Maker and Taker

Whether you are a maker or a taker is determined by what happens when your order hits the Matching Engine, not by what order type you choose. A Limit Order placed inside the current Bid-Ask Spread may execute immediately, making you a taker even though you used a limit order. Conversely, a limit order placed at a price that does not match any resting order becomes a maker order. On platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, the exchange labels each execution as maker or taker in the trade confirmation. Understanding this distinction matters because it directly affects your Trading Fees and, therefore, your net Edge on any given trade. High-frequency traders systematically optimize order placement to capture maker status whenever the time value of waiting is low.

On Kalshi, the Trading Fees formula is 7 cents multiplied by the contract price multiplied by (1 minus the contract price) per contract for takers, with makers charged 25% of that amount. At the 50-cent midpoint of a Binary Market, a taker pays 1.75 cents per contract while a maker pays roughly 0.44 cents. Over thousands of contracts, this gap compounds substantially. On Polymarket, taker fees range from 3 to 7 cents per contract depending on market category, while makers pay nothing and receive rebates. The strategic implication is clear: traders who can afford to wait should use Limit Order placement to earn maker status. Only use Market Order submissions when immediacy is genuinely valuable, such as during breaking news events when the Contract Price is likely to move quickly.