Based on 21 public wallets checked on polyfees by 13 October 2026 and on Polymarket’s fee formula, checked on 11 October 2026.
The short answer
Long shots pay the biggest fee as a share of your bet. On sports, a $100 instant buy at 10¢ pays $4.50, against $2.50 at 50¢ and $0.50 at 90¢; on crypto it is $6.30. In 21 wallets that put 30% of their money or more into shares at 20¢ or less, fees were about 3.46% of the money bet — the highest of any group we track.
To see what fees took from your own month, type your Polymarket @name or paste your address into the free check above.
Why cheap shares pay more
Fee = shares × rate × price × (1 − price). Per share the fee is small at 10¢, but $100 buys 1,000 shares, so the total is large. On a $100 bet the fee comes to rate × $100 × (1 − price):
| Price | Fee on $100, sports | Fee on $100, crypto | Break-even win rate, sports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5¢ | $4.75 | $6.65 | 5.24% |
| 10¢ | $4.50 | $6.30 | 10.45% |
| 20¢ | $4.00 | $5.60 | 20.80% |
| 50¢ | $2.50 | $3.50 | 51.25% |
A win pays a lot: $100 at 10¢ is 1,000 shares, worth $1,000 if they win, $895.50 after the $100 and the $4.50 fee. A loss loses $104.50. Any other price: fee calculator.
What we saw in 21 wallets
We looked at 21 public wallets checked on polyfees by 13 October 2026 that put 30% of their money or more into shares at 20¢ or less, each over the 30 days before its check. Polymarket’s monthly leaders are left out. A wallet here can also belong to another style, such as 5-minute crypto.
- Fees: about 3.46% of the money bet for the typical wallet, from 2.24% to 5.18% for the middle half.
- Small bets, mostly instant. A typical bet was about $8, and about 85% of the money went in with instant buys at the screen price.
- Mostly markets without a game clock: events, crypto price targets, weather and politics.
- 9 of the 21 were ahead on their Polymarket profile, which is before fees, and 8 after fees.
- Little came back. The typical wallet paid $134.38 in fees in 30 days and got $10.00 back from Polymarket.
Read this with care
21 wallets over 30 days is a small group, and long shots swing a lot: one win can make a month. These numbers show what this style paid, not that it wins or loses. We don’t give betting advice. The opposite end of the price range: buying favorites at 90¢ and up. All styles side by side: Polymarket trader types and their fees.
Questions
Are Polymarket fees higher on long shots?
As a share of your bet, yes. On sports, a $100 instant buy pays $4.50 at 10¢ and $0.50 at 90¢, because $100 buys many more cheap shares.
How much is the fee on a 5¢ share?
On sports, $4.75 on a $100 instant buy; on crypto, $6.65. A limit order that waits for its price pays nothing.
Does a long shot that wins pay a fee at the end?
No. Each winning share pays $1 with no fee. The fee is taken when you buy, and again if you sell instantly before the end.