Polymarket Review for 2026: Low Fees and a Surplus of Event Contracts

4.9 / 5

In our Polymarket review, we give you an honest account of our experience with one of the most popular prediction market apps in the United States.

Thanks to its diverse market selection, relatively low fees, and handy data-tracking tools, it's easy to see why American traders favor Polymarket over its competitors.

Signup Promo New users only
Deposit $20 get $50
Claim Bonus
18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading involves high risk and may result in loss of your entire investment. See polymarket.us/tos for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearing organization.

Key Facts & Highlights

Founded 2020 Polymarket Visa Mastercard Bank Transfer Ethereum Polygon (MATIC)
  • instant Payout Duration
  • yes Bet Tracking History
  • yes Trusted Brand
  • 2020 Founded
  • CFTC - Commodity Futures Trading Commission License
  • polymarket.com Website

Affiliate Disclosure: Some links on PlayersBest.com are affiliate links. Read our affiliate disclosure. We only work with licensed operators, and our content remains independent.

Bonuses and promotions at Polymarket

4.9 / 5

Like many prediction markets, this site doesn’t have a long-running welcome offer available to all new users in the U.S. However, when a Polymarket referral code is available, it will be displayed on the banners of this page, along with the details of the offer it unlocks. Past promos have included a $10 sign-up deal.

Bonus Type Bonus Offer Promo Code
Signup Promo Best Value Signup Promo
Deposit $20 get $50
Get Code Visit
18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading involves high risk and may result in loss of your entire investment. See polymarket.us/tos for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearing organization.

Editor's Note

I’m always slightly disappointed when there isn’t a sign-up offer to incentivize me as a new customer on any site. Fortunately, I regularly find referral codes for you and share them here at PlayersBest, so hopefully, there’s something on offer for you at the time of reading!

What users say about Polymarket promos

Curious about what users say about Polymarket promos and bonuses? Check out the latest feedback:

This app provided consistent access to trading markets on the world’s biggest events and, importantly for any new users, the platform was deeply beginner-friendly.

Positive A standout compliment

Comprehensive customer support options were available, including live chat, which meant it was easy to get in touch with the right person.

Positive Widely praised

Enjoyed taking advantage of the holding rewards system, as this made it easier to trade on and benefit from positions that appeared particularly promising.

Positive A consistent highlight

The liquidity rewards program stood out as a creative way to connect users with the health of the market, and even offered some notable incentives.

Neutral Brought up often

For a crypto-only platform, it was pleasantly surprising to see just how quickly transactions were processed!

Neutral Frequently noted by some

Would have appreciated being able to deposit and withdraw using non-crypto methods – though the available options were always reliable.

Critical Ongoing point of contention

Somewhat frustrated that there was no dedicated sign-up offer.

Critical Repeatedly mentioned

The Android app experience was nowhere near sufficient for a modern prediction market platform… especially when compared against the iOS product.

Negative The most persistent issue

How to Sign up with Polymarket: A step-by-step guide

If you want to get started, these are the steps that you can follow to create your new Polymarket account:

  1. 1

    Follow the banners on this page to the Polymarket website

  2. 2

    Download and install the IOS app if you want to trade on mobile

  3. 3

    Click the 'Sign Up' button to begin

  4. 4

    Continue with Google/Apple ID or enter a valid email address

  5. 5

    Enter the four-digit code sent to you via email

  6. 6

    Enter your full name, date of birth, and U.S. residential address

  7. 7

    Upload your photo ID, proof of address, and enter your SSN to verify your account

  8. 8

    Check everything over and submit the form

  9. 9

    Fund your account using crypto (see below for details)

  10. 10

    Browse the prediction markets and purchase event contracts

Remember that trading predictions at Polymarket carries risks. Always trade responsibly, and don’t make predictions with money you can’t afford to lose.

Bonus Type Bonus Offer Promo Code
Signup Promo Best Value Signup Promo
Deposit $20 get $50
Get Code Visit
18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading involves high risk and may result in loss of your entire investment. See polymarket.us/tos for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearing organization.

Payment methods at Polymarket: Crypto deposits and withdrawals

4.6 / 5

Much like the process described in our Crypto.com Prediction Markets review, Polymarket only supports crypto deposits and withdrawals. Once your deposit has been made, it is automatically converted to pUSD, the native token used for all event contract traders and payouts on Polymarket. It’s an ERC-20 token that’s on the Polygon network, but tethered 1:1 with USDC.

Deposits are usually processed instantly, but they can take a few minutes if the blockchain network is busy. There are no additional deposit fees, but the usual network charges still apply. One thing to note is that the minimum deposit amount varies widely across tokens. For example, there’s a Ā£ minimum for SOL, but $20 for ETH.

Deposit
Withdraw
Fee Process Time Min/Max
  • Visa Best Option
  • Mastercard
  • Bank Transfer
  • Ethereum
  • Ethereum
  • Polygon (MATIC)
  • Polygon (MATIC)

4.8 / 5

Although the main site was initially banned, Polymarket now has a separate website and mobile app for U.S. users that’s headquartered in New York and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

At the time of writing, Polymarket is available in much of the U.S. Currently, the site is either partially restricted or outright banned for traders in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, and Ohio.

In the rest of the U.S., you must be 18+ and complete full KYC to register and trade. To get verified, you need to provide all of your personal information, upload a photo ID, a live selfie, and proof of address, and enter the final four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN).

Country/State License Authority
  • United States of America CFTC - Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Usability of the Polymarket trading platform

5.0 / 5

Prediction market apps and sites tend to have a steep learning curve, so we were pleased to find that the Polymarket website's interface struck the right balance. There are plenty of real-time data tracking tools and transparent order books to keep experienced traders happy.

On the other hand, the basic browsing process is simple enough for novice traders to handle. At a basic level, you can find all of the key prediction market categories at the top of your screen. Once you’ve opened a market, the contract prices are available to the right of your screen, where you can easily place a Buy or Sell order.

The iOS mobile app is arguably even friendlier than the website, thanks to its slightly simpler interface. Added to that, you can use live mode to trade your event contracts while the event is happening, and you can also chat with other users in real-time.

Unfortunately, the Android version of the app needs to be brought up to speed, which we're sure it will be soon. As for the iOS app, you don’t merely have to take us at our word, as over 30,000 U.S. users have given it a 4.6-star rating on the App Store.

  • Design & navigation Slightly cluttered homepage can make navigation tricky.
    Good
  • Sign up & onboarding Simple sign-up via email, Telegram, or even MetaMask, but no welcome bonus.
    Excellent
  • Markets selection The biggest variety of prediction markets in the industry, covering sports, tech, and politics.
    Excellent
  • Fees Fee-free trading on geopolitical events; deposit fees can be reduced by making pUSD deposits.
    Average
  • Mobile app iOS app for U.S. users only; user-friendly browser-based mobile play for everyone.
    Good

Our experience with customer service at Polymarket

4.9 / 5

If you run into any problems when trading on Polymarket, we found three ways to get in touch. Firstly, if you have a few basic troubleshooting queries, you should find what you’re looking for in the Help Center, which is well put together and fairly comprehensive.

If you need to get in touch, you can send an email or use the live chat. Email responses typically take a bit longer, but at least you get to deal with a human being straight away. While using the live chat, we spoke with an AI bot but were connected to a human agent within a few minutes.

Here are some key points to summarize our Polymarket customer service experience:

  • Channels: Help Center, email, Live support
  • Quality of support: Good and responsive
  • Live support: Initially AI-driven, but human agents are available
  • Live Chat Yes

Review of Polymarket rewards

4.7 / 5

There are a couple of rewards that you can potentially benefit from when trading event contracts on Polymarket:

  • Holding Rewards: Polymarket currently offers a 3.25% annual reward to traders who hold their positions in long-term prediction markets. Basically, this is an incentive not to sell and keep the market stable.
  • Liquidity Rewards Program: As a P2P prediction market trading platform, Polymarket needs people to place orders that make a market to keep liquidity high. As an incentive, it offers daily rewards to users who place ā€œgoodā€ orders that help the market.

What do users say about the Polymarket rewards?

You don’t have to only listen to us; here’s what other traders are saying about the rewards at Polymarket:

  • The Liquidity Rewards Program works well if you’re an experienced prediction market trader
  • It was nice to get 3.25% extra on a position I planned to hold anyway
  • Even though I don’t benefit directly from the rewards, they incentivize good limit orders, which makes it easier to find fast taker traders
  • Polymarket doesn’t reward customer loyalty; they only serve to make their product better
  • I trade high volume and rarely benefit from these rewards
  • It would be nice to see a tiered VIP program

Polymarket prediction market categories

Like the site covered in our Kalshi review, Polymarket offers a wide range of prediction markets. We would be here all day if we were to list them all, so instead, here’s a rundown of the main categories:

  • The basic sports prediction markets cover lines like match winners, point spreads, and Over/Under totals. Additionally, you can find game props and sports futures, like World Series winner and MVP awards. Sports market coverage is vast, ranging from major American leagues to niche competitions around the world, such as badminton and cross-country skiing.

  • The political prediction markets at Polymarket cover all major U.S. political events, including Presidential elections, the midterms, and state government elections. You can also trade event contracts on overseas elections and geopolitical events, such as trade deals and ceasefire agreements in wars.

  • Culture prediction markets are probably the broadest prediction market category on Polymarket, as they cover everything from film and TV to music, gaming, and celebrity culture. Even within each category, there’s a broad spectrum. For example, in the movies section, you can buy contracts for Rotten Tomatoes scores, the Oscars, and more. There’s even a subcategory that’s dedicated to Taylor Swift prediction markets.

  • Polymarket is probably the best prediction market for cryptocurrency event contracts. Rather than owning the asset, these markets allow you to trade event contracts for the price rise and fall of a specific token within a certain time frame. This can be anything from a year to five minutes. In fact, Polymarket is currently the only platform that sells Yes/No contracts for crypto five-minute markets.

  • Those of you who like things a bit more serious and high-brow can find markets related to U.S. federal decisions, global gas prices, and more. Additionally, you can predict what will be the largest company by the end of the month. Rather than Yes/No contracts, these markets tend to be multiple-choice or scalar (have number ranges).

  • The climate prediction markets at Polymarket cover everything from the highest temperature in NYC today to how many tornadoes there will be in the U.S. this year. Moving overseas, you can trade contracts on the monthly rainfall in Hong Kong and other global cities.

Editor's Note

Overall, I can see why Polymarket's U.S. app has become the most popular prediction market app in the country. The app is user-friendly, the market selection is diverse, and liquidity is high. On top of that, the fees aren’t too high, and there are some decent incentives if you place maker orders.

Polymarket review FAQ

Polymarket works by allowing you to buy and sell event contracts for future events. If you buy and hold event contracts that correlate to the correct outcome, you make a profit. If not, you lose all the money that you spent. The event contracts are always priced between $0.01 and $0.099 to reflect the real-time probability of each market.

Yes, Polymarket is accurate insofar as the event contract prices reflect real-time market supply and demand. For example, if the traders in the market believe the Knocks have a 60% chance of winning their next game, the ā€œYesā€ event contracts will cost roughly $0.60 each.

Polymarket will pay out once a prediction market is resolved and you have made an accurate prediction. Once the market closes, all correct event contracts are resolved at $1, and all incorrect ones settle at $0. As contracts before and during the event never cost more than $0.99, you will get a profit if you win.

Final thoughts: What we learned during our Polymarket review

Polymarket is probably the best all-around prediction market for U.S. traders, but you can compare Polymarket to Kalshi and other brands at PlayersBest. The site's popularity and reward incentives mean liquidity is high, even for niche events. There’s a diverse selection of active prediction markets.

The event contract prices follow the standard model, and the fees are relatively low for takers. The crypto model means that transactions are fast and that all trades are conducted on the same network.

Prediction market trading should be approached with caution. However, if you are going to engage in this activity, Polymarket is one of the better options.

Signup Promo New users only
Deposit $20 get $50
Claim Bonus
18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading involves high risk and may result in loss of your entire investment. See polymarket.us/tos for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange and clearing organization.