Polymarket is a global, on-chain prediction market. Contracts are denominated in USDC and settle on the Polygon blockchain, paying $1 if the outcome occurs and $0 if it does not. The global platform is not available to US persons; US traders use Polymarket US.
Roughly $36.2 billion traded on Polymarket in the year to February 2026. Sports is the largest single category at about 38%, alongside deep books in politics, geopolitics, crypto, and culture.
After years of fee-free trading, Polymarket introduced taker fees in stages during 2026. The current schedule, Fee Structure V2, took effect March 30, 2026 and prices by category. Makers pay nothing and earn rebates funded by 20% of collected taker fees.
How Polymarket fees work
Only takers pay. The rate depends on the market's category, and fees peak at a 50¢ price:
| Category | Taker rate | Max per 100 contracts at 50¢ |
|---|---|---|
| Geopolitics, world events | 0% | Free |
| Sports | 3% | $0.75 |
| Finance, politics, tech, mentions | 4% | $1.00 |
| Economics, culture, weather, other | 5% | $1.25 |
| Crypto | 7% | $1.75 |
What Polymarket offers
- On-chain settlement. USDC collateral on Polygon with near-instant finality.
- Maker economics. Zero maker fees plus rebates, which rewards passive execution.
- Global liquidity. Deep politics, geopolitics, and crypto books with a fast-turning market board.
- CLOB API. REST and WebSocket access to a central limit order book.
- Access. Available to non-US persons; US traders are directed to Polymarket US.
Fees are only part of the cost
In our live 50,000-contract case study, Polymarket showed the tightest slippage at size, just 0.05¢ on the full order, but a higher top-of-book ask than Kalshi. Taking the full order there cost $40,133 all-in versus $39,653 on Kalshi. Which venue is cheapest depends on the price, the depth, and the fee schedule together, not any one of them alone.