Prediction Market Fees Explained

Unlike traditional sportsbooks, which earn their margin through the vig baked into every line, CFTC-regulated prediction markets charge transparent per-trade fees. Understanding the full cost of trading is the difference between a strategy that looks profitable on paper and one that actually compounds.

Trading Fees by Platform

Kalshi uses a tiered, dynamic fee model. Most retail trades cost between 0% and 2% of the trade value, with the exact fee depending on the contract's price and time to expiry. Contracts trading near 50¢ carry the highest fees; deep favorites and long shots are cheaper. Kalshi posts its fee schedule publicly.

Robinhood routes prediction-market trades through Kalshi's exchange but charges $0.00 commission to the user: Robinhood absorbs the venue fee in exchange for order flow economics. The trade-off is that Robinhood may show slightly wider effective spreads on certain contracts.

DraftKings Predictions and FanDuel Predicts are settled on CME Group↗ (opens in a new tab) infrastructure. Per-contract fees are typically $0.03–$0.10 depending on contract size, applied to both entry and exit.

OG.com (Crypto.com's sports prediction brand) charges a flat 2% trading fee on entry and 0% on exit settlement.

Novig has been a CFTC-regulated exchange since August 2026; check its current fee schedule before you trade. Rebet is not a prediction market: it is a social sportsbook run as a sweepstakes (Rebet Coins for fun play, free Rebet Cash for prize sweepstakes), so its cost is built into the prize redemption terms. Always read the redemption terms before assuming a sweepstakes platform is "free."

Deposit and Withdrawal Costs

On the major regulated platforms (Kalshi, Robinhood, DraftKings Predictions, FanDuel Predicts, OG.com, Fanatics Markets) deposits via ACH and debit card are free for retail-size amounts. Wire deposits typically incur the user's own bank fee.

Withdrawals are usually free via ACH (1–3 business day settlement). Same-day debit-card withdrawals on Kalshi cost $2 per transaction. Wire withdrawals carry a $25 fee on most platforms.

The Hidden Cost: The Spread

The biggest cost most new traders ignore is the bid-ask spread. If a contract has a bid of 47¢ and an ask of 50¢, the 3¢ spread is essentially a hidden fee: you pay 50¢ to enter and could only sell back instantly at 47¢.

On highly liquid Kalshi NFL or Politics markets, spreads are routinely 1¢ or tighter, making spread cost negligible. On thinly traded long-tail markets (state-level political contracts, niche weather events) spreads can blow out to 5¢ or more, which is a much larger drag than any platform fee.

Rule of thumb: treat half the bid-ask spread as your effective entry cost on top of the explicit fee. A 50¢ contract with a 2¢ spread really cost you 51¢.

Settlement and Inactivity

Settlement is free on all major platforms: when a contract resolves to YES or NO, you receive (or lose) the full $1 with no additional fee deducted.

Watch for inactivity fees on smaller venues. Most Tier-1 platforms (Kalshi, Robinhood, DraftKings, FanDuel, OG.com) do not charge inactivity fees. A handful of smaller sweepstakes-style platforms apply monthly account-maintenance fees after 6+ months of zero activity. Read the terms before opening an account you will not use frequently.

Putting It Together

For a typical $100 NFL trade on Kalshi at 50¢ with a 1¢ spread: - Platform fee: ~$1.50 (1.5% mid-curve) - Spread cost on entry: ~$0.50 - Spread cost on early exit: ~$0.50 - Total round-trip cost: roughly $2.50, or 2.5% of the trade.

Compare that to a traditional sportsbook NFL bet, where the vig typically extracts 4.5–5% of expected value on every line. On heavily traded contracts, prediction markets are meaningfully cheaper, which is why professional sports traders increasingly route volume through Kalshi and Robinhood.

Best Platforms Compared

§ References & Sources

1. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (opens in a new tab)— U.S. federal regulator
2. CFTC Designated Contract Markets list (opens in a new tab)— CFTC
3. 26 U.S. Code § 1256 — Section 1256 contracts marked to market (opens in a new tab)— Cornell Law / U.S. Code
4. IRS Form 6781 — Gains and Losses From Section 1256 Contracts (opens in a new tab)— Internal Revenue Service
5. National Council on Problem Gambling — 1-800-GAMBLER (opens in a new tab)— NCPG

Frequently asked questions

How much does Kalshi charge per trade?

Kalshi uses a dynamic fee model. Most retail trades cost between 0% and 2% of the trade value, with the highest fees on contracts trading near 50¢ and the lowest on deep favorites and long shots.

Are deposits and withdrawals free?

ACH deposits and withdrawals are free on every major regulated US prediction market. Wires typically cost $25, and same-day debit withdrawals on Kalshi are $2.

What is the bid-ask spread and why does it matter?

The bid-ask spread is the gap between the highest buy price and the lowest sell price on a contract. It is effectively a hidden fee — half the spread is your real cost to enter or exit a position.

Do prediction markets charge a vig?

Not in the traditional sense. Prediction markets charge transparent per-trade fees instead of baking margin into the price, and on liquid contracts the all-in cost is typically 1.5–2.5%.