By PredictQ Team // Updated: July 2026
Kalshi’s worst-case trading fee is $1.75 per 100 contracts. A sportsbook’s standard -110/-110 line takes roughly 4.5% before you’ve made a single decision. That gap is the whole reason serious bettors are migrating to exchanges, and once you understand how Kalshi’s fee curve works, you can push your own costs well below even that worst case.
This is every fee Kalshi charges under the schedule that took effect February 5, 2026, how each one is calculated, and how to pay less.
The Trading Fee Formula
Kalshi charges fees when contracts trade, with two tiers based on order type:
Taker fees (orders that match immediately against the book): 0.07 x contracts x price x (1 - price), rounded up to the nearest cent.
Maker fees (limit orders that rest on the book before matching): 0.0175 x contracts x price x (1 - price). Exactly a quarter of the taker rate.
Price is the per-contract price between $0.01 and $0.99. Contracts is how many you’re trading.
What the Formula Means in Practice
The formula is opaque until you run numbers, so let’s run them per 100 contracts.
At $0.50, the coin-flip case: 0.07 x 100 x 0.50 x 0.50 = $1.75 taker. Maker: $0.44. This is the peak. Fees never get worse than this.
At $0.90, a heavy favorite: 0.07 x 100 x 0.90 x 0.10 = $0.63 taker. Maker: $0.16.
At $0.05, a longshot: 0.07 x 100 x 0.05 x 0.95 = $0.34 taker. Maker: $0.09.
The driver is the price x (1 - price) term, which maxes out at 0.25 when the price is $0.50 and collapses toward zero at the extremes. Fees are highest on coin flips and nearly free on heavy favorites and longshots.
One sizing note that trips people up: fees scale with contract count, and a fixed dollar amount buys different counts at different prices. A $100 position at $0.50 is 200 contracts, so the taker fee is $3.50. Think in contracts, since that’s how the fee schedule works.
Even the worst case is cheap in context. $1.75 per 100 contracts is 1.75% of the $100 maximum payout, versus the 4.5% vig baked into standard sportsbook pricing. And that’s before you use any of the levers below.
The Index Market Discount
Kalshi’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 markets trade at half rate: 0.035 x contracts x price x (1 - price), for a maximum of $0.88 per 100 contracts at $0.50. If you trade index levels, these are some of the cheapest event contracts anywhere.
Maker vs. Taker: The Lever Most People Ignore
Maker fees are one quarter of taker fees. For anyone trading regularly, that ratio is the difference between a profitable year and a break-even one.
Every Quick (market) order takes liquidity from the book and pays the full taker rate. Every limit order that rests on the book before filling provides liquidity and pays the maker rate. Same trade, same market, 75% less friction.
The tradeoff is fill risk. A limit order may never fill if the market moves away from your price. You’re trading certainty for cost. When you need to enter or exit fast during a live event, take the taker fee. When you have any time horizon at all, post a limit order at the price you actually believe the contract is worth. If it fills, you got a better entry and a cheaper fee. If it doesn’t, the market disagreed with you, and skipping that trade may have been the right outcome anyway.
No Settlement Fees
When your contract resolves, you get the full $1.00 per winning contract. No clip on the way out, no membership fee, no fee for holding cash between trades.
This is worth appreciating if you remember the old PredictIt model: 10% of gross profits plus a 5% withdrawal fee. Kalshi’s structure is simpler and dramatically cheaper for anyone who wins.
Deposit Fees
ACH bank transfer (via Plaid or Aeropay): free
Wire transfer: free ($1,000 minimum)
Debit card (Visa/Mastercard): up to 2% processing fee
Apple Pay / Google Pay: 2% if backed by a debit card
PayPal / Venmo: generally free, network fees possible
Cash App: generally free
Crypto: third-party processor fees may apply, disclosed at transaction time
Simple rule: ACH unless you need money available this instant, wire for anything over $1,000, debit card only when speed is worth 2%.
Withdrawal Fees
Bank transfer (ACH): free, a few business days
Debit card: free, usually within 30 minutes
Crypto: free from Kalshi, network fees possible, usually within 30 minutes
Some third-party sources still cite a $2 flat fee on debit card withdrawals. Kalshi’s current help center lists no fee for debit withdrawals through its US payment processor. International users or specific processors may differ.
Security Holds
These aren’t fees, but they affect when you can get your money. Kalshi holds deposited funds before they can be withdrawn to a different method than the one you deposited with:
ACH in, ACH out: no hold once the deposit settles
Debit card in, same card out: available once the deposit settles
Debit card in, bank out: 2 days after settlement
Wire in: no hold
Cash App in: deposit-only, so withdrawals go to another method and a short hold applies
Holds apply to principal only. Profits above your deposited amount withdraw immediately regardless of method.
How to Minimize Your Total Cost
Stack the levers:
Fund via ACH. The 2% debit fee is the single largest avoidable cost on the platform.
Post limit orders. A 75% fee cut on every trade where you can afford to wait.
Prefer prices away from $0.50 when the value is equivalent. The fee curve rewards favorites and longshots.
Withdraw to the same method you deposited from. Costs nothing, saves days.
Avoid dust-sized trades. Fees round up to the nearest cent per trade, which disproportionately taxes tiny orders. Trades of $10-20 and up are efficient.
Compared to Other Platforms
Polymarket now prices by category: sports takers pay a 0.03 rate (max $0.75 per 100 shares at 50 cents), politics runs 0.04, crypto 0.07, and its geopolitics category is fee-free, with makers paying nothing and earning rebates. Cheaper than Kalshi in some categories, comparable in others.
Sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel bake 4-5% effective vig into their lines with no published fee schedule at all. You pay it whether you notice or you don’t.
Kalshi’s position: fully transparent, disclosed at order entry, and cheap for anyone using limit orders and trading away from the midpoint. The traders who pay Kalshi the most are the ones who market-order coin flips all day, which is a choice, and now you know better.
Bottom Line
The fee structure is one of Kalshi’s real strengths. A published formula, a hard peak of $1.75 per 100 contracts, a 75% discount for providing liquidity, half-rate index markets, and zero fees on settlement and ACH. Understanding this math is the highest-value hour a new Kalshi trader can spend, because every basis point you don’t pay in fees is edge you keep.
Sign up HERE and make the maker fee your default.
Disclosures: PredictQ may receive compensation when readers sign up for platforms through links on this page. Fee information accurate as of July 2026 and subject to change at Kalshi’s discretion. Event contract trading involves substantial risk and is not appropriate for all participants. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Must be 18 or older. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.