> Markdown version of [/blog/polymarket-fees-costs-guide](https://launchpoly.com/blog/polymarket-fees-costs-guide) β€” served by LaunchPoly, the directory of Polymarket, Kalshi and other prediction market tools. # Polymarket Fees 2026: What You Actually Pay Per Trade [ #fees ](/blog?tag=fees)[ #costs ](/blog?tag=costs)[ #beginner ](/blog?tag=beginner)[ #tutorial ](/blog?tag=tutorial) ## πŸ’‘ Key Takeaways - 1Polymarket is no longer fee-free: taker orders cost $1.00–$1.75 per 100 shares at 50Β’ depending on category, less toward 1Β’ and 99Β’ - 2Resting limit orders (makers) pay nothing and can earn a rebate - 3World Events / Geopolitical markets remain completely fee-free, and pUSD deposits/withdrawals are free - 4The bid-ask spread is still usually your biggest real cost β€” trade liquid markets and use limit orders ## Polymarket Fees Explained: What You Actually Pay Per Trade (2026) For most of its history, Polymarket's pitch was simple: zero trading fees. That is no longer true. Through 2026 Polymarket rolled out **category-based taker fees** across most of the platform β€” so if you are working off an old guide that says "Polymarket is free," you are going to be surprised at checkout. This guide breaks down every real cost on Polymarket in 2026: the new trading fees, the markets that are still free, and the costs (spread, gas, deposits) that most guides ignore. ## The short answer: Polymarket's 2026 cost structure Cost type Amount Who gets it Taker fee $1.00–$1.75 per 100 shares at 50Β’, by category Polymarket (funds maker rebates) Maker fee (resting limit orders) Effectively 0% β€” World Events / Geopolitical markets 0% (fee-free) β€” pUSD deposit / withdrawal 0% (from Polymarket) β€” Polygon gas ~$0.001–0.01 per trade Polygon validators Bid-ask spread 1–10% by market Liquidity providers Fiat on-ramp (card, etc.) 0–4.5% Exchange/bridge The headline change: **taking liquidity now costs a fee in most categories.** Resting limit orders and world-events markets do not. ## Trading fees: no longer zero This is the big 2026 update. Polymarket now charges a **taker fee** β€” the fee you pay when your order executes immediately against the existing book (a market buy). It started on short-term crypto markets early in 2026, reached its first sports markets in February, and on **March 30, 2026** spread across **Sports, Finance, Politics, Economics, Culture, Weather, Tech and Mentions**. On **July 10, 2026** the sports rate rose from 0.03 to 0.05 ([Polymarket changelog](https://docs.polymarket.com/changelog/changelog)). **A few things make this less painful than it sounds:** - **Only takers pay.** If you place a resting **limit order** and wait for it to fill, you are a _maker_ and generally pay **0%**. - **The fee scales with price.** It peaks around the 50/50 point and shrinks as a share approaches 1Β’ or 99Β’. Cheap long-shot and near-certain shares are barely touched. - **World Events and Geopolitical markets stay completely fee-free.** ### Taker fee by category (at the 50Β’ peak) Category Fee rate Fee per 100 shares at 50Β’ Sports 0.05 $1.25 Politics / Finance / Tech / Mentions 0.04 $1.00 Economics / Culture / Weather / Other 0.05 $1.25 Crypto 0.07 $1.75 Geopolitics / World events 0 $0 World Events / Geopolitical 0% (free) The exact fee is **shares Γ— rate Γ— price Γ— (1 βˆ’ price)** ([Polymarket docs](https://docs.polymarket.com/trading/fees)), so it peaks at 50Β’ and shrinks toward 1Β’ and 99Β’. A 100-share sports trade at 50Β’ costs **$1.25**; the same trade at 90Β’ costs $0.45. ### The maker rebate The taker fees you pay do not just vanish into Polymarket's pocket. A large share of collected fees β€” **25% in most categories, 20% on crypto and 15% on sports** (sports was cut from 25% on July 10, 2026) β€” is paid back daily to **makers**: the traders providing liquidity with resting limit orders. So if you trade patiently with limit orders, you can pay near-zero fees and even earn a rebate. ## How Polymarket still compares to the competition Even with fees, Polymarket remains cheap relative to the alternatives β€” and you can sidestep most of the cost by trading as a maker: Platform Cost to trade On a $1,000 buy Polymarket (taker, sports) 0.05 rate $25 at 50Β’ Polymarket (maker / limit order) ~0% ~$0 Polymarket (world events) 0% $0 Kalshi 0.07 rate $35 at 50Β’ PredictIt 10% on profits up to $100 Sportsbooks 5–10% baked into odds $50–$100 implicit The takeaway: Polymarket is no longer free, but for a patient trader using limit orders β€” or anyone trading world-events markets β€” it can still be close to it. ## The spread: often your biggest real cost The bid-ask spread is still the cost most traders underestimate, and on thin markets it dwarfs the new taker fee. When a market shows 62%, that is the midpoint. The actual buy price might be 64Β’ and the sell 60Β’. That 4Β’ gap is what you pay to get in and out. **What drives spread size:** - **Liquidity:** high-volume markets (major elections, Fed decisions) run 1–2% spreads; niche markets can be 5–15%. - **Time to resolution:** markets resolving soon tend to tighten as the price converges. - **Uncertainty:** when opinion is genuinely split, liquidity concentrates near the midpoint. **How to minimize spread costs:** - Trade the highest-volume markets in each category. - Use **limit orders** instead of market orders β€” this also makes you a maker and dodges the taker fee. - Skip markets where the spread is bigger than your estimated edge. ## Deposit costs Polymarket charges nothing to deposit, and there are **no fees to deposit or withdraw pUSD** (its 2026 collateral token). But the funding method you choose can cost you. Method Cost Notes USDC via Polygon (from an exchange) Free–$0.10 Cheapest route Cross-chain bridge $2–5 or ~0.3% Network-dependent Card / fiat on-ramp (MoonPay, Transak) 3.5–4.5% + flat fee Convenient but pricey **The cheap way to fund:** buy USDC on an exchange that supports Polygon, withdraw it directly on the Polygon network, and pay essentially nothing. Avoid card on-ramps for large deposits β€” the 3.5–4.5% dwarfs every other cost on this page. ## Polygon gas fees Every Polymarket transaction settles on Polygon, which needs a tiny gas fee paid in POL. - Typical trade: **$0.001–$0.01** - During congestion: $0.05–$0.20 - For comparison, the same action on Ethereum would cost $5–$50. Polymarket often seeds new wallets with a little POL so your first trades just work. For nearly everyone, gas is a rounding error. ## Withdrawal costs Polymarket charges zero to withdraw, and pUSD withdrawals are fee-free. The only costs are Polygon gas (cents), plus any fee from an exchange if you later convert back to fiat. For the full process, see our [how to withdraw from Polymarket guide](/blog/how-to-withdraw-from-polymarket). ## Polymarket US: the regulated exchange Polymarket's US platform β€” built on the CFTC-licensed **QCEX** it acquired β€” runs its own fee schedule, updated in 2026 with a per-contract taker fee, a maker rebate, and a per-100-contract cap. It is structured differently from the global platform but lands in the same low-cost ballpark and remains far cheaper than a sportsbook's built-in margin. Check the current US fee schedule before trading if you are on the regulated version. ## Hidden costs that actually matter **Opportunity cost of locked capital.** A long-duration market ties up money that can't work elsewhere. $5,000 locked in a six-month market is real money not earning yield β€” size long-dated positions with that in mind. **Fee-on-entry math.** Because the taker fee now hits your buy, your true break-even is slightly worse than the raw odds suggest. On thin-edge trades, factor the fee in _before_ you click β€” or use a limit order and avoid it entirely. ## Bottom line Polymarket in 2026 is no longer the zero-fee platform it once was, but the cost is manageable and largely avoidable: - **Trade with market orders β†’ you pay a taker fee** ($1.00–$1.75 per 100 shares at 50Β’, by category). - **Use limit orders β†’ you become a maker, pay ~0%, and may earn a rebate.** - **Trade World Events markets β†’ still completely free.** - The **spread is still usually your biggest cost** β€” trade liquid markets and use limit orders. New to the platform? Start with our [how Polymarket works guide](/blog/how-does-polymarket-work) and the [beginner's walkthrough](/blog/getting-started-polymarket-guide). Found this useful? Tell Google you want more LaunchPoly in your results. [Make us a preferred source](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=launchpoly.com) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does Polymarket charge trading fees in 2026? Yes. Polymarket rolled out category-based taker fees through 2026. The fee is shares Γ— rate Γ— price Γ— (1 βˆ’ price), with rates from 0.04 (politics, finance, tech) to 0.07 (crypto); sports is 0.05 since July 10, 2026. Makers pay nothing, and geopolitics / world-events markets are fee-free. ### How can I avoid Polymarket trading fees? Use limit orders instead of market orders. A resting limit order makes you a maker, which pays no fee and can earn a share of the maker rebate. Geopolitics / world-events markets are fee-free for everyone. ### Does Polymarket charge deposit or withdrawal fees? No. Polymarket charges nothing to deposit or withdraw, and pUSD transfers are fee-free. You only pay tiny Polygon gas fees (a fraction of a cent), plus any fee from a fiat on-ramp or exchange if you convert to or from cash. ### Which Polymarket markets are still free to trade? Geopolitics and world-events markets charge no fees at all. In every other category, resting limit (maker) orders pay nothing; only orders that take liquidity are charged. [ Sponsored ### KalshiSpy See what Kalshi's top-earning traders hold right now View tool ](/tools/kalshispy)[Want your tool here? See Boost β†’](/pricing#boost) ## Polymarket tools worth checking out [All tools](/tools) [ ### Poly Wallet Track and manage your Polymarket wallet activity ](/tools/poly-wallet)[ ### Bullpen Trade token, perps and predictions ](/tools/bullpen)[ ### OddsShiftT X-Tweet Market Provides AI-powered tweet count predictions ](/tools/oddsshiftt-x-tweet-market)[ ### ArbEdge ArbEdge scans Polymarket and Kalshi 24/7 for arbitrage opportunities. ](/tools/arbedge)[ ### Prediction Hunt Aggregating prediction market odds and finding arbitrage opportunities ](/tools/prediction-hunt)[ ### Aura Track and analyze your Polymarket prediction accuracy over time ](/tools/aura) LT Written by #### LaunchPoly Team We help Polymarket traders discover the best tools and strategies. [@LukeFrostqx](https://x.com/LukeFrostqx) ### Enjoyed this article? 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Set up, authenticate, read a market, place and cancel a limit order, run a watch loop in dry-run mode, and deploy it as a service. 8 minOct 29, 2026 ](/blog/how-to-build-a-polymarket-bot-python)[ Guides ### Polymarket and Kalshi Historical Data: Free Sources, APIs and Downloads A neutral guide to pulling past prices, trades and resolved outcomes from Kalshi and Polymarket using their own free APIs, with working example requests, the limits that catch people out, and where third-party data tools fit. 7 minOct 29, 2026 ](/blog/kalshi-polymarket-historical-data)[ Guides ### Prediction Market Regulation Across Key Jurisdictions Understand prediction market regulation across the US and beyond, including regulator roles, event-contract rules, legal uncertainty, and platform implications. 17 minOct 24, 2026 ](/blog/prediction-market-regulation)