Looking to dive into prediction markets and now choosing between Polymarket and Kalshi? You’re in the right place, as this guide is tailored for those ready to test their insight by trading outcomes.

Polymarket has posted monthly volumes exceeding $3.02 billion, while Kalshi recently captured around 62% of global market share with over $4.4 billion in monthly contracts. These statistics highlight just how rapidly both platforms are scaling within the prediction market space.

In this guide, we will help you compare both platforms side by side. 👇‍

Polymarket vs Kalshi Overview

Polymarket, founded in 2020 by Shayne Coplan, is a decentralized prediction-market platform where users trade on verifiable global events using USDC on Polygon. It gained traction for transparent onchain markets and data-driven insights, recently re-entering the US after a landmark regulatory resolution.

Kalshi, launched in 2021 by Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, is a federally-regulated US prediction-market exchange approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It enables traders to hedge or speculate on economic and social indicators through legally compliant event contracts.

In the table below, we compare both prediction markets directly:

Polymarket vs Kalshi Products

Polymarket and Kalshi both let users trade on the outcomes of future events, but they do so through very different ecosystems. Polymarket operates on decentralized blockchain rails with crypto wallets, while Kalshi delivers a traditional, regulated exchange experience designed for compliance and accessibility.

Polymarket Features

Polymarket functions as a decentralized prediction-market app where users trade outcome shares through a connected crypto wallet. Key product features include:

1. Instant crypto onboarding: Users can quickly register and begin trading without KYC, simply by connecting a compatible crypto wallet like MetaMask or Phantom.
2. Outcome-share trading interface: Clean, user-friendly buy/sell sliders let traders take “Yes” or “No” positions on real-time event probabilities instantly.
3. Multi-topic market creation: Markets span elections, sports, crypto prices, pop culture, and global news, with new trending topics added daily.
4. Cross-chain bridge for deposits: Built-in wallet bridge support allows users to transfer USDC from other chains directly into Polygon for trading liquidity.
5. Price discovery and liquidity view: Unbiased charts and live metrics show market volume, price curves, and evolving probabilities in real time.
6. Community-suggested markets: Verified creators and users can propose, vote, and list unique event ideas via an open submission process on the platform.
7. Non-custodial trading and settlement: Funds remain secure in user wallets while smart contracts automatically manage settlement and payouts after resolution.
8. Reward campaigns and leaderboards: Polymarket regularly highlights top traders, runs reward challenges, and displays rankings for community engagement.

Kalshi Features

Kalshi operates as a federally regulated US exchange where users can buy and sell “Yes” or “No” event contracts. Key product features include:

1. Verified user onboarding: Account creation requires KYC verification and identity checks, ensuring secure, compliant access for all registered US participants.
2. Event-contract dashboard: A clear, intuitive interface categorizes active markets by politics, economy, climate, and culture for easy user navigation.
3. Order-book trading experience: Traders can place limit or market orders, review depth charts, and analyze live bid-ask spreads across open markets.
4. Automated settlements: When events conclude, contracts automatically cash out to user USD balances with open, verifiable reporting and history.
5. API and automation tools: Kalshi offers advanced APIs for algorithmic trading, analytics integration, and portfolio management automation.
6. Mobile and desktop apps: Both modern interfaces support real-time event discovery, custom alerts, and detailed portfolio tracking for convenience.
7. Low fixed fees: Clear pricing with fixed low fees ensures predictable, low-cost trading and clear settlement information for all users.
8. Educational and compliance resources: Built-in guides, tutorials, and disclosures help users learn event-contract trading safely and responsibly.

Polymarket vs Kalshi Markets

Polymarket and Kalshi concentrate open interest in different places, and the charts from Dune show those preferences shifting month to month. Below is a concise breakdown of what dominated each platform and how the mix evolved through 2024-2025.

Polymarket Top Markets

Polymarket’s mix is highly cyclical, with politics surging during key news windows and newer categories rising into late 2025. Here is a breakdown:

• Politics: Political prediction markets reached nearly $500 million in open interest during late 2024, remaining the platform’s strongest driver of liquidity.
• Economy: Economic and inflation-related markets grew steadily through 2025, reflecting user interest in macro data, inflation prints, and rate-cut speculation.
• Crypto: Crypto-linked predictions expanded alongside digital-asset volatility, contributing a reliable base of active traders and cross-chain liquidity.
• Sports: Sports-based contracts spiked during major tournaments and championships, creating steady recurring interest throughout each competitive season.
• Tech: Tech markets tracked corporate earnings and product launches, showing sharp short-term surges around major technology announcements.

Kalshi Top Markets

Kalshi’s prediction markets composition skewed toward macro and election themes, then diversified as 2025 progressed. In more details:

• Economics: Economic indicators like CPI, employment, and rate decisions accounted for the largest open-interest share throughout 2025.
• Elections: Election markets drew high participation during national primaries, maintaining consistent volume even after political-cycle peaks subsided.
• Sports: Sports event contracts formed Kalshi’s second-largest category by late 2025, driven by demand for NFL, MLB, and NBA outcomes.
• Climate: Climate and weather markets reflected interest in temperature thresholds and rainfall predictions, appealing to hedgers and data-driven traders.
• Science and Tech: Science-and-technology markets covered innovation timelines and company-specific breakthroughs, sustaining smaller but loyal niche participation.

Polymarket vs Kalshi Security

Polymarket and Kalshi approach platform security through fundamentally different models, with one relying on open-source blockchain audits and the other on structured financial safeguards.

Polymarket has completed multiple independent audits by Quantstamp, maintaining public transparency through open repositories and frequent code reviews. It operates an active Immunefi bug bounty, secures funds through multisignature-controlled wallets, and quickly addressed minor wallet-drain incidents in 2023 without user fund losses.

Kalshi enforces institutional-grade protections such as segregated collateral, automated trade halts, and strict retail position-size limits capped at $25,000 per event market to prevent overexposure. The exchange also maintains insurance coverage for custodied funds and commissions regular third-party penetration tests to identify and reduce operational vulnerabilities.

Polymarket vs Kalshi Regulations & Licenses

Polymarket and Kalshi differ sharply in how they obtain and maintain market legitimacy, reflecting their opposite approaches to regulatory integration. Each platform’s licensing history highlights unique milestones and compliance strategies shaping its operational future.

Polymarket Regulations

Polymarket functions as a decentralized prediction-market protocol that is gradually aligning with formal regulatory standards after early enforcement action. Key licenses and regulatory actions include:

• CFTC Settlement: The platform paid a $1.4 million penalty in 2022 and closed unregistered markets to resolve a compliance case.
• QCEX Acquisition: Polymarket acquired a CFTC-licensed exchange QCEX and clearing entity to facilitate a structured, compliant re-entry into the US market.
• Regulatory Oversight: The platform remains under ongoing review from US regulators, who continue to assess its operations and data governance.

Kalshi Regulations

Kalshi operates as a fully licensed US event-contract exchange, holding multiple formal registrations that ensure oversight and institutional-level compliance. Key licenses and regulatory credentials include:

• DCM License: KalshiEX LLC was designated as a Designated Contract Market in 2020, authorizing it to list event-based futures contracts.
• DCO Registration: Its affiliate, Kalshi Klear LLC, became a registered Derivatives Clearing Organization in 2024 to handle trade clearing internally.
• No-Action Relief: Kalshi received CFTC no-action relief permitting operational adjustments under strict collateralization and disclosure requirements.

Polymarket vs Kalshi Fees

Trading costs directly influence profitability and user participation, making them an essential point of comparison between Polymarket and Kalshi. Here’s how the two platforms differ in their pricing models and cost structures:

Polymarket Charges

Polymarket maintains a simple, onchain cost model that minimizes explicit fees while relying on spreads and gas costs for sustainability.

• Trading Fees: Polymarket charges no fixed trading or resolution fees, with user costs arising naturally from market spreads and liquidity depth.
• Deposit Fees: Deposits using USDC through supported networks such as Polygon, Base, and Arbitrum are free apart from standard onchain gas expenses.
• Withdrawal Fees: Withdrawals incur no platform fee, with users only paying variable network gas costs based on blockchain activity.
• Bridging Costs: Transfers between supported chains use external bridges where fees usually stay below 0.3% per transaction depending on network load.
• Liquidity Incentives: Market makers and liquidity providers can earn trading rewards that help offset gas expenses while improving overall market depth.

Kalshi Charges

Kalshi follows a straightforward, regulated fee pricing structure formulated for predictability and fairness across all verified traders.

• Trading Fees: Each executed trade carries a flat $0.01 charge per contract, ensuring upfront and easily calculable costs for participants.
• Settlement Fees: A $0.01 fee applies per winning contract when a market resolves, automatically deducted from user profits during settlement.
• Deposit Fees: ACH deposits are free, while debit card transactions incur a 2% processing fee and wires follow standard bank charges.
• Withdrawal Fees: Withdrawals via ACH are free, and wire withdrawals have a consistent flat $2 fee per transaction regardless of amount.
• Account Maintenance: There are no ongoing maintenance or inactivity fees, and user balances remain segregated to protect capital from operational risk.

Polymarket vs Kalshi Funding

Polymarket raised $55 million in 2024 and $150 million in early 2025 before securing a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange. The ICE deal valued the company at $9 billion post-money and gave it a strategic data-distribution partnership with the NYSE owner.

Kalshi closed a $300 million Series D in October 2025 led by a16z and Sequoia Capital, doubling its valuation to $5 billion. The raise followed a $185 million Series C at $2 billion just four months earlier, reflecting surging capital inflows into event-based trading.

Both firms are reportedly pursuing new rounds, with Kalshi fielding offers above $10 billion and Polymarket targeting $12 billion to $15 billion. These valuations confirm prediction markets’ shift from niche crypto projects to billion-dollar global financial infrastructure.

Is Polymarket Better than Kalshi?

Polymarket currently offers a more dynamic and accessible trading experience, appealing to most prediction market users. Its decentralized model, fast onchain settlements, and wide selection of global markets make it more engaging and flexible than its regulated counterpart.

Kalshi delivers strong compliance and reliability but remains constrained by US regulatory boundaries and limited international access. While it provides security and transparency for verified users, its slower onboarding and restricted event range limit its growth potential.

Overall, Polymarket stands out as the better option for users seeking global accessibility, faster market creation, and higher liquidity. Its open structure, competitive spreads, and active community make it the preferred choice for prediction-market enthusiasts in 2025.

Final Thoughts

Choosing between Polymarket and Kalshi ultimately comes down to whether you value decentralized trading freedom, global reach, and fast onchain execution or regulated structure and compliance.

In the near future, we expect both platforms to expand market access worldwide, refine user protections, raise liquidity, and further blur the line between crypto and traditional finance.

Whichever platform you choose, enjoy betting on exciting real-world events with smarter tools, deeper liquidity, and a rapidly growing global community of informed traders.