Polymarket Fees 2026: Complete Fee Structure & Trading Costs Breakdown

Polymarket is one of the most popular prediction market sites in the United States. A big reason for its growing popularity is that the Polymarket fees are among the lowest in the industry, making it an affordable option for traders.

In this guide, we cover everything you need to know before making your first payment or trade on Polymarket. We’ll break down whether transaction fees apply to deposits and withdrawals, along with a closer look at the markets where trading fees may be charged.

Deposits and withdrawals without Polymarket transaction fees

If you’re depositing or withdrawing in one of the Polymarket legal states, you can expect no transaction fees. This is super important as it means you get more value out of every deposit, while also retaining your full withdrawal. That said, since Polymarket relies primarily on cryptocurrency payments such as USDC, intermediaries like Coinbase or MoonPay may charge their own fees. So it’s still important to do your due diligence to check if these payment platforms will impose any additional charges.

No Polymarket fees when trading on most markets

Remember, there are no Polymarket odds, since you’ll be buying and selling shares in event contracts at this prediction site. The good news is that there are no trading fees for the vast majority of these markets, which again allows you to get the most bang for your buck. This is in contrast to many of Polymarkets’ competitors, which often impose a $0.02 fee per contract.

Exception to the rule: Which markets actually have fees?

There are a few exceptions to this prediction market site’s no-trading-fee policy. This includes two Polymarket sports events trading markets and two crypto markets. Here’s a quick preview:

• 5-minute crypto markets
• 15-minute crypto markets
• NCAAB (college basketball) markets
• Serie A markets

How does the Polymarket fee structure work?

Where Polymarket fees may apply, the following formula is used to calculate the cost:

Fee = Number of Shares × Price of Shares × FeeRate × (Price of Shares × (1 – Price of Shares))^exponent

The fee parameters can also vary by the market type. The table below helps to visualize these differences:

What is the maximum effective fee for these markets?

For 5-Min and 15-Min Crypto markets, the maximum effective fee rate is 1.56% of your trade, and this applies when purchasing event contracts at $0.50 per share. For sports markets (NCAAB and Serie A), the maximum effective fee rate is slightly lower at 0.44% of your trade, and also applies when purchasing event contracts at $0.50 per share.

How precise are the Polymarket trading fees?

The Polymarket fees for these eligible markets are rounded to four decimal places, meaning the smallest possible fee charged is 0.0001 USDC. If your theoretical trading fee is below this minimum value, no fee will be incurred.

Pros and cons of Polymarket prediction markets

Still on the fence about joining Polymarket’s prediction site? Here is a summary of the pros and cons:

Polymarket: Pros and Cons

• No deposit/withdrawal fees
• Most markets have no trading fees
• Broad market variety
• Licensed and regulated

• Limited fiat payment options

What is the Maker Rebates program

If you participate in 15-minute crypto, 5-minute crypto, NCAAB, or Serie A markets, the fees you pay fund a Maker Rebate program. If you provide liquidity by placing orders, you can receive a small share of this rebate pool. Qualifying payments are sent daily in USDC to your wallet. If you’re a trader who’d prefer a leg up instead of a recurring incentive, the OG.com welcome bonus is worth checking out.

However, the size of your reward depends on how much useful liquidity you provided compared to other makers in the same market. The calculation uses the same fee formula applied to takers previously in this guide, so more competitive quotes typically receive bigger rebates.

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Is it better to avoid exposure to markets with Polymarket fees?

If you’ve read our recent Polymarket review, you’ll know there are thousands of prediction markets to explore, from a wide range of categories. This raises the question: Is it better to just avoid markets with Polymarket fees entirely?

Honestly, there’s no right or wrong answer to this; it’s all about personal preferences. The fees from these markets are usually super minimal, so most traders won’t even feel much of a hit. That said, they can slowly eat away at your account’s balance, especially if you’re someone on a more restrictive budget. The Maker Rebates program also helps to minimize the impact of these fees by offering the potential to claim a daily USDC rebate.

Final thoughts on the Polymarket fee structure

The Polymarket fee structure is easy to understand, even for complete beginners, and also super affordable. For starters, you won’t need to worry about this prediction market site charging any transaction fees when you deposit or withdraw. Additionally, for the vast majority of markets found at the site, there will be no trading fees. The only caveat to this is 15-minute crypto, 5-minute crypto, NCAAB, or Serie A markets, where a small trading fee applies. But it’s still affordable for most traders, plus these fees contribute toward the Maker Rebates program.

Interested in seeing what Polymarket is all about? Follow any of our links on this page to visit the official website.

Polymarket fees FAQs