Kalshi Fees Explained (2026): Every Cost and How to Pay Less
The Short Answer
Kalshi charges one main fee on event contracts: a trading fee of roughly 7% × price × (1 − price) per contract, rounded up to the next cent per order. It peaks at 1.75 cents per contract when a market trades at 50 cents and shrinks toward zero at the extremes. Resting limit orders pay a quarter of that rate, and only on designated markets. ACH deposits and withdrawals are free, settlement is free, and there are no membership or API fees. Perpetual futures are a separate product with a separate fee model. The official fee schedule PDF is the source of truth, and it changes.
Kalshi fees confuse people because they don't work like a flat commission: the same trade costs different amounts at different prices, small orders pay proportionally more than big ones, and two markets in different series can carry different rates. The good news is that one formula explains almost everything. This guide walks through that formula, every other cost in the system, the honest reasons Kalshi fees feel high, and the playbook for paying less.
Key Takeaways
- The formula is fee = 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up to the next cent per order. Maximum pain is at 50 cents; near 1 cent or 99 cents the fee approaches zero.
- The round-up rule is the hidden tax on small orders: one contract at any price pays at least a full cent, which can be 100% of a cheap contract's value. Fewer, larger orders amortize it.
- Makers pay a quarter of the taker rate, and only on markets designated as maker-fee markets; many carry no maker fee at all. Resting limit orders are the single biggest lever for paying less.
Every Kalshi Cost at a Glance
| Cost | What you pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Taker fee | 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up per order | Peaks at 1.75¢/contract at 50¢ |
| Maker fee | 25% of the taker rate, designated markets only | No maker fee on many markets |
| Deposits | ACH free; debit card up to 2% | Wire deposits free, $1,000 minimum |
| Withdrawals | ACH and debit both free | Debit runs against a personalized daily limit |
| Settlement | Nothing | Charged on entry, not on resolution |
| Membership / API | Nothing | No subscriptions, no inactivity fees, free API access |
| Perpetual futures | Volume-tiered maker and taker rates on notional | Separate product, application required |
The Formula That Runs Everything
Kalshi's trading fee scales with uncertainty. The standard taker calculation is 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up to the next cent, and the rounding applies per order rather than per contract. Because price × (1 − price) is largest at 50 cents, the fee peaks exactly where markets are most uncertain: a market order at 50 cents costs 1.75 cents per contract, which is $1.75 per hundred. At 90 cents the same order costs about 0.63 cents per contract, and near the extremes the formula approaches zero. In practical terms, a taker entering at 50 cents hands over about 3.5% of their stake before the market has moved at all.
Two wrinkles are worth knowing. Not every series runs the standard rate: S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 index markets trade at roughly half the standard coefficient, and Kalshi's help center says outright that some markets carry fees different from others, often because of special events such as an election, an awards ceremony or a large sporting championship. The schedule is also a living document, which is why we describe the shape of the system here and leave the live numbers to the official fee schedule PDF. Everything here reflects the schedule at the time of writing, so check the PDF before sizing any strategy on a specific series.
Maker vs Taker on Kalshi
Like most exchanges, Kalshi is kinder to traders who provide liquidity. A resting limit order that later fills pays the maker rate, which is a quarter of the taker rate: about 0.44 cents per contract at the 50-cent peak. Crucially, maker fees only apply on markets designated as maker-fee markets, and many markets charge makers nothing at all. Canceling a resting order is always free. So the same position, entered patiently at the same price, can cost a quarter of the taker fee or literally zero depending on the market. That's the entire case for defaulting to limit orders, and it's the same logic we walk through for Polymarket's fees, where makers not only trade free but earn rebates.
Deposits, Withdrawals, and Settlement
Moving money is where Kalshi is genuinely cheap. ACH transfers are free in both directions (deposits from $10, withdrawals taking a few business days), and holding a contract to resolution costs nothing: winners are paid $1.00 per contract with no settlement fee, so the trading fee you paid on entry is the whole cost of a hold-to-settlement position. The one paid convenience is the fast way in: debit card deposits may carry a processing fee of up to 2%, on a $10 minimum. Coming out is free on both rails at the time of writing, since Kalshi's help center lists no fee for bank withdrawals or for debit card withdrawals, the latter arriving within a few hours and running against a daily limit that is personalized to your account and grows with activity. Wire deposits carry no Kalshi fee, but anything under $1,000 is returned rather than credited, and your own bank may add a charge. Other methods vary, so the help center's transfers articles are the current source. The cheap path is boring: ACH in, trade, and either rail out.
Perpetual Futures Price Costs Differently
Everything above describes event contracts. Kalshi's perpetual futures sit behind a separate margin account you have to apply for, and they cost money in a different shape. Trading fees there are charged on notional value, meaning the full leveraged size of the position rather than the margin you posted, which is why a perps fee can look larger than expected; the rates are tiered by trading volume, and makers pay less than takers. Funding sits outside those fees entirely: Kalshi computes a time-weighted average of the gap between the perpetual and spot price every eight hours, and payments move three times a day, at 12am, 8am and 4pm ET, between traders rather than to the exchange. Access at the time of writing is US-only, requires completed KYC plus an application and questionnaire, and can be declined. If you trade perps, work from the perps fee article rather than assuming the event-contract formula carries over.
Why Kalshi Fees Feel High (An Honest Section)
Search data says plenty of people ask why Kalshi fees are so high, and the complaint has real math behind it. The fee peaks at 50 cents, precisely where the most interesting markets trade, so the model takes its biggest bite out of the trades people most want to make. Layer the round-up rule on top and small, cheap orders get punished: a single contract at 1 cent still pays a 1-cent fee, a 100% charge, and any tiny order rounds up to a disproportionate rate. Then there is the comparison that stings, because on Polymarket makers trade completely free and earn rebates, while takers pay category-based rates instead of one coefficient across the board. The honest counterweight: Kalshi's maker rates, free settlement, and free money movement mean a patient trader's real cost is far below the headline, which is what the next section is about.
How to Pay Less: The Playbook
Rest limit orders. A quarter of the taker rate at worst, zero on many markets. Patience is the single biggest discount Kalshi offers. Size orders to beat the round-up. The rounding is per order, so one order of fifty contracts pays one rounded fee while fifty single-contract orders pay fifty of them. Batch your entries. Hold to settlement when your thesis allows. Exiting early with a market order pays the taker fee twice; a position held to resolution pays it once. Skip the card on the way in. ACH deposits cost nothing where debit can take up to 2%; on the way out both rails are free, so speed there is not a paid upgrade. And check your specific series. Index markets run cheaper, special events can run different rates, and the schedule changes, so a strategy on thin margins should re-verify the official PDF regularly. For traders running cross-venue strategies, this math is half of the equation we work through in the arbitrage guide.
How Kalshi Compares
Versus Polymarket: Polymarket's takers pay category-based rates rather than a single coefficient, and its makers trade free and earn rebates, though Kalshi answers with free ACH rails, dollar-denominated accounts and no requirement to touch crypto at any point (it does offer crypto deposits and withdrawals, but they are optional). Versus Robinhood: since 1 June 2026 Robinhood's event contracts use the same fee shape, roughly 10% × price × (1 − price) per contract, halved for Gold subscribers and rounded up to the nearest cent. That commission sits on top of the exchange's own fee rather than replacing it, so it is not a straight 10 against 7 comparison; you are paying a broker layer plus whatever the venue underneath charges. The full platform trade-offs live in Polymarket vs Kalshi and Kalshi vs Robinhood, and developers automating any of this will want the Kalshi API guide, since the API itself costs nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Kalshi fees calculated?
The standard formula is 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up to the next cent per order, charged when you trade. Resting limit orders pay a quarter of that rate on designated markets. Some series (like index markets) run different coefficients, so check the official fee schedule for yours.
How much does Kalshi charge per contract?
It depends on the price: the fee peaks at 1.75 cents per contract at 50 cents and shrinks toward zero near 1 cent or 99 cents. Makers pay about a quarter of that. The round-up rule means very small orders pay proportionally more, since every order pays at least one cent.
Is there a Kalshi fee calculator?
At the time of writing Kalshi points traders to its fee schedule PDF and help center rather than to a calculator tool. Third-party calculators exist, but the math is one line: multiply contracts × price × (1 − price) by 0.07, then round up to the next cent. Check the official schedule for any series that runs a different coefficient.
Does Kalshi charge fees on deposits or withdrawals?
ACH is free in both directions, and at the time of writing Kalshi's help center lists no fee for debit card withdrawals either, though they run against a daily limit personalized to your account. Debit card deposits may carry a processing fee of up to 2%. Wire deposits carry no Kalshi fee but are returned below $1,000, and your bank may charge its own.
Why are Kalshi fees so high?
Because the formula peaks at 50 cents, exactly where the most-traded markets sit, and the per-order round-up punishes small orders. The counterweight: makers pay a quarter rate or nothing, settlement is free, and ACH money movement is free, so patient traders pay far less than the headline suggests.
Conclusion
Kalshi's fee system is one formula plus a handful of footnotes: 7% of price × (1 − price) for takers, a quarter of that for makers, free settlement, and free ACH rails around it. The traders who complain about fees are usually paying the taker peak on small orders; the traders who barely notice them are resting limit orders, batching entries, and holding to settlement. Know which one you are. For the other side of the cross-venue math, our Polymarket fees guide covers the venue where makers trade free.
One housekeeping note: this is information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Fee schedules, product availability and account eligibility change and differ by person and by state, so treat the official schedule and Kalshi's own help center as binding and this page as a map.