Kalshi vs Robinhood

Kalshi vs Robinhood: the key differences

Kalshi is an exchange and Robinhood is a broker, and that explains most of the differences between them. Kalshi runs its own CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse, so you trade with it directly. Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant, routes your orders to exchanges, and Kalshi is one of them: the CFTC has allowed brokers to route orders to Kalshi since January 2025.

Robinhood also routes orders to ForecastEx (owned by Interactive Brokers), Rothera (its joint venture with Susquehanna) and, for some football contracts since September 8, 2026, Crypto.com’s exchange. When you buy a Kalshi-listed contract in the Robinhood app, you trade on Kalshi’s exchange through a broker that adds its own commission. Kalshi ranks #1 and Robinhood #2 in our ranking of the best US prediction markets.

As of September 30, 2026:

• Cost: Robinhood’s commission of up to 1¢ per contract comes on top of the exchange fee, so a Kalshi contract usually costs more there than on Kalshi.
• Where you trade: you can trade Kalshi on the web as well as in its iOS app. Robinhood trading is app-only, on iOS and Android.
• Funding: Kalshi takes PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay and crypto. Robinhood uses the cash in your brokerage account, and event contracts need settled cash.
• Interest: Kalshi pays a 3.25% variable APY on cash and open positions for balances of $250 or more. Robinhood lists no interest on event-contract positions.

Fees

The same Kalshi contract usually costs more through Robinhood. Since June 1, 2026, Robinhood’s commission has been 10% × price × (1 − price) per contract, or 5% with Robinhood Gold, rounded up to the nearest cent and capped at 1¢. On Kalshi-listed contracts, Robinhood also charges an exchange fee of 1¢ per contract per side, so you pay up to 2¢ per contract.

On Kalshi itself, takers pay 0.07 × contracts × price × (1 − price), rounded up to the next cent, which peaks at 1.75¢ per contract at a 50¢ price. Most maker orders, the limit orders that rest on the book, pay nothing.

The 90¢ Robinhood figures match Robinhood’s own example: 100 Yes contracts at 90¢ cost $91.90 in total, or $91.45 with Gold. The same trade costs $90.63 as a Kalshi taker, or $90.00 as a maker on most Kalshi markets. The other figures are our calculations from both platforms’ published formulas.

Robinhood Gold ($5 a month or $50 a year) lowers the commission only on contracts priced below about 28¢ or above about 72¢, and even there Robinhood’s total fee stays above Kalshi’s taker fee.

Moving money costs differ too. Kalshi charges no withdrawal fee on bank, debit card, PayPal or crypto, but debit card deposits may carry a 2% fee, and PayPal and Venmo deposits after the first carry a fee. Robinhood’s ACH transfers are free, while instant withdrawals cost 1.75% and outgoing wires cost $25. Our prediction market fees guide compares all five platforms we rank.

Markets

Kalshi has the broader menu and more trading tools, while Robinhood’s menu is also broad and its longest list is sports.

Kalshi’s public API sorts its markets into 16 categories, from sports and elections to weather, economics, entertainment and mention markets (whether a public figure will say a particular word). Combos, priced by request-for-quote, made up about 62% of its volume in the week of September 14–20, 2026, according to DeFi Rate data. You also get limit and quick orders, auto-sell, block trades, and REST, WebSocket and FIX APIs with a demo environment.

Robinhood covers sports, politics, economics, commodities, metals, crypto, climate, technology, entertainment, esports and chess, with sports from the NFL and college basketball to tennis, golf, MMA, F1 and cricket. Three things stand out:

• Combos: preset combos, plus custom combos of up to 10 legs on pro football and basketball, which fill completely or not at all.
• Orders: limit orders only, either immediate-or-cancel or good until 3 a.m. ET the next day; dollar-amount orders always fill immediately or cancel.
• Controls: a setting that hides sports markets entirely.

Availability and legality

Both are available in most states, but sports contracts are off-limits in slightly different places. Both check your physical location, so a block applies while you’re in that state even if you live elsewhere.

Both lost Nevada cases at the Ninth Circuit on August 28, 2026, and Robinhood has asked the Supreme Court to review its case (No. 26-338). Connecticut and Missouri have challenged both, and our guide to whether prediction markets are legal tracks the cases.

A CFTC registration doesn’t make sports contracts legal everywhere. Trade only what each app offers where you are, and never use a VPN to get around a block.

Which should you choose?

Choose Kalshi if you want the lowest cost on the same contracts, especially as a maker, if you want to trade on the web or fund with PayPal, Venmo or crypto, or if you want the widest range of markets and interest on your balance.

Choose Robinhood if you already invest there and want event contracts next to your stocks and crypto without funding a new account, if you like building custom football and basketball combos of up to 10 legs, or if you want contracts from several exchanges, including ForecastEx and Rothera, in one place.

Using both is reasonable if you already have a Robinhood account: keep it for occasional trades next to your portfolio, and use Kalshi directly for larger or more frequent trades, where the fee gap adds up. Both offer self-exclusion; Robinhood can also hide sports markets, and Kalshi offers a trading break and a monthly funding cap. Our responsible gambling guide lists more tools.

Read our full Kalshi review and Robinhood review, or compare all five platforms in our ranking of the top US prediction markets.