Prediction Market Fees Compared [2026]

Prediction markets charge fees through several different mechanisms. Understanding the difference helps you compare platforms accurately and avoid surprise costs.

Maker fees apply when you place an order that adds liquidity to the order book. A limit order that does not immediately match an existing order is a maker order. Most major prediction markets charge zero maker fees because makers contribute to platform liquidity. Polymarket, Kalshi, Robinhood Predict, and Novig all charge no maker fees.

Taker fees apply when you place an order that removes liquidity from the order book. A market order that immediately matches existing orders is a taker order. Taker fees vary significantly across platforms, from approximately 1-2% on Polymarket to approximately 7% on winnings on Kalshi. The structural difference matters: percentage-of-trade fees compound differently than percentage-of-winnings fees.

Embedded spreads are an indirect fee where the platform's quoted prices include a markup over fair-market trader-set prices. Coinbase Predictions and Crypto.com Predictions apply spreads in addition to explicit fees. Polymarket and Kalshi do not embed spreads because prices are set entirely by trader buy and sell activity.

Pick'em payout structure is the implicit fee model used by sports prediction platforms. PrizePicks Predict, FanDuel Predicts, and DraftKings Predictions do not charge explicit per-trade fees. Instead, the cost is built into pick'em payout multipliers. A 6-pick entry that pays 25x is implicitly priced lower than the underlying probability would justify in a fair market.

[Polymarket](/reviews/polymarket/) charges no maker fees and approximately 1-2% taker fees. There is no embedded spread because prices are set entirely by user trading. Trades incur minimal Polygon gas costs (typically under $0.10 per transaction). For active traders on liquid markets, Polymarket has the lowest total cost of any major prediction market.

[Kalshi](/reviews/kalshi/) charges approximately 7% of winnings as a taker fee at settlement. The fee applies only to winning positions, not losing ones. There are no other fees on standard accounts. ACH deposits and withdrawals are free. The structure is transparent and applied at one point in the trade lifecycle, but the percentage is meaningfully higher than Polymarket on winning trades.

[Robinhood Predict](/reviews/robinhood-predict/) charges a small per-contract commission plus the bid-ask spread on each market. The exact rate is published on each market and is competitive with Kalshi on liquid markets. Spreads can effectively add cost on thinner markets. There are no separate deposit or withdrawal fees because funding uses your existing Robinhood balance.

PrizePicks Predict, FanDuel Predicts, DraftKings Predictions use the pick'em payout structure rather than explicit per-trade fees. Costs are embedded in the payout multiplier table. A 6-pick entry typically pays around 25x, which corresponds to a structural cost of around 5-10% versus a perfectly fair market depending on assumed prop probabilities. Deposits and withdrawals are free.

Coinbase Predictions and Crypto.com Predictions charge tiered fees based on your monthly trading volume across the parent exchange. Higher-volume users pay lower percentage fees. Both platforms apply embedded spreads on prediction markets in addition to explicit fees. Total cost on liquid markets is comparable to Kalshi for most users; on thin markets, the spread can effectively cost more.

Novig charges a small commission on peer-to-peer matched trades with no embedded spread. The structural cost is among the lowest in the US-regulated prediction market space, which is the platform's main value proposition versus traditional sportsbooks.

Headline fee percentages are not the same as effective trading cost. Three factors shape the real total cost on each platform.

First, win rate matters when fees apply only to winning trades. Kalshi's 7% on winnings translates to higher effective cost for a trader who wins 50% of trades than for a trader who wins 30% of trades. The math: at 50% win rate, effective cost is 3.5% of total volume. At 30% win rate, effective cost is 2.1% of total volume.

Second, market liquidity affects the spread component. On a market with $10,000 of order book depth and tight spreads, the spread cost is negligible. On a market with thin order books and wide spreads, the spread can effectively cost 2-5% per round-trip even on platforms with low headline fees. Always check order book depth before placing larger trades.

Third, holding period matters. Trading frequently amplifies fees while holding to resolution avoids round-trip costs. Day traders typically pay much higher annual fees as a percentage of capital than buy-and-hold traders. Active traders should pick low-fee platforms like Polymarket if they are eligible. Buy-and-hold traders can use higher-fee platforms more comfortably.

For background on how prediction markets work see our [how prediction markets work guide](/guides/how-do-prediction-markets-work/).

Deposit and withdrawal fees are usually small or free on regulated US platforms. Kalshi offers free ACH deposits and withdrawals with no minimum or maximum charge. Robinhood Predict uses your existing Robinhood balance with no separate fees. PrizePicks Predict, FanDuel Predicts, DraftKings Predictions, Sleeper Markets, Betr Predictions, and Novig all offer free standard ACH and debit card deposits.

Crypto-based platforms have different fee structures. Polymarket transactions cost minimal Polygon gas (typically under $0.10 each). Funding requires acquiring USDC and bridging or transferring to the Polygon network, which can incur exchange withdrawal fees from your funding source. Coinbase Predictions and Crypto.com Predictions charge their parent exchanges' standard crypto deposit and withdrawal fees, which vary by network.

Wire transfer fees apply on some platforms for very large deposits or withdrawals. Kalshi charges a small wire fee for users who want to move large amounts faster than ACH allows. Sports prediction platforms typically charge wire fees in the $25-50 range for amounts above their ACH limits.

Currency conversion fees apply to international users on US-licensed platforms. Most regulated US prediction markets accept only US dollars, so international users typically pay their bank's currency conversion rates plus any cross-border transfer fees. Crypto platforms avoid this issue but introduce their own crypto transfer cost considerations.

The answer depends on whether you have access to international platforms and what kind of trading you do.

For international users, Polymarket has the lowest total cost on liquid markets. No maker fees, ~1-2% taker fees, no embedded spread, and minimal Polygon gas. The structural cost advantage compounds meaningfully for active traders. Polymarket is geo-blocked for US users.

Among regulated US platforms, the answer depends on your trading style. Robinhood Predict typically has lower total cost than Kalshi on liquid markets thanks to its small per-contract commission structure, especially for traders with higher win rates. Kalshi's flat 7% on winnings is straightforward but adds up for active winning traders. Novig's zero-vig peer-to-peer model is the structurally lowest cost on US sports markets.

For sports prediction specifically, the embedded pick'em payout structure makes direct cost comparison harder than between event contract platforms. PrizePicks Predict, FanDuel Predicts, and DraftKings Predictions all use similar payout structures. Promotional offers and ecosystem rewards programmes can effectively reduce net cost for users active in the parent platform's broader ecosystem.

For platform rankings see our home page. For our deepest review of the lowest-cost regulated US platform see our [Kalshi review](/reviews/kalshi/) and [Polymarket review](/reviews/polymarket/) for the international leader.