Kalshi and Novig are both federally regulated exchanges now, which makes them look like the same product with two different logos. They are not. Price a plain pre-game moneyline-style bet on each one and the fee you pay is not close: one of these platforms can charge you nothing at all for that trade, and the other has a formula that peaks at $1.75 per 100 contracts on exactly the bet you are most likely to place. Which platform that favors depends on what you are actually trading, and that is the whole comparison.
In Summary
- Both Are CFTC-regulated Exchanges, Not Sportsbooks. Kalshi trades on KalshiEX, a designated contract market. Novig relaunched on August 4, 2026 as a real-money exchange under Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which received CFTC Designated Contract Market status on June 16, 2026. Neither platform is setting a house line against you; both are order books where traders take the other side.
- The Fee Schedules Are Not Close On A Straight Pre-Game Bet. Novig charges $0, maker or taker, on pre-game straight bets. Kalshi's standard schedule charges a formula, 0.07 x contracts x price x (1 minus price), that peaks at $1.75 per 100 contracts right at a coin-flip price. That gap is the single biggest reason to pick one platform over the other for that specific bet type.
- The Market Catalog Is Not The Same Category Of Product. Kalshi lists a huge board: elections, weather, economics, culture, and sports. Novig is sports-only, built as a peer-to-peer sports exchange first.
- Both Already Price In Probability, Not American Odds. Kalshi shows a price in cents that equals the market's implied probability. Novig shows the same thing as a percentage directly. Neither platform hides the number the way a -110 sportsbook line does; the format differs, the math underneath does not.
- Nothing On This Page Is A Pick. We trade prediction markets and hold positions in them, and the disclosure below says exactly how.
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The Fee Comparison That Actually Decides This
Start here, because it is the number that moves the most money. Novig's published schedule charges $0 on both sides of a pre-game straight bet: no maker fee, no taker fee. Its live-betting taker fee is 0.03 x P x (1 minus P), and its parlay fee is 0.10 x P x (1 minus P), where P is the price. Kalshi's standard schedule runs a single formula across everything it lists: 0.07 x contracts x price x (1 minus price), rounded up, with a maker rate of one quarter of that (or nothing, on markets that waive it).
| Kalshi (standard schedule) | Novig | |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Game Straight, Taker | Formula, peaks at $1.75 per 100 contracts at 50c | $0 |
| Pre-Game Straight, Maker | One quarter of the taker formula, or $0 on some markets | $0 |
| Live Bet, Taker | Same formula as pre-game | 0.03 x P x (1-P) — roughly 40% of Kalshi's rate at the same price |
| Parlay | Not a native Kalshi product in this form | 0.10 x P x (1-P), in-quote |
Run the coin-flip case both ways on 100 contracts at 50 cents. Kalshi's formula: 0.07 x 100 x 0.50 x 0.50 = $1.75, the ceiling of its whole schedule. Novig's pre-game straight fee at the same price: $0. On that specific bet, at that specific price, Novig is not just cheaper than Kalshi; it is free where Kalshi is at its most expensive.
The number worth remembering: if you mostly place straight, pre-game bets, Novig's fee schedule charges you nothing to do it. If the board you want is not sports, or you want a live or in-play position, Kalshi's formula and its far larger catalog are the reason to be there instead.
That gap does not hold everywhere. Kalshi does waive or discount fees on specific markets outside its standard schedule, and Novig's live and parlay fees are not zero. The honest read: check the fee for the exact bet type you are placing on the exact platform, because "which one is cheaper" is not one answer, it is one answer per bet type. Our Kalshi fees breakdown walks the full curve if you want it market by market.
What Each Platform Actually Lists
Kalshi's catalog is enormous by design: presidential approval, Fed decisions, weather stations, box office numbers, and sports, all on one board, all under the same order-book mechanics. Novig built the opposite thing on purpose: a peer-to-peer exchange for sports bets specifically, with no election, weather, or economic markets at all. If the question you care about is not a sports outcome, Novig does not have a market for it, full stop; Kalshi almost certainly does.
That specialization is also Novig's pitch. A platform built only for sports can spend all of its product effort on sports-specific mechanics: live betting, parlays, and an odds display built around what a sports bettor already expects, rather than spreading that effort across a catalog running from weather to elections.
Reading The Price: Percentage And Cents Are The Same Number
Novig displays its odds as a straight percentage: the market's implied probability that an outcome happens, stated as a number like 52.4%. Kalshi displays the same underlying thing as a price in cents on a $1 contract — 52 cents means the market is pricing that outcome at roughly 52%. These are not two different systems competing for your attention; they are the same math, one dressed in cents and one dressed in percent.
The comparison that actually matters is against a third format: the American odds most bettors already know from a sportsbook. A standard -110 line is a 52.4% implied probability wearing a costume, with the sportsbook's margin baked into the number so both sides of the same bet total more than 100%. Neither Kalshi nor Novig does that by construction. On both exchanges, one side's price plus the other side's price is fixed by the order book, and shading toward a "house edge" is a decision every counterparty makes for themselves, not something baked into how the platform prices you.
If converting between percentage, cents, and American odds is the part that trips you up, reading a Kalshi price as a probability covers the exact same conversion Novig's own in-app tools walk a new user through. The skill transfers across both platforms, and to any exchange priced this way.
Deposits, Withdrawals, And Getting Started
Novig publishes no minimum deposit, but a $10 minimum applies to withdrawals. Bank transfer and stablecoin deposits (USDC or USDT) carry no fee; card and Apple Pay deposits carry a 3% fee. Withdrawals can clear in minutes when no manual review triggers, with reviewed withdrawals typically clearing within 24 hours. Novig also runs a location check on every session — travel into a state it does not serve and you can still hold open positions, but you cannot place new orders, deposit, or withdraw until you are back in an eligible state. Full detail, including the three most common reasons a clean withdrawal still stalls, is in our Novig deposits and withdrawals breakdown.
Kalshi runs its own account and funding flow separate from Novig's, with its own schedule of accepted methods; check the current rules in-app before you fund an account on either platform, since payment rails are exactly the kind of detail that changes without much notice.
Which One Fits You
Not a recommendation on any market, an honest fit guide.
- You Mostly Place Straight, Pre-Game Sports Bets. Novig's fee schedule charges you nothing for exactly that trade. That is a real, structural cost advantage for that specific bet type, not a marketing number.
- You Want Anything Outside Of Sports. Elections, weather, economics, culture — Novig does not list these markets at all. Kalshi does.
- You Want Live Or In-Play Positions, Or Parlays. Both platforms price these, but neither is fee-free the way a Novig pre-game straight bet is; compare the specific formula against the price you are actually trading.
- You Are Choosing Between Platforms More Broadly. This page is one pairing; Kalshi vs Robinhood, Kalshi vs Polymarket, and Kalshi vs DraftKings cover the other pairings we track.
The Risk Shape Does Not Change Between Platforms
Whichever exchange you use, the instrument underneath is the same shape: it settles at $1 or $0, nothing in between, so a losing position loses its full value. The trade that looks safest on either platform is usually the one with the worst arithmetic — selling an unlikely outcome collects a small premium and risks most of a dollar, so a single loss can erase the premiums from many prior wins. That asymmetry is what makes position sizing the actual game, on Novig or on Kalshi, and no fee schedule changes it.
Kalshi Vs Novig FAQ
Is Novig cheaper than Kalshi? On a pre-game straight bet, yes: Novig charges $0 maker and taker, while Kalshi's standard formula peaks at $1.75 per 100 contracts at a coin-flip price. On live bets and parlays the gap narrows but does not close; Novig's live taker fee (0.03 x P x (1-P)) still runs below Kalshi's standard formula (0.07 x P x (1-P)) at the same price.
Does Novig have election or weather markets? No. Novig is sports-only. Kalshi lists elections, weather, economics, culture, and sports on one board.
Are Kalshi and Novig both regulated? Yes. Kalshi trades on KalshiEX, a CFTC-designated contract market. Novig relaunched on August 4, 2026 under Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which received CFTC Designated Contract Market status on June 16, 2026.
Is Novig's percentage odds format different from Kalshi's cents? Not mathematically. A Novig price shown as 52.4% and a Kalshi price shown as 52 cents on a $1 contract are both stating the market's implied probability; the display format differs, the underlying number does not.
Can I withdraw from Novig quickly? Novig publishes a $10 withdrawal minimum. Withdrawals with no review trigger can clear in minutes; a manual review typically clears within 24 hours. Full detail is in our Novig deposits and withdrawals guide.
- Novig Odds Display
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- NoVig Customer Service: How To Get Help, And What They Can Actually Fix
The Fee Schedule Is The Real Decision
Two regulated exchanges, two very different answers to "what does this bet cost me." If your trading is mostly straight, pre-game sports bets, Novig's zero-fee schedule is a real structural edge for that trade. If you want anything outside of sports, or you trade live and in-play, Kalshi's catalog and formula are the more complete tool. Read every price on either platform as the probability it is, size positions like every contract can go to zero, and pick the fee schedule that matches the bet you are actually placing rather than the platform with the louder marketing email.
Disclosure and fine print. Stokastic trades prediction markets and holds positions in them. We have no affiliate or commercial relationship with Kalshi or Novig; we do carry sign-up offers for some other prediction-market and betting platforms, disclosed where they appear. Both platforms' event contracts are CFTC-regulated derivatives, not sportsbook wagers, and a position can lose its full value. 18+/21+ as applicable, available where each platform operates; the risk of loss is real. Nothing on this page is trading advice, a pick, or a recommendation, and platform fee schedules and rules change — confirm current numbers in each app before you trade.
These are model estimates, not predictions of fact and not financial advice. Prices are read live and move constantly. Event contracts are for adults 18+ where legal.
