Alternatives
An exchange lists contracts. You have an argument.
Kalshi is a federally regulated exchange for trading event contracts. Poll is a private cash bet between friends. If you want a regulated venue with an order book, Kalshi is the serious answer. If you want to bet your mate on something only your group cares about, no exchange will list it.
Poll compared with Kalshi
Can you create your own market
Poll: Yes. Write any yes or no question and share the link.
Kalshi: No. Their markets team creates every market, judged on CFTC compliance, manipulation resistance and user interest. Suggestions are not guaranteed.
Regulatory standing
Poll: Not a regulated exchange.
Kalshi: Regulated by the CFTC as a Designated Contract Market, designated in November 2020, with an affiliated clearinghouse holding member funds.
Who holds the money
Poll: The stake is held until the bet settles, then pays out onchain.
Kalshi: Kalshi Klear LLC, a CFTC-regulated clearinghouse, holds member funds.
How prices form
Poll: You and your friends agree the terms. There is no order book.
Kalshi: A central limit order book between members, with bids and asks and continuous trading.
What it covers
Poll: Anything you can phrase as yes or no.
Kalshi: Listed contracts: sports, Fed rates, inflation, weather, awards and more.
Kalshi changes things from time to time. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
What Kalshi does better
Kalshi has the strongest regulatory position of anything Poll is compared with: a CFTC Designated Contract Market since 2020, with a separately regulated clearinghouse holding member funds. That is a real consumer protection Poll does not replicate. It also has continuous two-sided liquidity so you can sell out at any time, published per-market rulebooks that make grading disputes rare, and breadth well beyond sport.
Pick Kalshi if
You want a regulated US venue, you are trading listed events rather than betting friends, and the protection of a clearinghouse matters more to you than writing your own question.
Questions people ask
Is Kalshi regulated?
Yes. Kalshi is regulated by the CFTC as a Designated Contract Market, designated in November 2020, and its affiliate Kalshi Klear LLC is a CFTC-regulated clearinghouse that holds member funds.
Can I list my own event on Kalshi?
No. Kalshi's markets team creates every market, and suggestions are assessed for regulatory compliance and manipulation resistance. Not every suggestion gets listed.
When would Poll suit me better?
When the bet is between specific people about something no exchange would ever list. That is the whole category Poll exists for, and it is not a liquidity or pricing question.
Other comparisons
How Poll stacks up against the rest, including where they win.
- ComparisonPoll vs WagerLabOne tracks the bet. One settles it.
- ComparisonPoll vs RounderSame argument. One of them pays out.
- ComparisonPoll vs FinalCallA tracker remembers. It does not pay you.
- ComparisonPoll vs BroThrowOne suspends you. One already has the money.
- AlternativePolymarket alternativeTheir team picks the markets. You pick yours.
- No longer availableBetU alternativeThe app is gone. The bets do not have to be.
- ComparisonPoll vs BetOpenlyA scoreboard settles one. Your group settles the other.
- ComparisonPoll vs BettorEdgeNo house either way. Different other side.
Bet against your friends, not a bookmaker.
Open a private cash bet, share the link, and let the group settle it.