# Polymarket fee calculator: taker fees on Polymarket and Kalshi, by price

Work out the taker fee on any Polymarket or Kalshi trade. The formula, each category's rate, a table by price, and what the fee does to your break-even.

Source: https://rizon.markets/learn/polymarket-fee-calculator (updated 2026-11-04)

> **Short answer:** Polymarket's taker fee is shares × rate × price × (1 − price). The rate is 0.07 on crypto, 0.05 on sports, economics, culture and weather, 0.04 on politics, finance, mentions and tech, and zero on geopolitics. So 100 shares of a crypto market at 50¢ cost $1.75 in fees. Kalshi uses the same formula with a rate of 0.07, rounded up to the next cent. Makers pay nothing on Polymarket, and nothing by default on Kalshi.

Rates are from [Polymarket's fee docs](https://docs.polymarket.com/trading/fees), read on Nov 4, 2026, and [Kalshi's fee schedule](https://kalshi.com/docs/kalshi-fee-schedule.pdf), effective July 7, 2026. Both can change, so check before you size a trade.

## The formulas

| Venue | Taker fee | Maker fee |
|---|---|---|
| Polymarket | shares × rate × p × (1 − p) | None: "Makers are never charged fees" |
| Kalshi | round up(0.07 × contracts × p × (1 − p)) | round up(M × 0.0175 × contracts × p × (1 − p)), where M is 0 unless the market says otherwise |

Here p is the price, from 0 to 1. Some Kalshi series have their own multipliers, listed in its schedule. [Polymarket US](https://docs.polymarket.us/fees) is a separate venue with its own schedule: a rate of 0.0695, or $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50¢.

## Polymarket's rates

| Category | Taker rate | Fee on 100 shares at 50¢ ($) | Maker rebate (%) |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Crypto | 0.07 | 1.75 | 20 |
| Sports | 0.05 | 1.25 | 15 |
| Economics, culture, weather, other | 0.05 | 1.25 | 25 |
| Combos | 0.05 | 1.25 | 0 |
| Politics, finance, mentions, tech | 0.04 | 1.00 | 25 |
| Geopolitics | 0 | 0 | |

The rebate is the share of the fees a market collects that goes back to its makers. Polymarket says the percentage is at its discretion and may change.

## The fee by price

| Price (¢) | Rate 0.07: fee per share (¢) | Rate 0.05: fee per share (¢) | Rate 0.04: fee per share (¢) | Rate 0.07: fee as a share of your cost (%) |
|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 5 | 0.33 | 0.24 | 0.19 | 6.65 |
| 10 | 0.63 | 0.45 | 0.36 | 6.30 |
| 25 | 1.31 | 0.94 | 0.75 | 5.25 |
| 50 | 1.75 | 1.25 | 1.00 | 3.50 |
| 75 | 1.31 | 0.94 | 0.75 | 1.75 |
| 90 | 0.63 | 0.45 | 0.36 | 0.70 |
| 95 | 0.33 | 0.24 | 0.19 | 0.35 |

In cents the fee peaks at 50¢. As a share of what you pay, it's heaviest on long shots.

## What it does to your break-even

To break even you have to win as often as the price plus the fee per share, so a fee moves your break-even up by exactly its size in cents.

| Buying at (¢) | Fee, rate 0.07 (¢) | Break-even win rate (%) |
|---:|---:|---:|
| 25 | 1.31 | 26.31 |
| 50 | 1.75 | 51.75 |
| 75 | 1.31 | 76.31 |

Add half the bid-ask spread on top. On a book 2¢ wide, that's another 1¢.

## Compared with other ways to trade

Per $1 you risk, at even money, before any spread:

| Where | Cost per $1 (¢) |
|---|---:|
| Sportsbook at -110 | 4.5 |
| Polymarket crypto or Kalshi at 50¢ | 3.5 |
| Polymarket sports at 50¢ | 2.5 |
| Sportsbook at -105 | 2.4 |
| Polymarket politics at 50¢ | 2.0 |
| Rizon, with practice money | 0 |

Every order book adds its spread on top of those, and that's the whole cost on Rizon, which charges no fee. [Polymarket vs Kalshi](https://rizon.markets/learn/polymarket-vs-kalshi) compares the rest. Whether a venue is cheaper for you depends on how wide its book is at the moment you trade, so [learn to read the spread](https://rizon.markets/learn/how-to-price-a-horizon-contract).

## FAQ

### How much does Polymarket take in fees?

Between nothing and 1.75¢ a share. It charges takers only: the rate times the price times one minus the price, which is highest at 50¢. Geopolitical markets are free.

### Does Polymarket charge a fee on winnings?

The formula above is charged when your order takes liquidity, on the shares it buys or sells. It isn't a percentage of what you win.

### Do makers pay fees on Polymarket?

No. Polymarket's docs say "Makers are never charged fees", and on fee-enabled markets makers share in a daily rebate from takers' fees. [How market makers make money](https://rizon.markets/learn/how-do-market-makers-make-money) has the sums.

### Is Kalshi cheaper than Polymarket?

At the same price, Kalshi matches Polymarket's crypto rate and costs more than its sports and politics rates. Kalshi also rounds up to the next cent on each order, which matters on small ones: one contract at 50¢ costs 2¢.

### Why does Polymarket charge a fee at all?

To fund the rebates it pays makers, among other reasons: part of each market's fees goes back to the people quoting it.