Kalshi Promo Code: What 'Up to $500' Really Pays and How Kalshi Codes Work

Kalshi advertises its new-user bonus as up to $500. Its own terms say what that means: 70% of new users get $15, and the average works out at about $25. Here's how Kalshi promo codes and referral links work, who can use them and what you have to do, straight from Kalshi's terms and help centre. We don't have a Kalshi code ourselves, so this page isn't selling one.

What "up to $500" really pays

Kalshi's terms list the odds for an "up to $500" bonus:

Bonus credit	Share of new users
$15	70%
$35	24%
$75	5%
$100	0.65%
$500	0.35%

So about 1 in 286 people gets the $500, and the average comes to roughly $25. Kalshi adds that it can update these percentages and that no tier is guaranteed.

Promo codes and referral links

Kalshi runs two programmes with the same bonus:

• Referral links. Any Kalshi user can send one. If you sign up through it and qualify, you and the person who sent it each get your own bonus credit, picked separately.
• Promo codes. Kalshi issues these itself from time to time. You redeem one when you open your account.

You can use one or the other, not both, and only one offer per account. A code goes in during sign-up, or afterwards under Your rewards, then Have a code?, within 72 hours of creating your account.

Who qualifies

Kalshi's terms say you must:

• be a US person (referral and promo offers are for eligible US users only)
• be new to Kalshi, never having held an account before
• pass Kalshi's identity verification
• trade at least $25 on Kalshi's Predictions product: within 7 days of opening your account with a referral link, or 30 days with a promo code

Bonus credits aren't automatic: you get nothing until you've met all of these.

The catches

• The credit must be used within 7 days of being granted, or it expires.
• You can't withdraw the credit itself. It has to be traded on the Predictions product, and only after you've traded an amount equal to the credit can it be withdrawn.
• Self-referrals, extra accounts or trading just to hit the $25 can get the credit taken back and the account closed.
• A user can refer at most 40 people.

Kalshi's costs, with or without a code

The bonus is small next to what you pay to trade. Kalshi charges takers a fee of about 0.07 x contracts x price x (1 - price), so it's highest on a 50/50 market and close to nothing near 1 or 99 cents. Bank deposits and withdrawals are free; debit card deposits cost up to 2%. More in our Kalshi review.

Not in the US?

You can't use a Kalshi code, though Kalshi itself accepts users from many countries. For esports and politics markets outside the US, compare it with Polymarket in our Kalshi vs Polymarket page. Polymarket has no bonus code either, but makers trade fee-free there: see our Polymarket promo code page.

Is a Kalshi code worth it?

If you're in the US and opening an account anyway, yes: a friend's link or a Kalshi promo code costs you nothing. Expect $15, and don't trade more than you meant to just to unlock it. Prediction markets are still a way to lose money; read our responsible gambling page if it stops being fun.