Prediction markets are currently regulated by the CFTC at the Federal level, so you can try them from any US state. We’ve put together a Kalshi vs Polymarket guide to help you compare two of the leading sites.
We’ll compare their apps and look at the markets they cover. We’ve also gone through other key site features, including how straightforward they are to use, especially for beginners.
You can also gauge the amount of info you can access before signing up on either site. If you’re thinking about joining either of them, we recommend reading this guide first.
Kalshi and Polymarket regularly land on lists of the best prediction market sites online today. We’ll go into more detail about both sites here, but to begin, we’ll cover a few key areas and facts that we noticed when we first arrived on each site.
We can also note that they both provide viable alternatives to traditional sports betting. In this case, both sites provide prediction markets based on sporting events and other markets of all kinds.
Finally, we can confirm that both sites have been regulated and approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or CFTC in the US. This is a Federal organization, which means they’ve regulated the sites to operate throughout the United States.
The plain look makes data easier to see and review. They’ve also got a menu with all key prediction markets on offer.
We liked the trending, breaking, and new categories too, as that meant it was faster for us to get to the latest probabilities and trades.
We also spotted a search facility just underneath that menu strip, so it was easy to search for a specific topic – and the results were quick to load, too. Here are a few of the prediction markets you can see there.
They’ve also got a How It Works link right at the top of the site, which provides a basic overview of prediction markets before you start.
We liked being able to access a lot of information and to view the probabilities and trades there too – all before signing up.
Some competing sites seem secretive on this count, refusing to show much until you sign up, but thankfully Polymarket is welcoming throughout.
We had to check the logo to make sure we’d switched to the Kalshi website – there are plenty of similarities between the two when looking at Kalshi vs Polymarket.
We did note trending buttons just underneath the main menu options there, and a For You button that will give you personalized options when you’re logged in, so there are a few differences to spot.
As expected, we found plenty of prediction markets to browse through, with a few different options popping up in the menu. We’ve listed some of the main ones you can expect to see here.
Kalshi has a much bigger lower menu at the bottom of the site than Polymarket does, but we found everything we wanted to read in both cases.
They’ve also got plenty of links to various social media pages, including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, so you can keep up with them there if you wish.
They also provide ample information and help you understand what Kalshi is all about well before you consider signing up, so it ranks as an equal to Polymarket in this manner.
We’ve written a separate guide just on this topic, so if you want an answer to the question, what are prediction markets, you can get the details there.
For now, we think it’s important that you know they’re based on events that can only have a binary outcome. In this case, that means yes or no. Yes, the event will happen or no it won’t.
Polymarket provides us with color coding that works well for this purpose – red for no and green for yes. You can click or tap the relevant button to go with your choice.
Kalshi goes with lighter tones, offering purple for no and blue for yes, but they’re positioned in the same manner, so whichever site you’re on, it’s quite easy to find the buttons and choose from yes or no in either case.
When looking at Kalshi vs Polymarket, they both rank highly in this respect. They’re both clear on the question being asked too, so you’ll know exactly which event contracts you’re looking at in each case.
We noticed that both sites offer single yes-no outcomes for some markets, but list more yes-no outcomes for others.
For example, one Kalshi prediction market covered the possibility of finding a new COVID variant this year.
This was a simple yes or no question. In contrast, both sites provided some prediction markets listing other yes-no options as well. For example, Polymarket asked whether Google would hit a certain value before next year.
This had yes-no options, of course, but it also gave two different sums – $335 and $345, so you could trade event contracts based on a yes or no answer to either of those.
As such, we found plenty of prediction market coverage if you are interested in delving deeper.
You can read our Kalshi review to learn more about what it’s like to use the site and the associated app.
We’ve got another review covering Polymarket as well. While you can visit the standard website for either site, you can also download the relevant apps from the App Store or Google Play Store.
We’ve compared the ratings and reviews for those here to give you a sense of what to expect. As we expected, both apps perform well in most cases. Both providers ensure you receive the best performance throughout your time using them.
| Kalshi | Polymarket | |
|---|---|---|
| Google Play score | 4.5 | 2.9 |
| Google Play reviews | 3,000+ reviews | 6,000+ reviews |
| App Store score | 4.7 | 4.8 |
| App Store reviews | 22,000+ reviews | 29,000+ reviews |
Obviously, you’ll need to download the relevant app for your device, but they mostly score highly among current users, other than the lower score for the Polymarket Android app. It seems they may have a few kinks there as it hasn’t been updated for a while. However, their iOS app is highly rated, and you can of course revert to visiting their website if you wish. We did test Polymarket and Kalshi on their respective websites, and found no issues using either of them on a mobile device.
Both sites are relatively new – Kalshi was founded in 2018, while Polymarket got underway in 2020.
Both have also taken up headline space of late, as US sports fans realize they can make predictions based on their preferred sports and players.
Many people are new to prediction markets and how they work, and they can seem complicated for newcomers.
So, we wanted to see whether the sites had extensive help centers, guidance, and insight that explains how prediction markets work before you attempt to predict outcomes.
Kalshi 101 is a good starting point if it’s your first visit to the site. You’ve also got other areas covering Q&As on accounts, markets, and trading. W
e also noted an option to contact them, which opened a page that provided an email address. They provide advice on how best to format your email too, including screenshots where appropriate. We also noted their team is in the US.
Begin with the Get Started area, as it explains much about the idea behind prediction markets and how to participate. They also guide you through how to join and fund your account. While they have sections covering Markets and Trading, you’ll find an FAQ section further down the page that’s useful to read. That area includes info on reaching support, which you can do via web chat – but they’re also on Discord if you’d rather use that.
On balance, we think both sites have plenty to offer – and they’re certainly both accessible for newcomers to prediction markets. It’s a matter of personal preference as to whether you prefer Kalshi to Polymarket or vice versa, since we believe both offer an excellent approach to prediction markets for most people – especially for beginners.
You may even decide to sign up for both, depending on which specific trades or events you are focusing on.
If you want to learn more about either site, you can read the full reviews we have compiled for each of them.
This ensures you have the latest information to help you decide which site is more appealing for you.
Their accessibility is a key feature that we believe makes it much easier for you to compare and contrast them, to decide which site you may like to join.
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