Based in New York, Kalshi obtained a DCM (Designated Contract Market) license from the CFTC (Commodities Futures Trading Commission), and went live in 2021. As it is governed by the CFTC, which is a federal institution not a state one, Kalshi is available all over the US.
It provides a tremendous variety of contract markets on real world events, including economics, climate, tech & science, health, politics, culture, and, of course, sports. For US sports bettors, Kalshi brands itself as the go-to prediction market with an abundance of markets similar to the best US sportsbooks, plus, it has market maker and parlay-style contracts to diversify your predictions.
What Users Say About Kalshi
| Positive Feedback | Negative Feedback |
|---|---|
| Real time prices and quick settlement | Slow and not helpful support |
| Customer support replies in less than 5 minutes | Kalshi fees are way higher than competition |
| A game changer for making informed decisions on real time events | Fees are the same as sportsbooks – no edge |
| Helps me and my team hedge risk | Bank card charges |
What is Kalshi
Prediction markets are growing exponentially in the US, and came to the forefront of the industry during the 2024 US Presidential Elections and the 2025 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the Eagles. Kalshi was one of the go to contract trading platforms during these early mass betting hypes, with the Elections market topping half a billion dollars and the Super Bowl winner market exceeding $27 million.
The interest didn’t stop there, as Kalshi was quick to up its game, and by the start of the following NFL regular season, it rolled out a full sportsbook-style selection of contracts and even multi-leg event contracts – resembling parlays. As it continues to shatter records and bring new features out, Kalshi is at the forefront, driving the frenzy toward prediction markets in the US.
How Does Kalshi Work
One of the most expansive prediction markets in the US, Kalshi is the chiselled product for American bettors. Only you don’t stake sports bets at Kalshi. Instead, you buy and trade contracts on binary events. You can open the platform, head to a market such as “Kansas City Chiefs to Win the Super Bowl”, and then buy Yes contracts or No contracts. The price of the contracts is based on market demand, and the market volume will determine how many you can buy.
These are peer to peer products, meaning that you can win money off your peers with a correct prediction, but if your prediction loses, then your peers will bag your money. These are $1 contracts, meaning you can win $1 for every contract you buy. Kalshi uses a dynamic pricing model, meaning the price directly correlates to the market’s (the public’s) perceived probability of the event winning. This price can fluctuate based on demand, and the contract prices will accurately reflect consensus opinion.
So much so, in fact, that prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket were actually more accurate than polls at the 2024 US presidential elections, and many see these platforms as conveying the Wisdom of the Crowds theory.
Main Features of Kalshi
What makes Kalshi stand out from the rest is its emphasis on sports specific prediction markets. This was one of the big pulls of Kalshi vs other prediction markets, as a lot of exchanges supply limited sports scope and few markets for sports fans to make their predictions on. Kalshi, on the other hand, has an entire lobby for sports betting, with expansive coverage including alternate lines, live contracts, and even parlay combo markets.
Sports Offering
Click on the sports category and you will find a broad selection of sports categories and events to pick from. Kalshi mirrors the feel of a real money sportsbook in that sense, with categories for football, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf, MMA and various other popular sports. There are market types, ranging from moneylines, spreads and totals for individual games, to futures, awards, conference, league and other longterm prediction market categories for the season as a whole.
It gets more interesting when you click on any single game. This opens up all the markets, and you can delve into alternate lines for spreads and totals, and also check the historical line movements to gain an idea of where the public sentiment lies and is moving. For select soccer, NFL, NBA, and other high profile games, Kalshi may even offer props markets such as BTTS for soccer or player points scored for NBA games.
Parlay Betting
Another distinguishing feature is Kalshi’s parlay-type event contracts. These are offered for single game props and multi game events, and you can combine multiple outcomes into one bet. Though we have to point out that the Kalshi parlay builder, or combo betting function is quite limited and doesn’t allow many SGP options. Also, the parlay building is limited based on the liquidity and market volume of the markets picked.
There are premade combo bets that are more straightforward to buy Yes or No contracts on, but having a feature to combine multiple contracts is quite revolutionary. And it definitely puts Kalshi beyond the competition. While it may not be as functional as proper parlay betting at a sportsbook, you can make multi game Yes/No contract combinations, and that is hugely valuable for any parlay bettors.
Social Functions
Kalshi Ideas is a forum where you can post and comment on predictions, share your own, discuss markets and analyze outcomes with your peers. It has the look and feel of a social feed, only catered to contract trading, and this helps you locate key trending predictions, find hot new predictions that may hit the shelves soon, and watch the Live Trades to see who is betting on what right now.
Simply click on Market Builder above the feed, make your market title, and then enter a description for it. Your idea will be reviewed by Kalshi, and should the operators think it can attract some liquidity, your custom requested order will go live. In sports betting terms, this is the equivalent of Request A Bet or Custom Markets, and Kalshi is very responsive to all new initiatives and ideas.
APY Interest
When buying and selling contracts, you will notice the Kalshi 3.5% APY interest displayed on contract slips. It states you can earn variable interest on open positions and idle cash, basically meaning you can accrue interest on your positions and get paid while you hold them. The interest is paid in the first week of each month, and can take up to 10 business days to process.
The interest is calculated daily, and on the net value of your portfolio. This means the available funds in your account and your last traded prices at the end of each day. US users can get paid interest calculated every day, which is paid out in monthly instalments. Though it is important to note, that you are only eligible for the Kalshi APY interest if you have a balance of $250 or more. Plus, the interest rate can fluctuate.
Kalshi Trading Fees
The one complaint that Kalshi users have about the service is the trading fees. That is not to say all Kalshi user complain about it, but when we were assessing the customer feedback and testing the platform for ourselves, we found that Kalshi does charge a considerable fee on trading. It is quite complex as well.
Basically, you are charged trading fees for buying orders and maker fees for orders that you make and are matched later. The fees are proportionate to the price of a contract, with the overall percentage fluctuating from around 3.5% to 10% and potentially higher. The 50% bets, such as a coin toss, a point spread, or a moneyline on a game between two evenly matched teams, is charged at around 3.5%. Contracts with higher chances of winning (and therefore lower prices), tend to have much higher fees, such as a $0.10 priced contract would be charged $0.01 per contract, essentially coming out to 10%. Though at the other end of the scale, prices of $0.75, $0.80, and $0.90 are charged at approximately 1.75%, 1.4%, and 0.70%, respectively.
Fees are going to be higher when the contract prices are lower, and at 50% you are paying around 3.5% fees for making trades. Placing maker orders – where there is no market liquidity but you are waiting for someone to lay your bet – has far lower fees, ranging from around 2% to 0.08% and potentially lower. They are charged at about 1/4 of the fees you would pay for trader contracts.
Then, there are the 2% debit card fees. Kalshi does not charge you for signing up, for settled markets, or for using wire transfer/crypto deposits and withdrawals. However, for bank card payments, there is a 2% fee on deposits and a $2 fixed fee on debit card withdrawals.
How to Trade Contracts at Kalshi
Trading contracts is really made easy at Kalshi, you can simply pick your market and then choose whether you want to buy in USD or by number of contracts. For existing orders with market liquidity, your orders are immediately filled and right before paying for the contracts, you have to accept the trader fees, and then submit your order.
For maker orders, where there is no market liquidity, you pay the significantly lower maker fees, and then your order will be submitted and you basically wait for someone else to buy the contrasting Yes/No market to fill your order.
There are a number of guides, blog posts, and even a Kalshi forum where you can ask for help. Contract trading here is not difficult, and even beginners can learn the ropes in a matter of minutes.
Kalshi Deposits and Withdrawals
Kalshi does not have that many options for payments, it only provides you with bank card payments, wire transfers, payment intermediaries like Google Pay, and crypto options. This wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the bank card deposit and withdrawal charges.
In terms of crypto, Kalshi works with a service provider, Zero Hash, and supports: BTC, USDC, SOL, XRP, and a handful of others. The platform added crypto options back in 2024, mainly to compete with its biggest rival, Polymarket.
| Deposit Methods | Processing Time | Fee |
| Debit cards | Instant | 2% |
| Bank transfer | Instant | None |
| Crypto | 30 Minutes | None |
| Google Pay | Instant | None |
| Withdrawal Methods | Processing Time | Fee |
| Debit cards | 3 days | $2 fixed fee |
| Bank transfer | 7 days | Free |
| Crypto | 1-3 days | Network fees |
Is Kalshi Legit
Yes, Kalshi is a fully registered prediction market, holding a Designated Market Contract issued by the CFTC. This means it is a fully regulated exchange, with fair products and trading practises. Kalshi has announced plans to expand beyond the US, eyeing over 140 countries abroad, but as of right now, it is still only offered to US residents.
When signing up to the platform, you will need to verify your ID, by providing the last 4 digits of your SSN number. This ensures that you are eligible to use the financial instruments and contract markets, a necessary regulatory compliance for Kalshi and other licensed prediction markets.
Where Kalshi Can Improve
Fees are definitely an area where Kalshi can improve its offering, as this is the area that – if users are to complain about something – it will generally be. In terms of sports betting, parlay building, and requesting custom orders, Kalshi shines above many of its prediction market competitors.
The product is way ahead with its pioneering sports products, and it has set up a clean interface that mimics traditional US sportsbooks which is highly appreciated.
Our experts also pointed out that it would be good to have more deposit and withdrawal options. If they were to add a few web wallets, prepaid vouchers or other methods, it would make it easier for users to avoid the debit card deposit/withdrawal fees and get better value for their money.
Our Verdict
Popular for good reason and continuously paving the way for other prediction markets, Kalshi comes highly recommended. Other prediction markets that offer sports betting tend to have a more limited range of products, or worse, poor liquidity which limits users.
Kalshi has the coverage and the market volume, ensuring that you can make all kinds of trades, custom orders, and go into the finer details of a game with props and parlay possibilities. The fees are perhaps the only drawback for users. But using alternate deposit/withdrawal gateways, picking higher priced contracts and utilizing the Kalshi APY, you can cut those fees to a minimum.
Ultimately, it makes contract trading accessible for the uninitiated, and Kalshi regularly adds new features and functions for sports fans. It is a well recommended choice for any sports fan who wants to test out prediction markets.
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