How Polymarket Works: Odds, Fees and How to Bet (2026)

Polymarket is a site where people trade shares on real-world events, such as who wins a game or whether Bitcoin closes above a price. Each share costs less than $1, the price is the market's chance, and a share of the outcome that happens pays $1 while every other share pays nothing.

You do not bet against a bookmaker. On Polymarket another trader takes the other side, and the price comes from what buyers and sellers agree on. This guide covers polymarket.com, the international site that Prow connects to. Facts are as of November 11, 2026, and every source is under Sources.

How does Polymarket work?

Every market is a question with outcomes, most often Yes and No. A market starts with a $1 rule: one dollar of collateral creates one Yes share and one No share, and exactly one of them will be worth $1 at the end. So the two prices always add up to about $1.

Trading runs on a public order book. Buyers post the price they will pay, sellers post the price they want, and a trade happens when the two meet. Polymarket does not set the odds. When news arrives, traders move the price.

When the event is over, the market is resolved. Each winning share can then be redeemed for $1.00 and each losing share is worth $0.00. Before that you can sell your shares to anyone at the current price, to take a profit or cut a loss. If a market cannot be decided, it can resolve 50/50, and each share then redeems for $0.50.

What do the odds on Polymarket mean?

The price in cents is the chance. A Yes share at 62¢ means traders put the event at about 62%. A No share at 38¢ says the same thing from the other side.

The price also tells you what you win. Buy at 62¢ and a win pays $1, so each share gains 38¢ and costs 62¢ if you are wrong. Cheap shares pay a lot when they win and lose often. Expensive shares win often and pay little.

A price is the crowd's guess, not a fact. Thin markets can be moved by one large order, and a price can jump on news in seconds.

What are Polymarket's fees?

Polymarket charges a taker fee on most markets. You are a taker when your order fills at once against someone else's resting order, which is what a market bet does. A maker, who posts an order that waits on the book, pays no fee. Deposits and withdrawals are free on Polymarket's side. Your wallet's network costs and any payment provider you use may charge their own fees.

The fee per share is the category's rate times the price times one minus the price. It is highest at 50¢ and shrinks toward 1¢ and 99¢. Polymarket's docs list these taker fee rates:

Selling pays the same kind of fee, and there is no fee on the $1 payout. Polymarket can change these rates, so check the fee page before a large bet.

Prow's own fee on a Polymarket bet is 0% until the end of 2026 and 1% of the amount after that. The bet ticket shows every fee before you confirm.

What is pUSD and how do I deposit and withdraw?

Polymarket trades in pUSD, a token on the Polygon network. Polymarket's docs say it is backed by USDC. You do not need to buy it yourself: when you deposit USDC, the deposit is converted to pUSD for you. Polymarket's bridge takes deposits from several networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Solana, Bitcoin and Tron, and each asset has a minimum. A deposit below the minimum is not processed.

A withdrawal sends pUSD out through the same bridge to the chain, token and address you choose. Polymarket calls withdrawals instant and free, though a large one can fail when a swap pool runs low, and then a smaller amount works.

With Prow it looks like this:

• Prow wallet: open Add USDC to Polymarket, send USDC on Arbitrum, and keep a little ETH for the network fee. It arrives as Polymarket cash in about 2 minutes. Because it moves money, the wallet's confirm window opens once.
• Your own wallet: the same window shows your Polymarket account's own deposit address for each network.

Always check the network before you send. Funds sent on a network the address does not accept do not arrive.

How do I bet on Polymarket? A step-by-step example

Here is the full path through Prow. Prow shows Polymarket next to predict.fun and Hyperliquid, so you can compare the same event first.

1. Open Predictions and find a market. Use the category tabs, the search field or the Trending sort. Open the market and read its Rules card: who decides, how it settles and the deadline.
2. Connect Polymarket. Press Connect. If you have no Polymarket account, Prow creates one for you, free. On a Prow wallet there are no pop-ups. With your own wallet, such as MetaMask, you sign once to connect and confirm each bet in the wallet.
3. Add money. Send USDC as described above, or use money already in your Polymarket account.
4. Pick a side and type an amount. Yes or No, or one of two teams. The ticket shows the price and what $1 turns into if you win. Details shows your shares, the average price, the fees and the account the bet goes from.
5. Confirm. A market bet fills now at the best prices on the book, never worse than the cap on Details. A limit bet waits at your price until it fills or you cancel it. A market bet must be at least $1. A limit bet must meet the market's minimum size in shares. The ticket tells you if you are under it.
6. Sell or hold. Sell any time while trading is open. If you hold until the end, a win turns into $1 per share.
7. Claim. After a win, open My bets and press Claim. The money goes to your Polymarket cash.

Prow sends the bet from your browser to Polymarket. Your money stays in your own Polymarket account the whole time, and Prow never holds it. For how the Prow wallet works, see Prow wallet, and for every ticket detail see the Prediction markets docs.

Worked example with real numbers

You bet $100 on a sports market where Yes trades at 40¢.

• Shares: $100 / $0.40 = 250 shares.
• Chance: 40¢ means the market says about 40%.
• If Yes wins: 250 shares x $1 = $250. That is $150 more than you put in, before fees.
• If No wins: your 250 shares pay $0, and you lose the $100.
• Polymarket fee: sports rate 0.05 x 250 shares x 0.40 x 0.60 = $3.00.
• Prow fee: $0 now. After 2026 it would be 1% of $100, which is $1.00.
• If you sell at 70¢ instead: 250 shares x $0.70 = $175 back. The fee on that sale is 250 x 0.05 x 0.70 x 0.30 = about $2.63.

The ticket shows the exact figures for your bet before you confirm, and they can differ a little because the fill price moves with the book.

How does Polymarket resolve a market?

Most Polymarket markets are resolved through the UMA oracle. The steps, from Polymarket's docs:

1. Anyone can propose the winning outcome by posting a bond, typically $750 in pUSD. A correct proposal earns the bond back plus a reward, and a wrong one loses the bond.
2. A 2-hour challenge window follows. If nobody disputes, the market resolves about 2 hours later.
3. A dispute needs a counter-bond of the same size. A dispute that reaches a second challenge goes to a 24 to 48 hour debate and then a vote of UMA token holders, which takes about 48 hours.

So an undisputed market settles in about 2 hours after the proposal, and a disputed one takes 4 to 6 days in total. Up or Down markets on crypto prices skip this and use Chainlink price data. Trading stops when a market resolves.

Read the Rules card on the market. A result follows the written rule, not the headline of the question.

Is Polymarket legal? Where is it available?

It depends on where you are. Polymarket blocks some places completely, mostly under sanctions, and lists many more as close-only: you can sell what you hold but cannot open new bets. Its list changes, so read the geoblock page for the current one. A few places are close-only on the website only.

Prow follows the same rule and applies it by where you are. Prow asks Polymarket whether your location is allowed. If Polymarket says no, the bet button turns grey and reads Not available in your country, and the note offers a link to see the market on polymarket.com. That link is for viewing only. Prow does not work around a country rule.

Whether prediction markets are legal for you is a question about your local law. In many countries they count as gambling. If you are unsure, ask a local adviser before you bet.

Is there a Polymarket app?

Polymarket runs at polymarket.com. Prow Predictions is a separate web app that works on a phone or computer and sends your Polymarket bets from your own account. It lists Polymarket, predict.fun and Hyperliquid markets together, so you can compare one event's price across venues. To start, open Predictions in Prow. For a comparison of the venues, see Polymarket, predict.fun and Hyperliquid compared.

Frequently asked questions

How does Polymarket make money?

It charges the taker fee on most markets, listed in the table above. Makers and the $1 payout pay nothing, and deposits and withdrawals are free on Polymarket's side. Polymarket also returns part of the fees to market makers.

Can you lose money on Polymarket?

Yes. If your outcome does not happen, your shares pay $0 and you lose the whole bet. You can also lose by selling lower than you bought or by paying fees. Only bet what you can afford to lose.

How do I withdraw from Polymarket?

You send your pUSD out through Polymarket's bridge to the chain, token and address you choose. Polymarket calls it instant and free. In Prow, the account's row in Prediction accounts shows your cash, and your money stays in your own Polymarket account until you move it.

What happens if a Polymarket market is disputed?

The result goes to a UMA vote after a debate of 24 to 48 hours. The vote takes about 48 hours, so a disputed market can take 4 to 6 days to settle. You cannot claim until it settles.

Do I need crypto to use Polymarket?

Yes, you need USDC, or another asset the bridge accepts, to fund your account. Polymarket trades in pUSD, which is backed by USDC. With Prow, you also need a little ETH on Arbitrum if you deposit from a Prow wallet.

What is the minimum bet on Polymarket?

Polymarket sets a minimum order size in shares for each market, and an order must meet it. Its docs show 5 shares as an example, and it differs by market. In Prow, a market bet must also be at least $1. The ticket tells you if your amount is too small.

Can I use Polymarket if it is blocked in my country?

Not through Prow, and Prow does not help you get around a country rule. Polymarket's rules apply by where you are. You may still be able to sell what you already hold if your place is close-only.

Sources

Checked November 11, 2026:

• Polymarket docs: Fees, Resolution, pUSD, Polymarket 101, Place orders, Geoblock, Deposit, Withdraw
• Polymarket help: What is Polymarket?
• Prow docs: Prediction markets, Prow wallet, Bets not available in your country
• Prow terms: Terms of Service