🔀 Maker / Taker Profit Simulator
Buy and sell a Kalshi contract — but as a maker or a taker on each leg? See your net profit for all four combinations at once, with fees applied the way Kalshi actually charges them.
How the four maker/taker combinations differ
On Kalshi, whether you're a maker (you post a resting order that someone else fills) or a taker (you cross the spread and fill immediately) changes your fee — and you make that choice separately on the way in and the way out. That's four combinations for a round-trip. The gross profit is the same in all four; the only thing that changes is how much the exchange takes. This simulator lays out all four so you can see exactly what your execution choice is worth.
Enter the round-trip
Your buy price, your sell price (both accept two decimals for sub-cent markets), and the number of contracts.
Pick the market
The per-series fee multiplier matters — most markets are M = 1, but some (MLB is currently 0.5) charge less. Standard markets charge takers only.
Read the 2×2
Each card is one combination — maker buy + maker sell, taker buy + taker sell, and the two mixes — showing net profit after both legs' fees.
See the swing
The summary shows how much being a maker on both legs saves versus taking both — the full fee spread on your trade.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a maker and a taker?
A taker crosses the spread and fills immediately against a resting order, and pays the taker fee (0.07 coefficient). A maker posts a limit order that rests in the book until someone else fills it, and pays the smaller maker fee (0.0175) — and on standard markets, nothing at all.
Is buying and selling as a maker always the most profitable?
On fees, yes — the maker/maker combination is always the cheapest. But it's not free money: a resting order might never fill, or fills only after the price moves against you. A taker pays more but is guaranteed to fill now. The 'best' combination depends on how likely your resting orders are to get hit, which this tool can't know for you.
Why does the market I pick change the fees?
Kalshi applies a per-series fee multiplier. Most series run at 1, but some are discounted — as of September 2026, MLB (KXMLBGAME) is at 0.5, so its fees are half. Standard non-sports markets charge makers nothing at all. Always confirm your exact series on Kalshi's live fee schedule.
How is net profit calculated?
Net = (sell price − buy price) × contracts − entry fee − exit fee. Each fee is ceil(rate × multiplier × contracts × price × (1 − price)), rounded up to a hundredth of a cent to match the current schedule. If you hold to settlement instead of selling, there's no exit fee.