Best Prediction Market Apps and Sites in the US

Seven apps now let Americans buy a yes-or-no contract on a football game, a Fed decision or which lab tops the AI leaderboard. Every one of them answers to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), not a state casino regulator. That federal status is why Kalshi, Polymarket US and the sportsbook giants can reach states such as California and Texas, where sports betting is still illegal.

Our pick for most traders is Kalshi: the widest spread of markets, a fee schedule published down to the formula, and the longest regulatory record of any app here. Polymarket US is the strongest alternative, and DraftKings Predictions is the easiest jump for anyone who already has a DraftKings account. The full ranking, fees and state access are below.

The AI race · marketMarket price

Which company has the best AI model at the end of 2026?

Anthropic47%

Google45%

OpenAI5%

xAI1%

Prices from Polymarket, October 22, 2026 22:30. Not a recommendation. See market

Best prediction market apps, ranked

We ranked each platform on regulatory standing, market breadth, fee transparency, deposit and withdrawal options, and how much of the country can actually use it. Scores are editorial, built from each operator’s published rules and fee schedules.

1. Kalshi: the first CFTC-designated exchange built only for event contracts. Sports, politics, economics, weather, culture and tech markets, 18+. Read our Kalshi review.
2. Polymarket US: the federally regulated US arm of the world’s best-known prediction market, relaunched through a CFTC-designated exchange it acquired in 2025. 18+. Polymarket review.
3. DraftKings Predictions: one to two cents per contract and a familiar wallet for DraftKings customers. 18+. DraftKings Predictions review.
4. FanDuel Predicts: a joint venture with CME Group, with contracts listed on CME’s exchanges. 18+. FanDuel Predicts review.
5. Crypto.com Predict: runs its own CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse, which also powers other brands. 21+. Crypto.com Predict review.
6. Fanatics Markets: FanCash rewards on trades, but live in a limited list of states. 21+. Fanatics Markets review.
7. Novig: a sports-first exchange with no fee on pre-game trades. 21+. Novig review.

What an event contract actually is

An event contract is a question with two answers and a fixed payout. “Will the Chiefs win on Sunday?” trades as a Yes contract and a No contract, and whichever side turns out right settles at $1. The wrong side settles at zero.

The price between those two points is the market’s estimate of probability. A Yes contract at 63 cents implies a 63% chance. If you buy 100 of them for $63 and the Chiefs win, you collect $100. If they lose, you lose the $63 plus fees, and nothing more.

Why the price moves

Nobody sets that 63 cents. Traders post bids and offers on an order book, and the price is wherever a buyer and a seller agree. When injury news breaks or a poll lands, the book reprices in seconds. You can sell before settlement to lock in a gain or cut a loss, which is the feature that separates these apps from a traditional bet slip.

To convert a contract price into the odds formats you already know, run it through our implied probability calculator. A 25-cent contract is the same proposition as +300 at a sportsbook, before fees.

Prediction markets vs sportsbooks: the key differences

The two products look alike on a phone screen. Underneath, they are built differently, regulated differently and make money differently.

	Prediction market	Sportsbook
Who you trade against	Other traders, matched on an exchange	The house
Who sets the price	Supply and demand on the order book	The book’s traders, with a margin built in
How the operator earns	Transaction fees per contract	The vig, plus customers’ net losses
Federal regulator	CFTC	None; licensed state by state
Minimum age	18+ on most apps, 21+ on some	21+ in nearly every state
States reached	Most of the country, subject to litigation	Only states that have legalized it
Selling early	Yes, at the live market price	Cash-out where offered, at the book’s price
Limits on winners	No account limiting on exchanges	Sharp customers are often limited
Non-sports markets	Elections, economics, weather, tech, culture	Mostly sports

The catch is liquidity. A Sunday NFL game draws deep books on every app. A second-tier tennis match or a niche culture question can have a wide gap between the best bid and the best offer. Crossing that gap costs money, just as the vig does. If you already bet on sports, compare both routes: our state betting guides cover the licensed sportsbooks in ten states.

Prediction market fees compared

Fees are where these apps diverge most, and the headline “no vig” pitch hides real costs.

App	Trading fee model	Minimum age
Kalshi	Taker fee of 7% × price × (1 − price) per contract, rounded up; lower maker fee on some markets	18+
Polymarket US	Taker fee on the same price × (1 − price) curve, rate set by category; makers pay nothing; geopolitical markets fee-free	18+
DraftKings Predictions	$0.01 or $0.02 per contract, depending on price	18+
FanDuel Predicts	2% of the potential payout, built into the price shown	18+
Crypto.com Predict	About $0.02 per $1 contract	21+
Fanatics Markets	Roughly $0.0034 to $0.0275 per contract	21+
Novig	No fee on pre-game trades or maker fills; fees on live and parlay trades	21+

How the Kalshi-style curve works

Kalshi’s published fee schedule charges takers 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price). That peaks at 50 cents: 100 contracts at 50 cents cost $1.75 in fees. At 90 cents, the same 100 contracts cost 63 cents. Coin-flip markets are the most expensive to trade; heavy favorites and long shots are the cheapest.

Flat per-contract pricing, as at DraftKings, works the other way. A one-cent fee on a five-cent long shot is 20% of your stake, while two cents on a 60-cent contract barely registers.

Deposit fees bite too

Bank transfers are free on most apps. Debit cards often are not: Kalshi charges up to 2% on card deposits and Novig charges 3% on card and Apple Pay. If you fund with a card and trade small, that can cost more than the trading fees.

How to choose a prediction market app

Start with the question you want to trade, then work backwards.

• Market range. Kalshi and Polymarket US cover sports, politics, economics, weather, culture and tech. Novig is sports-first. FanDuel and DraftKings lean heavily on sports, with finance and culture alongside.
• Your state. Sports contracts are the contested part. FanDuel, for example, lists general markets nationwide but restricts sports contracts to a smaller group of states. Check our state-by-state legal tracker before you deposit.
• Your age. If you are 18 to 20, your options are Kalshi, Polymarket US, DraftKings Predictions and FanDuel Predicts.
• Fee shape. Mostly trading favorites and long shots? Curve-based fees are cheaper. Trading near 50 cents? Check the exact cost per contract, because Kalshi’s curve tops out at 1.75 cents and DraftKings charges two.
• Liquidity. Look at the gap between the best bid and best offer before you place an order. A one-cent spread is healthy; ten cents is a warning.
• Withdrawals. Kalshi says debit withdrawals are normally instant once security holds clear. Others quote one to five business days for bank transfers.

Combo trades deserve a separate warning. FanDuel lets you stack up to eight football predictions in one trade, and DraftKings and Kalshi offer combos too. Every leg has to land, the same as a sportsbook parlay, and our parlay calculator shows how fast the true odds lengthen.

Who regulates these apps, and how

Two structures exist, and the difference matters if anything goes wrong.

Designated contract markets (DCMs) are exchanges approved by the CFTC. Kalshi became the first DCM dedicated to event contracts when the CFTC designated KalshiEX LLC on November 4, 2020. Polymarket US runs on QCX LLC, designated in July 2025 and later bought by Polymarket. Crypto.com operates its own exchange and clearinghouse, Crypto.com | Derivatives North America.

Futures commission merchants (FCMs) are brokers. FanDuel Predicts opens your account through FanDuel Prediction Markets LLC, a registered FCM, while the contracts themselves are listed on CME Group’s exchanges. DraftKings Predictions and Fanatics Markets also describe themselves as CFTC-registered FCMs. In practice, an FCM holds your money and routes your orders to an exchange; a DCM is the exchange.

Robinhood, which is not ranked here, takes the broker route a step further: since September 8, 2026, it has routed contracts to Kalshi, ForecastEx, its own Rothera joint venture, and Crypto.com’s exchange.

Where you can trade: state access at a glance

Federal regulation does not mean every market is open everywhere. Each platform geofences, and the lists change as courts rule.

App	Where it is restricted
Kalshi	Nevada can enforce its gambling laws after a Ninth Circuit ruling; a Washington court ordered most markets geofenced; a Massachusetts injunction on sports markets is on hold during appeal
Polymarket US	Not available in Nevada
DraftKings Predictions	Not available in Maine or New Hampshire; sports contracts restricted in a number of states
FanDuel Predicts	General markets nationwide; sports contracts in a limited group of states
Crypto.com Predict	No event contracts in Arizona or New York; no sports contracts in IL, MA, MD, MI, NJ, NV or OH
Fanatics Markets	Live in 22 states, including California, Texas and Florida
Novig	Not available in Arizona, Michigan or Nevada

Your app checks your location every time you trade, so the rules follow where you are standing, not where you live.

The legal fight to watch

Three federal appeals courts have now looked at whether states can treat sports event contracts as gambling, and they disagree. The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi against New Jersey in April 2026. The Ninth Circuit ruled for Nevada on August 28, in a case that also covered Robinhood and Crypto.com. The Sixth Circuit followed on September 25, holding that Ohio and Tennessee can apply their gambling laws.

New Jersey’s petition, Flaherty v. Kalshi, is docketed at the Supreme Court as No. 26-299, with a related Nevada matter at No. 26-338. The justices have until January to decide which cases they will hear. Meanwhile the CFTC has proposed new rules for event contracts, published on June 10, 2026, which could change the picture again. Our legal tracker follows every case.

Markets on the future: AI, tech and machine sports

Prediction markets have become the scoreboard for the AI race. Polymarket’s flagship question asks which company will have the top model on the Arena leaderboard at the end of the year. Kalshi runs a monthly “Top model” series settled on the same leaderboard. The widget at the top of this page tracks those prices. For how the contracts resolve and what can go wrong, read our guide to AI prediction markets. For software that helps you price them, see our AI betting tools hub.

All our prediction market reviews

• Kalshi review
• Polymarket US review
• DraftKings Predictions review
• FanDuel Predicts review
• Crypto.com Predict review
• Fanatics Markets review
• Novig review

Trading responsibly

Trading event contracts involves risk of loss. Treat the money you deposit as money you can afford to lose, set deposit limits inside the app, and step away if trading stops being fun. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.