Maker or taker: reading how a Polymarket trader earns
Every Polymarket fill has a maker, whose resting order was filled, and a taker, whose order crossed the spread. Which side a trader is usually on tells you how they make money — and whether you could make it by following them.
Two sides of every fill
A maker posts an order at a price and waits; a taker accepts a price that is already on the book and fills at once. On Polymarket's order book every fill has one of each. The maker earns the spread they quoted and, per Polymarket's documentation, pays no trading fee; the taker pays the spread, and in many markets a taker fee, for the right to act now.
How PMWallets labels style
Each entity's style comes from the share of its traded value — not its number of fills — that was on the maker side. At 80% or more it is a maker, at 20% or less a taker, and anything between is two-sided. Value, not fills, because a maker's resting order is filled in many small pieces while a taker's fills at once: by count, one entity on the board looked 86% maker, while by money it was 43%.
What a maker earns and risks
Makers earn by being paid to provide liquidity: the spread on each fill, and in some markets rebates. Their risk is inventory — when news moves a price, informed takers fill the stale quotes first. A profitable maker's record says they price well and manage inventory, not that they know which way a market will go.
What a taker earns and risks
Takers pay to trade now, so they only make money if they are right about direction or timing by more than the spread and fees. A profitable taker's record is a record of calls — which is exactly the thing a follower is trying to borrow.
Why takers are easier to follow
Copying a taker's fill means placing a similar order a moment later: the call is still the call, at a slightly worse price. Copying a maker's fill by taking liquidity is a different trade — you pay the spread and the fee they earned, and the moment their quote was filled is often the moment a price moved against them. Filter the board by style before you follow anyone.
Questions
What is a maker on Polymarket?
The side of a fill whose order was resting on the book. Makers quote prices and are filled by others; per Polymarket's documentation they pay no trading fee.
What is a taker on Polymarket?
The side of a fill whose order crossed the spread and filled immediately against a resting order. Takers pay the spread and, in many markets, a taker fee.
Can I copy a market maker on Polymarket?
Not in the same way. Taking liquidity after a maker's quote is filled is a different trade with different results. Follow traders whose style you can reproduce — usually takers.