A 60¢ contract can cost more than 60¢ to buy, and selling it can trigger another charge. For a sports bettor comparing a prediction market with a sportsbook, those fees belong in the price from the start. The useful comparison is how much leaves your balance, what comes back if the selection wins, and what you would keep if you sell before the result.
This guide covers the US services in our prediction-market comparison, with current fee examples and the costs that appear between depositing and withdrawing. For the mechanics of contracts and trading, start with how prediction markets work. The worked examples here use contracts with a $1 winning payout and a $0 ordinary losing payout.
Your Cost to Enter
Add the purchase cost and every entry charge, including any broker commission and exchange fee. Divide that total by the number of contracts to get the effective price per contract. Buying 100 at 60¢ with a $2 fee costs $62: an effective entry price of 62¢.
Your Profit After Costs
Subtract your total entry cost from the cash you receive at settlement or on a sale, allowing for any applicable exit or settlement charge. Keep deposit, withdrawal and subscription costs alongside that calculation so you can also measure what the account costs over time.
What US Prediction Market Platforms Charge
These schedules were checked on October 26, 2026. Each purchase example assumes 100 contracts filled together at 60¢, before funding charges or rebates. The particular market, source exchange and way your order fills determine the applicable fee.
In the formulas below, C means the number of contracts and p means the execution price in dollars, so 60¢ is 0.60. A taker accepts an available offer; a maker leaves an order that another trader later matches. When you trade through a broker, use that app’s customer fee schedule.
Kalshi
Under Kalshi’s standard direct-exchange taker schedule, with a multiplier of 1, the calculation is 0.07 × C × p × (1 − p). Buying 100 contracts at 60¢ produces a $1.68 fee and $61.68 total cost. Series-specific multipliers and combo schedules can change the charge. Maker fees also depend on the series.
Polymarket US
The US schedule effective October 19, 2026 uses 0.0695 × C × p × (1 − p) for standard taker trades. For 100 contracts at 60¢, that rounds to a $1.67 fee and $61.67 total cost. Table Tennis uses a higher coefficient, and combos have a separate curve. These are Polymarket US charges; the international service has its own schedule.
Robinhood
Robinhood’s commission varies with price and Gold membership, capped at 1¢ per contract. An exchange fee can add up to another 1¢. For 100 contracts at 60¢ with a 1¢ exchange fee, the commission is $1 and the exchange charge is $1: $2 in fees and $62 total. Opening and closing trades can each incur both charges.
DraftKings Predictions
The published fee is 2¢ per contract at prices from 30¢ to 94¢ on CDNA and DKeX markets, or 20¢ to 94¢ on CME markets. Those totals include applicable broker commissions and exchange fees. At 60¢, 100 contracts therefore carry a $2 fee and $62 total purchase cost. Other price bands have different charges; the market rules identify the source exchange.
Fanatics Markets
Fanatics’ September 2, 2026 disclosure lists maximum fees by execution price. At prices from 20¢ to 80¢, the published maximum is 2¢ per contract. A purchase of 100 contracts at 60¢ therefore carries up to $2 in trading fees, for up to $62 total. Fees apply to matched purchases and sales and are recalculated at the execution price.
Crypto.com Prediction
For sports and prediction singles, the current trading-fee table uses 0.07 × C × p × (1 − p) for takers and 0.0175 × C × p × (1 − p) for makers. At 100 contracts priced at 60¢, those calculate to $1.68 and $0.42 respectively. A taker purchase totals $61.68. Crypto, FX, commodity and index contracts use a separate flat 2¢ charge.
How Your Order Changes the Fee
The same selection can produce a different charge depending on whether you accept an available price or wait for someone to take yours. Your order’s execution determines its maker or taker treatment.
Taking an Available Offer
If contracts are offered at 60¢ and your order buys them immediately, you take liquidity. The same principle applies when selling into an existing bid. Use the taker charge for that execution where the provider distinguishes between maker and taker pricing.
Leaving an Order to Fill Later
A buy order resting at 59¢ may fill when someone agrees to sell at that price. Check its maker charge and the chance of getting the quantity you want. Kalshi charges maker fees on certain markets; those fees apply when the order executes, while canceling the unfilled resting order carries no trading fee.
What a Limit Order Controls
A buy limit sets the highest price you will accept. If you set it at 60¢ while contracts are already offered at 60¢, that part of the order can fill immediately as a taker. A remaining quantity may rest and later fill as a maker. Price control and fee treatment are separate parts of the order.
Rounding on Small Orders
Fanatics rounds the combined order fee up to a whole cent. A single-contract order can therefore pay 1¢ even when its listed fractional-cent rate is lower. Check the fee for your full quantity: separate small orders can produce a different total from one larger order at the same price.
Buying, Holding and Selling After Fees
Here is a hypothetical trade with a simple fee: 100 contracts bought at 60¢, a $2 charge on the purchase, another $2 if you sell, and no additional settlement charge. The entry cost is $62. What you receive next depends on whether you hold or sell.
Hold Until the Result
A winning $1 settlement pays $100. Subtract the $60 purchase and $2 entry fee, and your profit is $38. An ordinary losing settlement pays $0, leaving a $62 loss.
In this example, the full entry cost is 62¢ per contract. With only $1 or $0 outcomes, that makes the mathematical break-even win probability 62%, before funding costs.
Sell at 70¢
Selling all 100 contracts at 70¢ produces $70, less the $2 exit fee. You receive $68 against the original $62 cost: $6 profit. The $10 price gain has paid $4 in entry and exit fees.
With these assumed charges, a sale at 64¢ breaks even: $64 less the $2 selling fee returns your $62 entry cost. A higher chart price only helps if your contracts can actually sell at the required price and quantity.
The Price You Can Actually Trade
A small fee advantage can disappear in the buying price or the quantity available. The following hypothetical examples show why the complete order is the useful unit of comparison.
The Bid–Ask Spread
Suppose you can buy at 60¢ but buyers will currently pay only 58¢. Buying and immediately selling 100 contracts would lose $2 before trading fees. That gap is part of the prices you trade; once you calculate profit from actual purchase and sale proceeds, it is already included.
Depth at Your Order Size
If 20 contracts are offered at 60¢ and the next 80 at 62¢, buying all 100 costs $61.60 before fees. Your average price is 61.6¢. The order book’s quantities and prices show how far a larger order may reach beyond the first offer.
The Combined Entry Cost
Provider A offers 100 contracts at 60¢ with $2 in fees: $62 total. Provider B offers them at 61¢ with $1.50 in fees: $62.50 total. A saves you 50¢ on the purchase. Across 100 contracts, each extra cent in the execution price adds $1 before fees.
Fees Against Potential Profit
On 100 contracts bought at 90¢, a $1 winning settlement leaves $10 before fees. An illustrative $2 entry fee reduces that profit to $8—a 20% reduction. A charge that looks small beside the purchase cost can consume a sizeable share of the amount you stand to win.
Deposit and Withdrawal Costs
Funding charges affect the money you put to work; withdrawal charges affect what reaches your bank. Track each charge once. If one deposit funds several trades, adding its entire fee to every trade would overstate your costs.
Cryptocurrency funding can add a conversion step. Crypto.com displays the token amount and conversion rate when funding a derivatives order with crypto. Compare that USD conversion value with the cash required for the trade, alongside the trading fee.
Depositing Your Bankroll
Kalshi and Fanatics Markets publish fee-free ACH deposits. Their debit-card deposits can carry a charge of up to 2%; Fanatics also lists up to 2% for Apple Pay, PayPal and Venmo deposits. A 2% charge on a $500 deposit is $10, which can outweigh small savings on individual trades.
Compare the charge shown for the method you will use and when the deposit becomes available. The providers’ linked fee schedules identify their own charges; a bank or payment provider may have separate terms.
Withdrawing the Proceeds
Robinhood’s standard bank withdrawals are free, while instant bank or external debit-card withdrawals can cost up to 1.75%, with a $1 minimum and $150 maximum.
Polymarket US describes cash withdrawals as free, but deposits and related trading proceeds must clear before withdrawal. Compare the fee and the release time separately when deciding how to move your money.
Compare the Same Outlay with a Sportsbook
Use the same total amount at risk and compare the winning return. These hypothetical offers cover the same outcome under matching settlement rules, with no extra funding or settlement charges.
When the Sportsbook Returns More
The 100-contract purchase at 60¢ plus a $2 fee costs $62 and returns $100 if it wins: $38 profit.
A $62 sportsbook stake at −150 wins approximately $41.33 and returns $103.33. For the same $62 outlay, the sportsbook’s winning return is approximately $3.33 higher.
When the Contract Returns More
Suppose 100 contracts are available at 58¢ with an illustrative $1 total entry fee. Your cost is $59, and a winning settlement returns $100: $41 profit.
A $59 sportsbook stake at −150 wins approximately $39.33 and returns $98.33. In this example, the contract’s winning return is approximately $1.67 higher. The executable price and fee together decide the result.
Discounts, Combos and Settlement
Membership benefits, volume rebates and special contract schedules can change the cost. Use the terms attached to your own account and the exact order you intend to place.
Subscription Savings
Robinhood Gold costs $5 monthly and changes the commission formula. At 60¢, its published commission for 100 contracts is still $1 with or without Gold. At 90¢, the commission is 45¢ with Gold and 90¢ without, before exchange fees. Compare savings at the prices you trade with the subscription cost.
Volume Rebates
Polymarket US has separate maker and taker rebate tiers. Its baseline tiers receive no rebate; higher qualifying volumes can earn discounts. Use your account’s actual tier when estimating the money you will retain after fees.
Combo Pricing
Polymarket US applies a separate curve to the whole combo execution. At 100 contracts priced at 60¢, its published combo taker fee is $1.76, versus $1.67 for a standard single market. Read the fee for the complete combination you are buying.
Settlement Versus Selling
Kalshi lists no settlement fee. Crypto.com’s current trading-fee table waives winning-settlement fees and lists no losing-settlement fee. Selling early remains a separate trade with its applicable charge. Include the charge for the way you actually close the position.
Where to Go Next
Put the fee beside an actual selection and stake, then compare what each available offer would return. These guides and tools cover the platform choice, contract mechanics and banking details behind that comparison.
Book vs Market
Compare the same pick across the sportsbook and prediction-market quotes available through the tool’s feed. Include the applicable fee estimate, then confirm the final price, fee and available quantity in the provider’s order preview.
Prediction Market Platforms
Compare the services available to US customers, including their market menus, account access and trading features. Use the fees here alongside the contracts and prices each platform actually offers.
How Prediction Markets Work
Follow a contract from purchase through selling or settlement. See how Yes and No prices, order execution and the event’s resolution rules determine the position you hold.
Sportsbook Banking
Compare the other side of moving a betting bankroll: sportsbook deposit methods, withdrawal charges, processing times and verification. Include those account costs when choosing where to keep your money.