Polymarket vs Kalshi
A detailed head-to-head comparison of Polymarket and Kalshi — pricing, features, and which one wins for different use cases.
Polymarket
The world's largest decentralized prediction market for elections, crypto, sports, and world events
Polymarket is the dominant decentralized prediction market platform, running on Polygon and processing hundreds of millions of dollars in trading volume during major events like US presidential electi…
Full review →Kalshi
The first CFTC-regulated event contracts exchange — legally trade on economic and political outcomes in the US
Kalshi is the only CFTC-regulated event contracts exchange in the United States, licensed after a multi-year legal process that concluded in 2023 and allowed it to offer prediction markets on election…
Full review →Feature Comparison
| Feature | Polymarket | Kalshi |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement Mechanism | UMA optimistic oracle | CFTC-regulated exchange |
| Trading Model | CLOB | Central limit order book |
| Collateral Token | USDC | USD |
| Min Trade | $1 | $1 |
| Api Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Embeddable Odds | ✓ | ✓ |
| Geo Restrictions | US persons blocked | US-focused (not all countries) |
| Market Creation | Permissioned | CFTC-approved only |
| Mobile App | ✗ | ✓ |
| Governance Token | ✗ | ✗ |
Polymarket Pricing
Polymarket
Free to trade
Free
- ✓USDC-denominated
- ✓Polygon network
- ✓Real-time CLOB
- ✓API access
- ✓Thousands of markets
Kalshi Pricing
Kalshi
Free to trade
Free
- ✓CFTC-regulated
- ✓USD-denominated
- ✓US persons eligible
- ✓1,000+ markets
- ✓API access
Verdict: Which Should You Choose?
Polymarket is the better pick if you need largest prediction market by volume — most accurate probabilities for major events. Kalshi wins when cftc-regulated — legally accessible to us persons unlike polymarket. Both are production-ready — the right choice depends on your team's workflow and budget.