Polymarket guide
Polymarket fees explained
Polymarket has historically kept direct trading fees very low. The real costs to budget for are the spread on a market and the small network fees that come with trading on a blockchain. Here’s the breakdown.
Trading fees and the spread
Polymarket is known for low direct trading costs, which is part of its appeal to active traders. In practice, the cost that matters most isn’t a headline commission but the spread — the gap between the best buy and sell prices. On Polymarket’s flagship markets the order books are the deepest in the category, so spreads tend to be tight and the effective cost of trading is low. On thin, niche markets the spread widens and trading costs more, just as it does anywhere. See how the spread works for the mechanics.
Network (gas) fees
Because Polymarket settles on the Polygon blockchain, on-chain actions carry a small network fee, often called gas. Polygon is designed to keep these costs low, so they’re typically minor — but they’re worth keeping a little spare USDC for, especially when depositing and withdrawing. This is the trade-off for self-custody and on-chain transparency.
On-ramp and off-ramp costs
The other place costs can appear is converting between dollars and USDC. Buying USDC through an on-ramp, or selling it back to fiat on an exchange, may carry a service fee depending on the provider you use. These aren’t Polymarket fees, but they’re part of the all-in cost of moving money in and out — see the deposit and withdraw guides.
How it compares
Compared with a dollar platform like Kalshi, Polymarket trades the predictable per-order trading fee for a model built around low fees plus network and conversion costs. For heavy traders on deep markets, that can work out very competitively. The full side-by-side is in Kalshi vs Polymarket.
Fee arrangements and network costs change; this is a general explanation, not a fee schedule. Check current details on Polymarket. 18+.
Frequently asked questions
Does Polymarket charge trading fees?
Polymarket has historically kept direct trading fees very low. The costs that matter most in practice are the spread on a market and small Polygon network (gas) fees, plus any charges from the service you use to buy or sell USDC.
Are gas fees on Polymarket expensive?
Polygon is designed to keep network fees low, so they are typically minor. It's still worth keeping a little spare USDC to cover them, especially when depositing and withdrawing.
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