Polymarket Review 2026: The US App, Fees, State Limits and Safety
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Our verdict
The best-known global prediction market, with a separate CFTC-regulated US app. The US app charges taker fees since July 2026 and is not available in eight states.
Best for
- Global politics, crypto and current-events markets
- Traders outside the eight blocked states
Not for
- Residents of AZ, IL, MA, MD, MI, MT, NV or OH
- Android-first users (weaker app)
| Regulator | CFTC-designated exchange (QCX, acquired July 2025; US relaunch approved November 2025) |
|---|---|
| Not available in | AZ, IL, MA, MD, MI, MT, NV, OH |
| Fees (US app) | Taker fee 0.0695 × contracts × p × (1 − p), at most $1.74 per 100 contracts (0.06 from July 1, 2026, raised to 0.0695 in October); makers earn rebates |
Affiliate link: we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. 18+ (21+ in some states) · US only · availability varies by state · facts checked Oct 16, 2026
Polymarket runs two separate products. Polymarket US is a CFTC-regulated exchange with an app, dollar balances and US bank funding. Polymarket.com is the original international site. It settles in a crypto token on the Polygon blockchain, and it does not let US residents open new positions. This review covers the US app first, because that is the one US readers can use, and flags where the international site works differently.
We rate Polymarket 4.5 out of 5. The US app gives you a regulated exchange, a growing sports and politics catalog, free withdrawals and a taker fee that is close to Kalshi's. Against it: the app is not available in eight states, it has charged trading fees since July 2026, and its share of US trading volume is far behind Kalshi's.
Scorecard
Scores follow our rating method, which uses the same six weighted criteria for every platform.
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation and safety | 25% | 4.5 | CFTC-designated exchange and clearinghouse; customer money held in a segregated account; blocked or in court in several states |
| Fees and costs | 20% | 4.5 | Taker fee peaks at $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50¢; makers earn rebates; withdrawals are free |
| Liquidity | 20% | 4.5 | About 12% of tracked US-and-global volume on the US app in the 30 days to October 15, 2026, against Kalshi's 76% |
| Market selection | 15% | 5 | Sports, politics, crypto prices, weather and combos on the US app; a much wider catalog on the international site |
| Funding and withdrawals | 10% | 4.5 | Seven deposit methods; withdrawals take 3–4 business days and must go back to the source |
| App and usability | 10% | 4 | iPhone app rated 4.5 from about 60,800 ratings; some funding methods are iPhone-only |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| CFTC-regulated US exchange (QCX) with its own clearinghouse | Not available in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada or Ohio |
| Fund in dollars by debit card, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, wire or USDC | Taker fee on every market since July 1, 2026, raised in October 2026 |
| Withdrawals are free | Withdrawals take 3–4 business days and can only go back to the deposit method |
| Maker rebates for traders who post resting orders | Far smaller share of US volume than Kalshi |
| Large catalog of sports markets, plus politics, crypto and weather | Apple Pay and USDC deposits work on iPhone only |
| Public data API with no key needed for market data | Welcome credit cannot be withdrawn as cash |
Polymarket US and polymarket.com
The two products share a brand and a founder. They do not share balances, rules or regulators.
| Polymarket US | Polymarket.com (international) | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | CFTC (exchange: QCX LLC; clearing: QC Clearing LLC) | No single national regulator |
| Who can trade | US residents outside the blocked states, 18+, after identity checks | Most countries; US and UK residents are limited to closing existing positions |
| Balance held in | US dollars | pUSD, a token on Polygon backed by USDC |
| Funding | Debit card, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, wire, USDC | Crypto deposits from Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Bitcoin and other chains |
| How markets resolve | The exchange applies the sources named in each market's rules | UMA's optimistic oracle, with a bond-and-dispute process |
| Fees | Taker fee on all markets; maker rebates | Taker fee by category; geopolitics markets are fee-free |
Polymarket's developer documentation lists the United States as "close-only" on the international site, on both the website and the API, as of October 2026. A US resident can close an old position there but cannot open a new one. Using a VPN to get around that breaks Polymarket's terms. The rest of this review is about the US app unless it says otherwise.
How Polymarket returned to the US
Polymarket launched in 2020. Shayne Coplan founded it and is still chief executive. The company behind it is Blockratize Inc.
- January 2022. The CFTC fined Polymarket $1.4 million for running an unregistered venue for event contracts, which the agency treated as swaps. Polymarket then blocked US users (The Block).
- 2024. The international site became a widely quoted source of election odds.
- July 2025. Polymarket bought QCX LLC and QC Clearing LLC, a CFTC-licensed exchange and clearinghouse, for $112 million.
- November 2025. The CFTC signed an Amended Order of Designation on November 24, announced on November 25. It allows Polymarket to run an intermediated US trading platform and onboard brokers and customers directly (Covers).
- December 3, 2025. The US app opened to people on a waitlist, starting with sports contracts (The Block).
- January 7, 2026. Dow Jones signed a deal to show Polymarket data in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and MarketWatch (The Block).
- May 12, 2026. Polymarket dropped the waitlist and opened the iPhone app to all eligible US users (Covers).
- July 1, 2026. The US app started charging taker fees.
Volume and liquidity
Polymarket is no longer the biggest prediction market by volume, and pages that still say so are out of date.
DeFi Rate's tracker put the international site at $4.7 billion in contracts traded in September 2026, counted at $1 face value, or $2.3 billion in dollars actually paid. That was 5.8% of the volume it tracks, down from 15.2% in July. Over September 16 to October 15, 2026, Kalshi had 76% of tracked volume, Polymarket US had 12% and the international site had 5% (DeFi Rate, as of October 16, 2026). DeFi Rate itself says these share figures are directional, not precise.
For a trader, the useful number is depth on the market you want, not the platform total. On October 17, 2026, the US app's World Series markets showed bids and offers a tenth of a cent apart (20.5¢ against 20.6¢ on one team, for example). Niche markets can be much thinner. Check the order book before you place a large order.
How trading works
Each market is a yes-or-no question. Contracts trade between $0.00 and $1.00, and the price is the market's implied probability. A Yes contract at $0.65 means traders put the chance of Yes at about 65%. When the market settles, each winning contract pays $1.00 and each losing contract pays nothing.
Example. You buy 100 Yes contracts at $0.40 and pay $40, plus the taker fee covered below. If the event happens, you receive $100, a profit of $60 before fees. If it does not, you lose the $40.
You can sell before settlement at whatever the market will pay. Polymarket US warns that prices can slip near the end: if a contract trades near 97¢, a sell order may fill at 94¢ because few buyers want to pay full price for a near-certain outcome (Polymarket US docs). Holding to settlement pays the full $1.
Polymarket US does not set prices or take the other side of trades. Prices come from matched orders between users.
How markets resolve
Every market has written rules that name its resolution source. The title is a summary. The rules are the contract.
On the US app, the exchange decides the outcome once it is public, using only the sources listed in the rules. These include government data (such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics), league results for sports, named price indexes for crypto markets and named news outlets. Polymarket Clearing then settles the contracts. Resolutions are final under the exchange rulebook (Polymarket US docs).
On the international site, markets resolve through UMA's optimistic oracle. Anyone can propose an outcome by posting a bond, typically $750. If nobody disputes it within two hours, it stands. Disputed proposals go to a vote of UMA token holders (Polymarket docs). That system has failed in public. In March 2025 a market on a US-Ukraine minerals deal resolved Yes although no deal had been signed. Polymarket called it an unprecedented governance attack and did not refund traders (The Block).
Fees
The US app charges a fee to the taker, the side whose order fills against a resting order. The formula is:
fee = Θ × contracts × p × (1 − p)
where p is the price in dollars. The coefficient Θ was 0.06 when fees started on July 1, 2026, which capped the fee at $1.50 per 100 contracts. Polymarket's fee schedule now lists Θ = 0.0695 for standard markets, effective exchange-wide from October 2026, and the live market data shows 0.0695 on every market we checked. Table tennis markets use 0.10. Fees round to the nearest cent (Polymarket US fee schedule, as of October 2026). Many review sites, including some written in September, still quote the old 0.06 rate and $1.50 cap.
| Price per contract | Cost of 100 contracts | Taker fee per 100 contracts |
|---|---|---|
| $0.10 | $10 | $0.63 |
| $0.25 | $25 | $1.30 |
| $0.50 | $50 | $1.74 |
| $0.75 | $75 | $1.30 |
| $0.90 | $90 | $0.63 |
The fee is largest at 50¢ and shrinks toward both ends. In percentage terms it hits cheap contracts hardest: $0.63 on a $10 purchase is 6.3%.
Worked example. You buy 200 Yes contracts at $0.40 with a market order. The contracts cost $80. The fee is 0.0695 × 200 × 0.40 × 0.60 = $3.34, so you pay $83.34. If you hold to settlement and win, you receive $200. If you sell early as a taker, you pay a second fee on the sale.
Makers earn rebates. If your limit order rests on the book and someone trades against it, you receive a rebate of 0.0125 × contracts × p × (1 − p), about $0.31 per 100 contracts at 50¢. From October 19, 2026, maker rebates move to volume tiers based on the previous month's maker volume, and accounts under $10 million a month get no maker rebate. Taker rebates also run in tiers, starting at $250,000 a month in volume. Combo trades pay no maker rebate.
Other costs. The fee schedule lists no deposit, withdrawal or settlement fee. Polymarket US describes withdrawals as free, and Finder reported no deposit fees as of October 16, 2026. Your bank may charge for an outgoing wire. The spread between bid and offer is a cost too, and in thin markets it can be larger than the fee.
The international site charges takers by category. Rates run from 0.04 (politics, finance, tech) to 0.07 (crypto), which peaks at $1.75 per 100 shares at 50¢. Geopolitics markets are fee-free, and makers pay nothing (Polymarket docs).
Deposits and withdrawals
Polymarket US accepts seven deposit methods, according to its help center as of October 2026.
| Method | Limits | Time to clear | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debit card | $25,000 per deposit, $50,000 a day, $2 million per 60 days | 3–4 business days | Instant buying power while it clears |
| Bank transfer (ACH, via Aeropay) | Same as debit card | 3–4 business days | Instant buying power while it clears |
| Wire | $5,000 minimum, no maximum | About 1 business day | Must come from a US bank account in your own name |
| Apple Pay | Not published | Not published | iPhone only |
| PayPal | Not published | Not published | |
| Venmo | Not published | Not published | |
| USDC | Not published | Not published | iPhone only, where available |
Credit cards are not on the list. "Instant buying power" means you can trade straight away, up to a cap, but you cannot withdraw that money until the deposit fully clears.
Withdrawals are free and go back to the original funding method only. Debit card and ACH withdrawals take 3–4 business days. Wire withdrawals are not offered in the app; you have to ask support. Withdrawals are processed in the order deposits were made, and all of them pass anti-money-laundering checks (withdrawal rules).
Our Polymarket funding guide walks through each method step by step.
Where Polymarket US is available
As of an August 18, 2026 check, OddsShopper listed Polymarket US as unavailable in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada and Ohio (OddsShopper). Other trackers disagree on a few of these, because several cases are still in court. New York and New Jersey are not on the list.
The main state actions so far:
- Nevada. The Gaming Control Board sued Polymarket in state court on January 15, 2026. A judge granted a temporary restraining order on January 29, finding the board likely to win on its claim that the contracts are wagers, and Polymarket US withdrew from the state (SBC Americas).
- Tennessee. The Sports Wagering Council sent cease-and-desist letters to Polymarket, Kalshi and Crypto.com on January 9, 2026, demanding they stop offering sports contracts to Tennessee residents by January 31 (Covers).
- Minnesota. A state law making it a felony to operate prediction markets was due to take effect on August 1, 2026. A federal court blocked enforcement on July 27, and the block still stood as of August 18 (OddsShopper, above).
The app checks your location before you trade. Do that check before you deposit, because availability changes with court rulings. Our state pages cover Illinois, Massachusetts and Nevada in more detail, and the prediction-market legality guide explains the federal-versus-state dispute.
Signing up
You sign up in the app with a Google or Apple account. Polymarket US then asks for your date of birth, phone number, legal name, home address and Social Security number. Most people are verified automatically. Some are asked to upload a government ID and take a selfie. You must be 18 or older, and you cannot deposit or trade until verification is complete (Polymarket US docs).
Our guide to using Polymarket in the US covers sign-up, your first trade and withdrawals step by step.
Markets
Polymarket US launched with sports and is still mostly sports. We pulled 500 open markets from its public API on October 17, 2026: 413 were sports, 45 politics (including House and Senate midterm control and governor races), 30 finance and 12 culture. The help center also lists crypto price markets, weather markets and combos, which bundle several outcomes into one contract.
| Category | Polymarket US | International site |
|---|---|---|
| Sports | NFL, NBA, MLB, college sports, soccer, tennis, esports and more | Yes |
| Politics and elections | Yes, including 2026 midterm markets | Yes, including non-US elections |
| Crypto prices | Yes, settled on named reference indexes | Yes |
| Weather | Yes | Yes |
| Finance and culture | Some | Yes |
| Geopolitics, tech, world events | Few or none | Yes |
| Combos | Yes | Yes |
The international site's catalog is much larger. US residents cannot use it for new trades.
The app
Polymarket US is mainly an iPhone app. On October 17, 2026, the US App Store listing showed a 4.5 rating from about 60,800 ratings (App Store). Polymarket's Google Play listing showed 3.5 stars from about 13,800 reviews on the same day, matching the 4.5 and 3.5 that Finder reported. Ignore older pages that quote an Android rating of 1.8: that figure belongs to a lookalike third-party app. Apple Pay and USDC deposits are iPhone-only, so Android users have fewer funding options. Reports on Android and web access to Polymarket US are inconsistent, so check polymarket.com or the store listing for the current position. The full-featured desktop trading screen people describe belongs to the international site.
The app shows prices as percentages or as dollars per contract. Trading runs almost around the clock, with a weekly maintenance window every Thursday from 6 to 8 a.m. Eastern. All open orders are canceled before maintenance, so resting limit orders do not survive it (general FAQs).
Safety
Polymarket US says customer money sits in a dedicated account kept separate from the company's operating funds (Polymarket US docs). The exchange and clearinghouse are CFTC-regulated, and identity checks are required before deposits. Those are the main protections. The weak points are state litigation, which can switch off access in your state, and account security: anyone who gets your login can trade your balance.
The international site has had problems the US app has not. In December 2025 Polymarket said a flaw at a third-party login provider let attackers drain a small number of accounts (The Block). Our Polymarket safety guide covers custody, smart-contract risk and resolution disputes in detail.
Referral and affiliate programs
US Refer-A-Friend. Your referral code is your username. When a friend signs up with it and deposits at least $10, you each get a $25 trading credit. Each user can earn up to 50 referral bonuses (Polymarket US docs, as of October 2026).
International referral program. Since May 28, 2026, referrers earn 10% of the net fees of people they refer directly and 5% from second-level referrals, for 30 days. You need $10,000 in lifetime trading volume before you earn anything (Polymarket docs).
Bellwether's link. Polymarket also runs an affiliate program for publishers. Bellwether is a member. If you open an account through our Polymarket link, Polymarket pays us a commission. It does not change what you pay or the offer you see, and it does not change our score. The current welcome offer is on our Polymarket promo code page.
How Polymarket compares
| Polymarket US | Kalshi | Robinhood Event Contracts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulator | CFTC (QCX) | CFTC (KalshiEX) | CFTC; routes orders to KalshiEX, ForecastEx, Rothera or North American Derivatives Exchange |
| Share of tracked volume, Sep 16–Oct 15, 2026 | 12% | 76% | Rothera about 1% |
| Trading fee | Taker fee, at most $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50¢ | Variable fee, about $1.75 per 100 contracts at 50¢ | Commission of 10% × p × (1 − p), 5% with Gold, capped at $0.01 per contract, plus exchange fees of up to $0.01 |
| Balance | US dollars | US dollars | US dollars, in your Robinhood account |
| State limits | Not available in AZ, IL, MA, MD, MI, MT, NV, OH | Sports, entertainment and election markets blocked in Nevada; sports paused in Michigan | Sports unavailable in Maryland and Nevada; no new Michigan sports contracts since September 9, 2026 |
| Best for | Sports traders who want maker rebates and many funding options | The most US trading volume and the deepest order books | People who already use Robinhood |
Volume shares are from DeFi Rate. Kalshi and Robinhood figures are from our Kalshi review and Robinhood Event Contracts review. For the full comparison, read Kalshi vs Polymarket or Polymarket vs Robinhood.
Is Polymarket haram?
Polymarket has no Sharia certification and does not offer a Sharia-compliant product. Many Islamic scholars class prediction-market trading as maysir (gambling), because the outcome depends on a future event the trader does not control. If this matters to you, ask a scholar you trust. Our safety guide sets out the arguments.
Final verdict
Polymarket US is a regulated, well-built exchange, and for sports traders it is a real alternative to Kalshi. The fee is now almost the same as Kalshi's at 50¢, makers earn rebates, and you can fund it seven ways. The case against it is reach. It is blocked in eight states, it has a fraction of Kalshi's volume, and much of what made Polymarket famous, the huge global catalog, sits on an international site that US residents cannot trade. Score: 4.5 out of 5.
If you live in a state where it is available, the app is worth opening alongside a Kalshi account. Compare prices on the same event before you trade, because the two books often disagree.
FAQ
Is Polymarket legal in the US?
Yes, through Polymarket US. The CFTC amended the order for Polymarket's QCX exchange in November 2025, and the US app opened in December 2025. It is not available in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada or Ohio as of August 2026, and some of those states are in court. The international polymarket.com site does not let US residents open new positions.
Do I need crypto to use Polymarket?
No. Polymarket US holds your balance in dollars and accepts debit cards, ACH, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo and wires. USDC is an optional deposit method on iPhone.
What are Polymarket's fees?
The US app charges takers 0.0695 × contracts × price × (1 − price), which is at most $1.74 per 100 contracts at 50¢, as of October 2026. Makers earn rebates. Withdrawals are free.
How long do withdrawals take?
Debit card and ACH withdrawals take 3–4 business days, and the money goes back to the method you deposited with. You cannot withdraw a deposit until it has fully cleared, which also takes 3–4 business days. Wires go through support.
What is the minimum deposit?
Polymarket US does not publish a minimum for cards or ACH. Wires have a $5,000 minimum. The current deposit bonus needs at least $10.
Can I use a VPN to reach the international site?
No. Polymarket's terms forbid getting around location blocks, and accounts that do can be closed. US residents should use Polymarket US.
Is Polymarket a sportsbook?
No. Polymarket US is an exchange. You trade contracts with other users at prices they set, you can sell before the event ends, and the exchange does not take the other side of your trade.
Does Polymarket US have an API?
Yes. A public API at gateway.polymarket.us serves market data without a key, and an authenticated API handles orders. See our Polymarket API guide.
Sources
Checked October 16–17, 2026.
- Polymarket US: fee schedule, deposit methods, withdrawal rules, account sign-up, market resolution, user incentive programs
- Polymarket international: geographic restrictions, fees, resolution
- DeFi Rate Polymarket volume tracker, updated October 16, 2026
- OddsShopper on Polymarket fees and state availability, updated September 4, 2026
- Covers on the CFTC amended order, November 25, 2025
- SBC Americas on the Nevada restraining order, February 2, 2026
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