# Polymarket US 5-Minute Bitcoin Bots: What a Round Trip Costs

*By The 7 Oracles, The PredictionMarketsPicks Oracles — The 7 Oracles at PredictionMarketsPicks*

What the Polymarket US taker fee and the spread do to a 5-minute bitcoin round trip: 3.48¢ in fees at 50¢, plus a 1¢ median spread, before a bot makes a cent.

- Source: https://predictionmarketspicks.com/articles/polymarket-5-minute-bitcoin-bot-fee-math
- Published: 2026-11-04
- Updated: 2026-11-04

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Before a 5-minute bot makes a cent, it has to clear the fee and the spread. At 50¢ on Polymarket US, a taker round trip costs **3.48¢ in fees**, and the median spread adds another 1¢. You can watch the price live on the [5-Minute Board](https://predictionmarketspicks.com/polymarket-us/5-minute-markets).

*Every 5-minute window's result: https://predictionmarketspicks.com/polymarket-us/5-minute-markets*

## The fee on each fill

Polymarket US charges the taker fee at the fill, win or lose, and it peaks at 50¢. The rate is on [our Polymarket US fees page](https://predictionmarketspicks.com/polymarket-us/fees). These are the per-contract figures from that schedule:

| Price | Fee, one fill | Fee, round trip |
|---|---|---|
| 5¢ or 95¢ | 0.33¢ | 0.66¢ |
| 10¢ or 90¢ | 0.63¢ | 1.26¢ |
| 30¢ or 70¢ | 1.46¢ | 2.92¢ |
| 40¢ or 60¢ | 1.67¢ | 3.34¢ |
| 50¢ | 1.74¢ | 3.48¢ |

The round-trip column assumes both fills happen at the same price. A real round trip enters and exits at two prices, so its fee sits somewhere between those two rows.

## The spread comes on top

Across 40,338 of our 5-second book snapshots from Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, 2026, the median Up spread was **1¢** and the 90th percentile was **2¢**. Those snapshots run from 270 seconds to 30 seconds before the close.

A bot that crosses the spread to get in and again to get out pays roughly that spread once across the round trip. At 50¢ with a 1¢ spread, the total is about 4.5¢ a contract.

| Cost at 50¢ | Cents per contract |
|---|---|
| Taker fee, two fills | 3.48¢ |
| Median spread | 1¢ |
| **All-in round trip** | **about 4.5¢** |

## What 4.5¢ means on a 5-minute clock

That 4.5¢ is the amount the contract has to move in your favor, inside a window that lasts five minutes, just to get back to even. For scale, the median bitcoin move across [3,782 logged windows](https://predictionmarketspicks.com/articles/polymarket-5-minute-bitcoin-results) was 4.5 bps. The higher frequency means a bot pays this cost many more times a day than it would on a 15-minute clock, where [the same math applies on Kalshi](https://predictionmarketspicks.com/articles/kalshi-15-minute-bots-fee-math).

Holding to settlement pays the fee once instead of twice, because there's no exit fill. It also means taking the full result of the window.

None of this says a bot can or can't work. It sets the number any idea has to beat.

18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. See https://polymarketexchange.com/files/legal/Polymarket%20US%20Rulebook%20(2026.09.30).pdf for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing organization.

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## Disclosure

PredictionMarketsPicks publishes analysis of CFTC-regulated event contracts. Nothing here is financial advice and every position carries risk.

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