How to Buy on Polymarket (2026): Step-by-Step Guide

How do you actually buy on Polymarket? It takes four steps: sign up, fund your account, pick a market, and place an order. The details depend on whether you use the main polymarket.com exchange (crypto, outside the US) or the Polymarket US app (dollars, for Americans). This guide walks through both, based on Polymarket’s help centre and documentation as checked in October 2026.

On polymarket.com (outside the US)

1. Sign up

Sign up with Google, with email (you log in with a six-digit code), or with a crypto wallet such as MetaMask, Rabby or Phantom. If you use a wallet, you’ll sign two messages: one to connect and one to enable trading.

2. Fund your account

Choose deposit and send crypto to your personal deposit address for the network you’re using. Polymarket converts it to pUSD, its dollar token backed one-to-one by USDC. Minimums depend on the network, and crypto sent to the wrong network can’t be recovered by Polymarket. Full details: Polymarket deposits and withdrawals.

3. Understand the price

Every market has Yes and No shares. A winning share pays $1 and a losing one $0, so the price is the market’s estimate of the chance. The price shown on the market is the midpoint between the best buy and sell orders (or the last trade if that gap is wider than 10¢). When you buy, you actually pay the best ask, which is a little higher than the midpoint.

4. Place your order

Market order: you enter a dollar amount and buy immediately at the best available prices. A big order can “walk the book” to worse prices; the order ticket shows your average price. Whatever can’t fill straight away is cancelled.
Limit order: you set the highest price you’ll pay. It fills only at that price or better, can fill in parts, and waits on the book until filled or cancelled. Open orders appear under the order book and on your Portfolio page, where you can cancel them. Resting limit orders pay no fee.

On sports markets, resting orders are cancelled when the game starts, and orders that would fill immediately have a short delay. Each market sets its own minimum order size and price increment.

5. Watch your position

Your shares appear on the Portfolio page with their current value. You can sell at any time before the market resolves; see how to sell or cash out early.

On the Polymarket US app

Download the app on iPhone and create a Polymarket US account (separate from polymarket.com).
Fund it in dollars by debit card, bank transfer (ACH), Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo or wire ($5,000 minimum), or USDC on iPhone where available.
Pick a market and tap Yes or No.
Enter a dollar amount, or tap Max.
Review and swipe up to confirm. Your position appears in the Portfolio tab.

The US app offers market and limit orders; limit orders can be set to last until cancelled, until 12 a.m. Pacific, until the start of the game, or to fill immediately or cancel. See Polymarket US for fees and availability.

Costs to expect

Taker fee on orders that fill immediately, highest at 50¢. See Polymarket fees.
The spread: the gap between the best buy and sell price.
Deposit costs charged by your exchange, wallet, card or bank, not by Polymarket.

FAQ

What’s the minimum amount to buy on Polymarket?

Each market sets a minimum order size, and deposit minimums depend on the network you use. Polymarket says it doesn’t set maximum trading limits.

Should I use a market or limit order?

A market order fills now but pays the spread and the taker fee. A limit order controls your price and avoids the fee, but may not fill. See our guide to spreads and limit orders.

Can I buy Polymarket shares with a card?

On Polymarket US, yes. On the main exchange, Polymarket’s help centre describes crypto transfers as the way to deposit.