from Polymarket's. Polymarket charges taker fees of 0.75% to 1.80% depending on category (expanded March 30, 2026), while makers trade free and earn 20-50% rebates for providing liquidity. Kalshi runs a simpler version of the same split: the 0.07 formula is the taker fee, and on most markets a resting limit order that gets filled pays nothing. On the roughly one hundred series where Kalshi does charge makers, the maker coefficient is 0.0175, a quarter of the taker rate.
Kalshi has also run liquidity incentive programs that pay market makers on select high-volume markets, and some promotional markets waive fees entirely for a period. What it doesn't have is a standing rebate on the fees makers generate, the way Polymarket built rebates into its taker/maker model. If your strategy depends heavily on capturing maker rebates, Polymarket's fee structure rewards that behavior more directly. Our Polymarket fees explained guide breaks down exactly how those rebates stack up.
Kalshi Contract Fees Across Market Categories
Kalshi applies its fee formula uniformly across most market categories — politics, economics, weather, and the fast-growing sports vertical all use the same 0.07 taker multiplier in the base case, although a handful of marquee events carry their own fee terms. This is different from Polymarket, which set category-specific taker fee tiers ranging from 0.75% to 1.80% after its March 2026 expansion. Kalshi's simplicity cuts both ways: it's easier to predict your fee cost across different bet types, but it means Kalshi doesn't offer the same cheaper-fee incentive Polymarket does for lower-volatility categories.
Sports markets deserve a specific mention because they now represent more than 80% of total prediction market volume industry-wide. Kalshi's sports offering has grown fast enough to compete directly with Polymarket and DraftKings-style books, and outside a few marquee events with their own terms, the fee formula applies the same way to a game-winner contract as it does to a Fed rate decision market. If you're comparing where to place sports-specific trades, our breakdown of the best prediction markets for sports betting covers fee-adjusted returns across platforms, and our prediction markets vs sports betting piece explains how this fee model compares to a traditional sportsbook's vig.
Kalshi Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
Funding a Kalshi account through standard ACH bank transfer costs nothing and typically clears within one to three business days. Debit card deposits process instantly but carry Kalshi's 2% processing fee, and some card issuers add a cash-advance charge on top. Wire transfers are available for larger deposits; Kalshi doesn't charge for them, but your bank's own wire fee applies.
Withdrawals follow a similar split. Standard ACH withdrawal back to your linked bank account is free and takes one to three business days to settle. Debit card withdrawals arrive in about 30 minutes; Kalshi's help center has listed a flat $2 fee for them, though one newer help page shows them as free, so check the amount on the confirmation screen. This mirrors the tradeoff Polymarket traders face with USDC withdrawals — see our guide on how to withdraw from Polymarket for the crypto-side equivalent, including gas costs on Polygon that Kalshi's USD settlement avoids entirely.
The practical takeaway: if you're not in a rush, every dollar you move on or off Kalshi through standard ACH costs you nothing beyond the trading fee itself. The faster options exist for convenience, and convenience has a price.
What Kalshi Pays You on Idle Cash
Kalshi pays approximately 4% APY on uninvested cash sitting in your account. This isn't a marketing gimmick — it's a real structural difference from Polymarket, which settles in USDC on Polygon and pays 0% interest on balances. If you keep $10,000 parked in a Kalshi account for a year while actively trading only a portion of it, that idle cash generates roughly $400 in interest that Polymarket simply doesn't offer.
This matters more than it sounds for anyone running a portfolio across multiple markets rather than deploying 100% of capital at once. Traders who hold cash reserves for opportunistic entries, or who size positions conservatively, effectively get paid to wait on Kalshi. It's a meaningful factor when weighing kalshi vs polymarket fees holistically rather than just comparing per-trade costs.
Kalshi Fees vs Polymarket Fees
| Category | Kalshi | Polymarket |
|---|---|---|
| Trading fee model | Taker formula (0.07 × C × P × (1-P)) | 0.75%-1.80% taker fee by category |
| Maker incentive | No maker fee on most markets; incentive programs on some | Free trades + 20-50% rebates |
| Settlement currency | USD | USDC on Polygon |
| Idle balance yield | ~4% APY | 0% |
| Regulatory status | CFTC-regulated DCM | Global site offshore; Polymarket US runs on CFTC-licensed QCEX |
| Deposit method | ACH (free), debit card (2%) | USDC transfer, on/off-ramp fees |
| Withdrawal speed | 1-3 days (ACH) or about 30 minutes (debit card) | On-chain, gas-dependent |
| Tax reporting | Issues 1099-MISC | Global platform issues no tax forms |
Kalshi wins on idle cash yield and on predictable USD settlement with no gas fees. Polymarket wins on maker rebates for liquidity providers and on its lower published taker fee ceiling for high-volume categories. Neither platform is simply "cheaper" across the board — the answer depends on your entry prices, how close to 50 cents they sit, and whether you're providing or taking liquidity. Our full Polymarket vs Kalshi guide walks through the non-fee factors — market selection, mobile experience, and regulatory footprint — that should also factor into your choice.
Real Trade Math: Three Examples
A $50 position on a contract priced at $0.50 (100 contracts) generates a taker fee of $1.75 using Kalshi's formula — about 3.5% of your stake. That's a meaningful drag if you're trading frequently at coin-flip prices, and it's higher than Polymarket's 0.75% floor tier for the same trade size.
A $10 position on a long-shot contract priced at $0.10 (100 contracts) generates a fee of $0.63 in dollar terms, but that's 6.3% of your $10 stake — a worse percentage cost despite the smaller dollar figure. This is the counterintuitive part of Kalshi's fee curve: cheap long shots don't mean cheaper trading relative to your stake.
A $500 position on a contract priced at $0.80 (625 contracts) generates a fee of $7.00, or about 1.4% of your stake. The closer your entry price sits to $1, the smaller the fee is as a share of what you put in. Buying favorites is where Kalshi's fee structure becomes competitive with — or cheaper than — Polymarket's flat percentage model, and posting a resting limit order instead of taking the price usually avoids the fee altogether.
The Catch: Hidden Costs Beyond the Published Fee Schedule
Every fee schedule has a catch, and Kalshi's is the formula's non-obvious behavior at extreme prices. Traders who assume long-shot bets are automatically cheap because the dollar fee looks small often miss that the percentage cost relative to stake is actually higher there than at 50/50. That's a real trap for anyone building a strategy around cheap long-shot accumulation.
Card fees are another quiet cost. If you fund with a debit card, Kalshi's 2% deposit fee applies to every top-up, and if you cash out to a debit card often, a flat $2 per withdrawal adds up — ten card withdrawals a month is $240 a year that ACH would have saved you. And because Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated designated contract market, it issues a 1099-MISC for your winnings, which gives you a reporting form that Polymarket's global platform doesn't provide. See our guide on how prediction market winnings are taxed for what that 1099-MISC actually means at filing time, especially with the OBBBA 90% gambling loss cap taking effect for tax year 2026.
The Honest Reality Check
The IRS has issued zero formal guidance on how prediction market winnings should be classified for tax purposes, which means the 1099-MISC Kalshi sends you doesn't settle the underlying tax question — it just reports the number. Whether your Kalshi winnings should be treated as ordinary income, gambling income, or under Section 1256 is a live debate among tax professionals, not a solved problem. Don't assume the form Kalshi sends you is the final word on how to report it.
Fee formulas also punish frequent, small, coin-flip trading with market orders more than they punish patient trading in high-priced contracts. If your strategy is scalping 50/50 markets by taking the price, Kalshi's fee curve is working against you harder than it looks on paper. Regulatory status matters here too — Kalshi operates as a CFTC-regulated DCM available in 40+ states, while ongoing state-level fights (Arizona's criminal charges against Kalshi in March 2026, adverse rulings in Nevada, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Ohio) mean your access and the platform's fee structure could shift depending on where you live. Check our state-by-state legal map and our broader guide to whether prediction markets are legal in the US before assuming your state's access is guaranteed long-term.
Where to Go From Here
If you're still deciding between platforms, start with our full Kalshi review and Polymarket review for the non-fee factors, or the ranked best prediction market apps guide for how both stack up against Robinhood's Kalshi-powered prediction hub and other emerging platforms. For the mechanics behind how these markets price contracts in the first place, our how prediction markets work pillar page covers the fundamentals this fee formula builds on.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Kalshi charge in trading fees?
Kalshi's taker fee follows a formula: 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up to the nearest cent. On a $0.50 contract, that's about 3.5% of your stake; the percentage is higher on cheap contracts and lower on expensive ones, and most markets charge nothing on filled resting limit orders. See the Polymarket vs Kalshi comparison for how that stacks up against Polymarket's 0.75%-1.80% taker fee.
Is Kalshi free to trade?
Not entirely. Takers pay Kalshi's price-based fee on every filled order, but on most markets a resting limit order that gets filled pays nothing, and some promotional markets have waived fees temporarily. What Kalshi doesn't offer is Polymarket-style rebates on top.
Does Kalshi have maker and taker fees like Polymarket?
Yes, in a simpler form. The 0.07 formula is the taker fee; most markets charge makers nothing, and the series that do charge makers use a 0.0175 coefficient, a quarter of the taker rate. Polymarket charges takers 0.75%-1.80% and also pays makers 20-50% rebates. See our Polymarket fees explained guide for the maker/taker breakdown on that side.
What are Kalshi's withdrawal fees?
Standard ACH withdrawals to your bank account are free and take one to three business days. Debit card withdrawals arrive in about 30 minutes and have carried a flat $2 fee, so check the amount before you confirm.
Does Kalshi charge fees on deposits?
ACH bank transfers are free to deposit. Debit card deposits process instantly but carry Kalshi's 2% processing fee.
Does Kalshi pay interest on my account balance?
Yes. Kalshi pays approximately 4% APY on uninvested cash sitting in your account, a real advantage over Polymarket, which pays 0% interest on USDC balances.
Are Kalshi's fees higher than Polymarket's?
It depends on price and order type. At 50/50 prices, Kalshi's taker fee can exceed Polymarket's rate; on high-priced contracts, or when you post resting limit orders, Kalshi often comes out cheaper. Run the math on your specific trade before assuming either platform is universally cheaper.
Does Kalshi report my winnings to the IRS?
Yes. Kalshi issues a 1099-MISC for winnings, unlike Polymarket's global platform, which issues no tax forms. That doesn't resolve how you should classify the income for tax purposes — see our prediction market tax guide for the three possible treatments the IRS hasn't formally ruled on.
