Kalshi review 2026: Trade 100 contracts, get $10!

Written by Paul Portanier

Checked by Alexandra M.

Kalshi is a new prediction market platform, which replaces traditional betting against the house with competitive bets where traders bet against each other. By using our referral code T2P on signup, you can get $10 when you trade 100 contacts.

My review breaks down exactly how Kalshi works, if it’s safe to use, and its many markets that include not just sports, but politics, economics, and crypto bets as well.

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Sportsbook logo	Rating	Bonus	Go-to-sportsbook button	Show more	T&C
	92/100 Expert rating by T2P contributor 89% Playscore based on 6 critics	Get $10 when you trade 100 contacts T2P	Play now	Good to know Available in all States Mobile app for iOS and Android Highly active community 8 payment methods Show more

Kalshi key takeaways

Trade $100, get $10 with referral code T2P

Available in all 50 US states

Bet across 10 different categories

Live bets across 9 sports

Crypto transactions through ZeroHash

What is Kalshi and how does it work

Kalshi is a federally regulated financial exchange market, more commonly known as a ‘prediction market’. Rather than offering traditional bets, where traders bet against the ‘house’ with odds determining their likelihood of succeeding and potential payout, instead traders bet against each other through ‘event contracts’.

Event contracts come in the form of simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ bets, where traders bet on the likelihood on an event taking place. Event contracts cost between $0.01-$0.99, depending on the likelihood of the event taking place, and successful contracts award a flat $1.

Once a traders has placed a bet on an event contract, they can then trade that contract if they wish, similar to trading a stock on the stock market. You’ll also need to pay fees on your contracts, with the fees getting smaller if you’re trading long shots or favorites and higher if you’re buying 50/50 contracts.

Kalshi app review

Kalshi is available as an app for both iOS and Android, and is also available in mobile web browsers. After signing up to the Kashi app, you’ll get an additional $10 in bonus funds, which is credited to your account immediately once you trade 100 contracts. The value of the contracts doesn’t matter, so long as you trade 100 of them.

Mobile users can benefit from other bonuses include a Bug Bounty which rewards users with bonus funds for bugs found and reported, as well as a friend referral program which generates your own code. Should a friend you refer trade 100 contracts, you’ll get an additional $10.

Over 24 hours of testing I found no bugs or glitches, and the app loads fast on both Android and iOS devices. Traders can filter through 10 categories for their markets ,which are available at the top of the screen, or they can use the search bar to get right to the market they want.

Traders can also access the “Ideas” tab, where you can view the trades of the most successful traders and copy them for inspiration.

Time2play Expert Analysis

Mobile rating 100/100

Considering how new prediction markets are to the gambling scene, I was impressed with the overall functionality of the Kalshi app. By comparison, sweepstakes casinos launched with very buggy sites and filters, and to this day many sweeps sites lack a mobile app.

I’m particularly fond of the ‘Ideas’ tab, which makes the app very accessible to people new to prediction markets (which, considering how new they are, is everyone). If you’re unsure how to proceed in Kalshi, you can just take a quick look at the Ideas tab and copy the successful traders, at least till you’re comfortable enough to make your own decisions.

The bonuses themselves are nothing to write home about, with just a welcome promo and a friend referral through our Kalshi referral code T2P, but what they lack in quantity they make up for with simplicity. The welcome promo is straightforward, and can be collected whether you buy 100 expensive contracts or 100 cheap ones, making it accessible to all users.

Paul Portanier

Different prediction markets available at Kalshi

Kalshi’s prediction markets are split into 10 categories: Politics, Sports, Culture, Crypto, Climate, Economics, Mentions, Companies, Financials, and Tech & Science.

Sports markets are split across 16 sports. Major sports like basketball, baseball, football, and soccer feature 300+ markets each, while more nice sports like MMA, and cricket range between 20-30 markets. In total, 1,600+ markets were available for sports alone. Live betting and esports were also available as market options.

It’s important to note that traditional sports bets are not available, and instead bets are split into simple “yes” or “no” bets, similar to futures from more trad sportsbooks.

Popular markets can be found on the ‘Trending’ tab, and feature breakdowns of people’s trading habits on the market over time. Politics is the most popular market, with new markets added on an hourly rate and adjusted for current events.

Time2play Expert Analysis

Market variety rating: 100/100

The variety of markets on display is mind boggling, and the speed that they’re added is even crazier. This variety and speed allows Kalshi to offer betting markets on anything imaginable immediately, from US elections all the way to when GTA 6 will finally be released (my money is on ‘Never’).

What’s even crazier is that, despite how good Kalshi is, they’re still not the best. Polymarket offers even more options, with markets updating live.

If I’m being honest though, I prefer Kalshi. Polymarket is genuinely too much, and half the time I get choice paralysis just looking at it. Kalshi on the other hand offers a far more accessible library of markets while still being genuinely huge.

Paul Portanier

How to trade on Kalshi

It’s important to understand that there are no American Odds on Kalshi. Instead, markets are split into simple “yes” and “no” options, with a percentage next to each market displaying its likelihood of succeeding.

Each market costs between $0.01-$0.99 depending on the likelihood of success, with long shots being very cheap while favorites are expensive. All successful contracts then award $1. Usually, you would buy multiple of the same contract, to increase your profit later.

For example: I buy 50 contracts on Sinners winning Best Picture worth 19 cents, spending $9.50 total including fees. If Sinners wins, I would get $50 ($1 for each successful contract), which would mean a profit of $41.5 total.

Alternatively, you can also sell contracts. If you buy a contract cheap, and it suddenly rises in value, you can choose to sell it for a guaranteed profit rather than wait for it to be paid out. This also applies vice versa, where you can sell a contract that is losing value to try and minimize the loss.

KYC Verification: Why they need your SSN

In order to screen traders, a KYC verification is done which includes asking for your address, phone, encrypted SSN, and email. Kalshi does this to ensure that prohibited traders such as minors are not trying to access the site, and that traders from the correct geographic location are on the site.

ID information is sent to a third-party partner for KYC checks, which means Kalshi does not store or receive any information regarding your ID.

Quick Order vs. Limit Order

Quick Orders are the usual market orders, where you simply see what is available and buy at that price. However, traders can choose to set a ‘Limit Order’, where they can set the price they’re willing to pay for a particular market.

If a seller sees the order and chooses to match the price, then the order will go through. Keep in mind that this is not guaranteed, and the Limit Order may never be accepted.

Time2play Expert Analysis

For a brand new phenomenon, trading on Kalshi is surprisingly simple. Once I find a market I like, I can simply input the amount I’m willing to spend, and have several contracts of that market in a matter of seconds.

I’m particularly fond of the Limit Order option, which lets me set my own price so that I don’t overspend. It’s particularly good for more volatile markets, where instead of buying when a contract is expensive I can set a lower price and wait for someone to accept it once the market value goes down. It’s far simpler than staying glued to my laptop waiting for prices to drop.

Paul Portanier

Kalshi payment methods

Kalshi offers four different transaction options. Deposits can be done through debit cards, bank transfer, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. Withdrawals can be done through all the previously mentioned options except wire transfer.

Keep in mind that there is a security hold on funds deposited through cards and bank transfers, with funds on cards being held for three days while funds deposited through bank transfer being held for up to 30 days. There is no security hold on funds deposited through cryptocurrency.

The minimum deposit for all methods excluding crypto is $5, and some methods incur a 2% processing fee. The maximum deposit limits are as follows:

• Cards – $2,500
• Bank transfer – $10,000
• Crypto – $500,000
• Wire transfer – no limit

Withdrawals are instant through cards and crypto, and can take up to 4 days through bank transfer. All withdrawals incur a $2 fee.

Crypto transactions are done through ZeroHash, and supports all currencies available on that platform. Third-party fees may incur when using ZeroHash.

Time2play Expert Analysis

Payments rating: 80/100

I have mixed feelings about the payment methods available at Kalshi. On the one hand, there’s a decent amount of payment options available. However, there are a surprisingly large number of fees attached to the site.

You have a 2% deposit fee, followed by a $2 withdrawal fee, and that’s if you’re using a FIAT method. Crypto users have third-party fees to worry about, which exacerbates the problem even further.

It makes what is otherwise a simple platform somewhat inaccessible, as you suddenly have to keep several fees in mind. So overall, I can’t say that I’m the happiest with Kalshi’s payments.

Paul Portanier

Kalshi fees and payouts: Is it cheaper than the “vig”?

Kalshi pays out $1 for every successful contract, regardless of how much the contract cost to purchase. This means the cheaper you buy the contract, the more your potential profit becomes.

As for fees, Kalshi charges roughly $0.01-$0.02 per contract, with the fee fluctuating depending on the contract. Long shots and heavy favorites have lower fees, while 50/50 have higher fees. These fees are on top of the transaction fees from depositing and withdrawing funds.

This all being said, the maths still beats out the “vig” of traditional sportsbooks. The average vig of a sportsbook falls between 4.5-5%, while Kalshi’s highest fee of $0.02 per contract is 2%. You can also deposit through bank transfers to avoid deposit fees.

Time2play Expert Analysis

Fees rating: 90/100

A 2% fee on each contract can seem generous compared to an average vig, but that percentage can easily balloon through transaction fees. If you want to keep more money in your wallet, you’ll need to bet smart.

That means depositing through bank transfer where there is no transaction fee, and withdrawing large sums to negate the $2 flat withdrawal fee. Crypto technically doesn’t incur fees through Kalshi, but you’ll have third-party fees to worry about.

Still, if you budget well, you should be paying around half the amount of fees you’d normally pay at a traditional sportsbook. That’s pretty great in my eyes.

Paul Portanier

Is Kalshi safe

When a trader signs up to Kalshi, both Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks are done immediately. Accounts are also run through a system called IC360 to check for connections to the sporting world. Kalshi reserves the right to check for insider trading should they detect multiple suspicious transactions.

The site itself uses 256-bit encryption with RSA technology, and two-factor authentication (2FA) can be enabled to protect your privacy even further. While no license is required, Kalshi is subject to US regulatory oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

Kalshi offers a Responsible Risk Management section, which provides three RG tools for traders. You can set monthly deposit limits through the Funding Cap, take a Trading Break for one day or longer, or use Voluntary Opt-Out to exclude yourself from trading activities.

Alternatively, traders can use the Help Centre to de-activate their account. However, since Kalshi is a financial exchange site, they are legally required to maintain records and therefore cannot permanently delete your account, meaning traders are able to simply re-enter using their credentials if they wish.

Time2play Expert Analysis

Safety rating: 95/100

If we’re talking about security, then Kalshi passes with flying colors. RG though is a different matter entirely.

Let’s start with the good. Kalshi has a small army of tools all dedicated to making sure no bad apples get into the site. AML, IC360, and the 256-bit SSL all work together to keep both you and the site perfectly safe from malicious entities.

The problem comes with RG. First off, while all the RG tools help limit your activity on-site, they do nothing if you’re accessing Kalshi events through external Futures Commission Merchants. Even worse though, the “de-activate account” tool doesn’t actually de-activate your account…it just logs you out.

It doesn’t take a genius to realise that if you can simply log back in again, then the tool just doesn’t cut it. Traders who require account deletion need the temptation removed entirely. While Kalshi is restricted by federal laws, clearly something needs to change so that these vital tools work as intended.

Paul Portanier

Kalshi comparisons

FAQs