Polymarket Tutorial: How to Use Polymarket Step by Step (2026)

Before you start: can you use it?

US residents can't deposit or trade on polymarket.com; they use the separate Polymarket US app. Polymarket also blocks or limits trading in many other countries, and governments add blocks of their own. Check where Polymarket and Kalshi are available before you move any money.

Polymarket's Terms of Use prohibit using a VPN or similar tool to get around these restrictions, and doing so can also break local law. PolyKal doesn't help anyone get around them.

Step 1: Create an account

On polymarket.com you sign up with Google, with your email (you enter a 6-digit code sent to your inbox) or with a crypto wallet such as MetaMask, Rabby or Phantom; Polymarket's terms are for users 18 or older, and the help center's sign-up steps include no ID check. Always sign in the same way, because a different email or wallet opens a different account. The US app instead uses Google or Apple ID sign-in plus identity verification before you can deposit. Full guide: how to create a Polymarket account.

Step 2: Use the website or install the app

Polymarket's help center describes polymarket.com as a website for any modern browser on desktop, tablet or phone, with no separate app for international users. The only app it lists is the Polymarket US product (seller Blockratize Inc.), whose accounts aren't connected to polymarket.com; the help center still calls Android "coming soon", though a Google Play listing is live. Apps from other developers using the Polymarket name are not Polymarket's, so install only from the official listing. Full guide: the Polymarket app: official apps and how to spot fakes.

Step 3: Deposit

On polymarket.com you open Deposit, choose the token and the network you are sending from, copy your account's fixed deposit address and send at least the minimum shown; the funds are converted to pUSD on Polygon, usually within a few minutes. Paying by card or bank goes through a third-party on-ramp such as MoonPay, which charges its own fees; which options the deposit screen offers can vary. Transfers sent on the wrong network or to the wrong address can't be reversed, so Polymarket suggests testing with a small amount first; US app users deposit by debit card, bank transfer or wire instead. Full guide: how to deposit and withdraw on Polymarket.

Step 4: Buy shares

On a market page, pick the outcome, choose Yes to trade for it or No to trade against it, enter an amount and confirm; button labels may differ slightly. A market order buys at once from the lowest asking prices in the order book and pays a taker fee in most categories, while a limit order sets your own price and pays no fee if it waits on the book and is filled later; each market sets a minimum order size in shares (5 in Polymarket's examples). A share pays $1 if your outcome is right and $0 if not, so you can lose the whole amount you put into a position. Full guide: how to buy on Polymarket.

Step 5: Sell or hold to resolution, then withdraw

You can sell at any time before the market resolves, either at the best bids with a market order or at your own price with a limit order, which fills only if a buyer takes it. If you hold, each winning share can be redeemed (claimed) for 1 pUSD after resolution, with no deadline, and losing shares are worth $0. To cash out, go to your portfolio, choose Withdraw, enter a receiving address and pick the token, amount and network; Polymarket charges no withdrawal fee, though conversion or routing costs can apply. Full guides: how to sell on Polymarket and deposits and withdrawals.

Key terms

• Share: a position on one outcome of a market, priced between $0 and $1. It pays $1 if that outcome is correct when the market resolves and $0 if not (or $0.50 if the market resolves 50-50); the price is read as the market's implied probability, so 40¢ means about 40%.
• pUSD (Polymarket USD): the token that balances on polymarket.com have been held and traded in since April 28, 2026. It runs on the Polygon blockchain, is backed 1:1 by USDC, and Polymarket has no current plans to list it on outside exchanges.
• Order book, bid and ask: the order book lists the orders waiting to buy and sell an outcome. The bid is the highest price a buyer is offering, which is what a market sell receives; the ask is the lowest price a seller is asking, which is what a market buy pays. The price shown on a market is the midpoint between the two, or the last traded price if they are more than 10¢ apart.
• Maker and taker: a maker order waits on the book and is filled later; a taker order matches immediately against orders already there. On polymarket.com only takers pay trading fees.
• Limit and market order: a limit order sets the price you will accept and may fill in part, later or not at all; a market order executes right away against the best orders on the book, at whatever prices are available there.
• Resolution: settling a market's result under its written rules, through the UMA Optimistic Oracle. A proposed result faces a 2-hour challenge period and stands if nobody disputes it; disputed markets take about 4–6 days.
• Redeem: exchanging winning shares for pUSD after resolution, 1 pUSD per winning share, with no deadline; the help center calls this claiming. Redeemed pUSD stays in your Polymarket balance until you withdraw it.

Costs at a glance

• Deposits and withdrawals: Polymarket charges no fee for either, according to its docs.
• Trading fees: only takers pay; makers pay nothing. The fee is shares × fee rate × price × (1 − price), and as of September 2026 the rate is 0.07 for crypto markets, 0.05 for sports, economics, culture, weather and other markets, 0.04 for finance, politics, mentions and tech, and 0 for geopolitics. At the 0.04 rate, buying 100 shares at 40¢ as a taker costs 100 × $0.40 = $40.00 plus a fee of 100 × 0.04 × 0.40 × 0.60 = $0.96. Rates change, and the US app has its own schedule: see Polymarket fees explained and the fee calculator.
• Network and on-ramp costs: network fees on the blockchain you send from are yours to pay and non-refundable under Polymarket's terms; deposits from other networks or in other tokens can carry bridge and conversion costs; and card on-ramps charge their own fees. MoonPay's European pricing, for example, lists up to 4.5% for cards with a €3.99 minimum fee.

Common mistakes

• Sending on the wrong network. Send only supported tokens from supported networks, to the matching deposit address type. Transfers to the wrong chain or address can't be reversed: Polymarket's recovery tool covers only some tokens sent on Ethereum and Polygon, support may help with Base, Arbitrum, Optimism and BNB Smart Chain, and funds sent on other networks can't currently be recovered.
• Sending pUSD to an exchange. Polymarket says it has no current plans to list pUSD on outside exchanges, and that some exchanges no longer accept it. As general practice, when you withdraw to an exchange, pick a token it accepts, such as USDC, on a network it supports, and send a small test first.
• Using market orders in thin order books. A market buy fills at the ask, not at the displayed price, and a large one works through progressively worse prices; Polymarket warns there is no guarantee you can trade a given size without moving the price significantly. Check the depth of the order book first, or use a limit order to cap your price.
• Using a VPN. Polymarket's terms strictly prohibit using a VPN or similar tool to get around its geographic restrictions, and wallets of people who break the terms can be placed in close-only mode. Getting around a block can also break local law.
• Sharing login codes or keys. Polymarket says never to share your 6-digit login code and that it will never ask for your private key; its support can't recover funds lost through shared codes. Sign in only at polymarket.com, and ignore links in comments or messages that lead to look-alike login pages or promise a token airdrop, which Polymarket's help center says has not been announced.

Frequently asked questions

How do I use Polymarket, step by step?

Create an account on polymarket.com with Google, email or a crypto wallet; deposit crypto, which is converted to pUSD; buy Yes or No shares on a market; then sell before resolution, or hold and redeem; and withdraw to an address you control. US residents use the separate Polymarket US app instead. For the mechanics behind prices and payouts, see how Polymarket works; for the risks and our assessment, see our Polymarket review.

Is Polymarket hard to use?

Placing an order takes only a few fields: outcome, Yes or No, amount, confirm. The harder parts are around it: sending crypto on the right network, knowing that a market buy pays the ask rather than the displayed price, how fees apply, and whether your country is restricted. Polymarket is non-custodial, so mistakes with networks, login codes or keys often can't be undone.

How much money do I need to start on Polymarket?

There is no single official figure. Deposit minimums are a few dollars on most networks and higher on Ethereum and Bitcoin, and Polymarket's own sources disagree: for Ethereum, the help center says $20, the docs say $7, and the live system showed $3 on September 24, 2026. Orders have a per-market minimum in shares: at 5 shares and 40¢, that is 5 × $0.40 = $2.00, plus a taker fee of 5 × 0.04 × 0.40 × 0.60 = $0.048 at the 0.04 rate. Card on-ramps add their own fees, such as MoonPay's €3.99 minimum in Europe, and on the US app wires have a $1,000 minimum. Whatever you put into a position can be lost in full.

Can I use Polymarket in the US or in my country?

US residents can't deposit or trade on polymarket.com; the Polymarket US app is a separate, CFTC-regulated product that requires identity verification. Many other countries are blocked or close-only, and some governments block the site themselves: check where Polymarket and Kalshi are available. Using a VPN to get around restrictions is prohibited by Polymarket's terms.

Sources & verification

Every fact on this page comes from the sources below, checked on September 24, 2026. Polymarket's rules, fees and minimums change often; we re-verify this page quarterly, and each step's own guide has fuller sourcing.

polymarket.com help center: How to Sign-Up, Website vs App, How to Deposit, How to Withdraw, Recover Missing Deposit, Can I Sell Early?, How Are Prices Calculated?, Does Polymarket Have Trading Limits?, Geographic Restrictions, How Do I Export My Key? and Does Polymarket Have a Token?

Polymarket developer docs: wallets and sign-in, deposits, supported assets, pUSD, prices and order book, order lifecycle, placing orders, fees, resolution, redeeming and withdrawals; live deposit minimums (September 24, 2026); Terms of Use (effective August 11, 2026); event-page FAQ on polymarket.com.

Polymarket US: Create an account and deposit methods; app listings on the App Store and Google Play. Card on-ramp: MoonPay's European pricing disclosure.

PolyKal is an independent research tool, not affiliated with Polymarket or Kalshi. This page explains how Polymarket works; it is not financial, legal or tax advice, and not an invitation to open an account or trade.