Comparing prediction markets and betting platforms.
Why serious traders choose Polymarket over the competition.
| Feature | Polymarket | PredictIt | Kalshi | Sportsbooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Position Size | Unlimited | $850 | $25K | Varies (limits winners) |
| Fees | 0% (maker) 2% (taker) | 5% withdraw 10% profit | 7% exchange | ~10% vig |
| Liquidity | $150M+ | $5M | $20M | High (but opaque) |
| Transparency | On-chain (full visibility) | Partial | Exchange order book | None (black box) |
| Market Variety | Politics, Sports, Crypto, Pop Culture | Politics only | Economics, limited politics | Sports only |
| US Availability | Yes (unlicensed) | Yes (CFTC licensed) | Yes (CFTC licensed) | State-dependent |
| Winner Restrictions | None | None | None | Banned/limited |
PredictIt: $850 max position per market (hard cap)
Polymarket: Unlimited. Bet $10K, $100K, $1M — no restrictions.
Why it matters: Serious traders can't scale on PredictIt. Polymarket has no ceiling.
PredictIt: 5% withdrawal fee + 10% on profits = 15% total drag
Polymarket: 0% maker fees, 2% taker fees. No withdrawal fees.
Example: Win $1,000 on PredictIt → pay $100 profit tax + $50 withdraw fee = $150 lost.
Same win on Polymarket → pay $0-$20 (depending on maker vs taker).
PredictIt: Politics only (US elections, Congress, etc.)
Polymarket: Politics, sports, crypto, pop culture, economics.
Why it matters: Diversification. Don't rely on election cycles alone.
PredictIt: ~$5M total volume
Polymarket: $150M+ total volume (30x larger)
Higher liquidity = tighter spreads, easier to enter/exit large positions.
Kalshi: CFTC-regulated (fully licensed in US)
Polymarket: Unregulated (globally accessible, but gray area in US)
Trade-off: Kalshi is "safer" legally, but Polymarket has more freedom (no KYC limits, faster innovation).
Kalshi: Economics, Fed policy, inflation, macro events
Polymarket: Politics, sports, crypto (broader cultural coverage)
Use case: Kalshi for macro traders, Polymarket for everything else.
Kalshi: 7% exchange fee (both sides)
Polymarket: 0% maker, 2% taker
Example: $1,000 trade on Kalshi = $70 fee. Same trade on Polymarket = $0-$20.
Kalshi: $25K max position
Polymarket: Unlimited
Kalshi is better than PredictIt ($850 limit), but still caps professional traders.
Sportsbooks: Black box. You never see who's betting what.
Polymarket: On-chain. See whale positions in real-time.
Why it matters: Track sharp money. Know when smart bettors are piling in.
Sportsbooks: Ban or limit profitable users. Win too much → account restricted.
Polymarket: Never restricts winners. Scale infinitely.
If you're good, sportsbooks don't want your action. Polymarket does.
Sportsbooks: ~10% vig (-110 odds on both sides)
Polymarket: Peer-to-peer. No house vig (just 2% taker fee).
Save 5-10% per bet by avoiding the house edge.
Sportsbooks: Sports only (NBA, NFL, MLB, etc.)
Polymarket: Sports + politics + crypto + pop culture
Example: Bet on NBA playoffs AND 2026 election AND Bitcoin price — all on one platform.
Polymarket gives you transparency. Polyburg tells you what to do with it.
Polymarket shows 200+ markets. You don't have time to analyze every whale position manually.
Polyburg monitors 200+ profitable traders 24/7. When they make high-conviction bets, you get instant alerts.
Free alerts. 8,105 traders already using it.
A: Polymarket operates globally without CFTC licensing. It's accessible in the US but exists in a regulatory gray area. PredictIt and Kalshi are CFTC-licensed alternatives.
A: Yes. Many traders arbitrage between Polymarket, PredictIt, and Kalshi when prices diverge.
A: Kalshi (CFTC-regulated). Polymarket is decentralized (funds on-chain = you control), but unregulated.
A: Sign up here (free), deposit USDC on any chain, start trading. No KYC required.