Fees on Lumina: what a trade costs
A 1¢-per-contract fee plus a 0.35% commission, no account or deposit fees, and two free withdrawals a month. What a whole trade costs, held or sold early.
Updated November 10, 2026 · Lumina Markets
On this page
Trading on Lumina has two costs, both charged when an order executes: the exchange's 1¢ per contract fee and Lumina's commission of 0.35% of the trade value. There's no account fee, no inactivity fee and no deposit fee. This page works through what that means for a whole trade, from the first order to the last dollar out.
The two trading costs
ForecastEx, the exchange every Lumina trade executes on, charges $0.01 per contract, per side, at the time of execution. Lumina receives 25% of that fee — $0.0025 per contract — as an exchange rebate. It isn't an additional charge.
Lumina also charges a commission of 0.35% of the trade value (the contract price times the number of contracts) at execution, on top of the ForecastEx fee. Interactive Brokers retains a portion of it. On a sale, the trade value is the price of the side the sale buys: selling 100 Yes at 70¢ buys 100 No at 30¢, so the commission is $0.105.
The fee is set per contract and the commission as a percentage of what you spend. Neither depends on how the market resolves.
What "per side" means for you
Every executed trade has two sides, a buyer of Yes and a buyer of No, and each pays 1¢ per contract. For you, that comes to 1¢ per contract plus the commission each time one of your orders executes:
- Buying100 contracts at 60¢ costs $1.00 in fees and $0.21 in commission
- Holding to settlementAdds nothing
Settlement isn't an execution.
- Selling earlyA second execution, another $1.00 plus a commission
On Lumina a sale is carried out as a purchase of the other side, which is why it's charged like a purchase.
A whole trade, four ways
The same position, 100 Yes contracts bought at 60¢, ending four different ways (illustrative prices):
| How it ends | Paid for contracts | Fees and commission | You receive | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Held, Yes wins | $60.00 | $1.21 | $100.00 | $38.79 more than you paid |
| Held, No wins | $60.00 | $1.21 | $0.00 | You lose all $61.21 you paid |
| Sold early at 70¢ | $60.00 | $2.315 | $70.00 | $7.685 more than you paid |
| Sold early at 50¢ | $60.00 | $2.385 | $50.00 | $12.385 less than you paid |
Statements and confirmations show these amounts rounded to the cent.
If a market is canceled, what the contracts pay is set by the exchange's rules, and transaction fees and commissions aren't returned. Settlement and resolution → covers when each of these happens.
The fee as a share of the price
Because the fee is a flat 1¢, its weight depends on the price you pay. The commission is always 0.35% of the price:
| Contract price | Fee as a share of the contract price | Fee and commission together |
|---|---|---|
| 2¢ | 50% | 50.35% |
| 10¢ | 10% | 10.35% |
| 50¢ | 2% | 2.35% |
| 90¢ | about 1.1% | about 1.46% |
It also moves the break-even point slightly. A Yes contract bought at 60¢ plus the 1¢ fee and the 0.21¢ commission costs 61.21¢, so it has to win more than about 61.2% of the time just to cover its cost. The break-even calculator works that out for any price. Sizing and pricing → covers the other cost of trading in and out, the spread between the bid and the ask.
- Contract price
- 60¢
- Cost with the fee and commission
- 61.21¢
- 1¢ fee plus 0.21¢ commission
- About how often it has to win to cover its cost
- 61.2%
Moving money in and out
| Cost | |
|---|---|
| Deposit by linked bank account (ACH) | Free |
| One-time ACH deposit | No fee from Lumina; your bank may charge one |
| Wire deposit | No fee from Lumina; your bank may charge to send it |
| Withdrawals, first two each calendar month | Free, by either method |
| Additional withdrawals by ACH | $1.00 each |
| Additional withdrawals by wire | $10.00 each, plus whatever your bank charges to receive a wire |
Withdrawal fees are charged by Interactive Brokers, which holds your funds, and Lumina receives no part of them. Recently deposited money can be withdrawn after a hold: 5 business days after a linked bank deposit, 3 after a one-time ACH or wire.
What's never charged
No account maintenance fee, no inactivity fee, no deposit fee, and no fee or commission for holding a position to settlement.
What you earn while you hold
Costs are one side of the arithmetic. Open positions also earn an incentive coupon, the exchange's name for interest on the cash that backs every contract, paid monthly on both sides of a market. ForecastEx withholds an administrative clearing fee of 50 basis points (0.50% per year), deducted from the interest rate on that collateral before the coupon reaches your account. For example, if the collateral earns 4.00% per year, your coupon is based on 3.50% per year. Lumina receives no part of the coupon. Settlement and resolution → covers how it works.
The full schedule
Every fee that can be charged on a Lumina account is listed in the Fee Disclosure. For how other venues price trading, see Lumina vs Polymarket vs Kalshi.
FAQ
Is the fee charged when a market settles?
No. The fee and the commission are charged when an order executes. Holding a position to settlement adds neither.
Why does selling cost a fee?
A sale is carried out as a purchase of the other side of the market, so it's an execution like any other: 1¢ per contract plus the 0.35% commission.
Do I get the fee back if a market is canceled?
No. Transaction fees and commissions aren't returned. What the contracts pay is set by the market's rules: a canceled election, for example, can resolve No. Where they don't say, ForecastEx can settle early or delay settlement, paying at the contracts' most recent prices or a price it sets. That can be more or less than you paid.