Basics · lesson 12 of 15
Is demo.kalshi.co legit? Kalshi’s demo environment explained
Yes: demo.kalshi.co is Kalshi’s own demo exchange, run for testing with mock funds. Nothing you do there touches a real account, and no real money is paid out. What it is for, how it differs from kalshi.com, and the one mistake that can cost real money.
In one minute
- demo.kalshi.co is Kalshi’s official demo trading environment, confirmed in its help centre.
- It uses mock funds and test payment methods. You cannot win or withdraw real money there.
- Demo accounts and API keys are separate from your real Kalshi account.
- Never send real cryptocurrency to a demo deposit address: Kalshi says it cannot be recovered.
What demo.kalshi.co is
Kalshi’s help centre answers the question directly: “demo.kalshi.co is Kalshi’s official Demo trading environment.” It also explains the odd domain: “We understand the .co domain may be confusing, but the .com version is not a valid Kalshi domain” (Kalshi help centre). The real-money exchange is kalshi.com; the demo lives on kalshi.co.
Kalshi’s developer documentation describes it as a testing environment “with mock funds” (Kalshi, demo environment). It exists mainly for developers testing code against the Kalshi API, and for anyone who wants to try the interface before funding a real account.
How the demo differs from the real exchange
Demo (demo.kalshi.co) | Real exchange (kalshi.com) | |
|---|---|---|
Money | Mock funds; “no real money is involved” | Real deposits and payouts |
Funding | Test cards, a sandbox bank link or test USDC | Bank, card or crypto |
Account and API keys | Separate; they do not work on the real site | Your real account |
Prices | “May not be reflective of those in real markets” | Set by real traders |
“Nothing you do in the demo environment affects your production account,” the help centre says. Demo funds are not preloaded: you add mock money with the test payment methods it lists. Because few people trade there, demo prices can sit far from the real ones. Treat any profit in the demo as a test of your setup, not a forecast of real results.
The one mistake that costs real money
The demo accepts test USDC on Solana’s Devnet, a network for testing. Kalshi warns: “Do NOT send real cryptocurrency to a demo deposit address — real funds sent to a demo address cannot be recovered” (Kalshi help centre). If you hold real crypto, fund only the account you reach at kalshi.com.
To avoid look-alike sites, type the address yourself rather than following links in ads or messages. kalshi.com is the real exchange, and demo.kalshi.co, with no “m”, is the demo. Kalshi says the .com version of the demo address is not a valid Kalshi domain.
Using the demo with the API
The demo has its own endpoints: REST at https://external-api.demo.kalshi.co/trade-api/v2 and WebSocket at wss://external-api-ws.demo.kalshi.co/trade-api/ws/v2 (Kalshi, API environments). “Credentials are not shared between environments, so demo API keys only work against demo endpoints.” Build and test against the demo, then create a separate key on your real account when you switch over. For fees on the real exchange, see Kalshi fees.
See it live on Kalshi
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Common questions
Is demo.kalshi.co legit?+
Yes. Kalshi’s help centre calls demo.kalshi.co its official demo trading environment. It runs on mock funds for testing, separate from the real exchange at kalshi.com.
Is the money on Kalshi’s demo real?+
No. The demo uses mock funds and test payment methods, and Kalshi says no real money is involved. Anything you win there cannot be withdrawn.
Is demo.kalshi.com the same site?+
No. Kalshi says the .com version of the demo address is not a valid Kalshi domain. The demo is demo.kalshi.co; the real exchange is kalshi.com.
Do Kalshi demo API keys work on the real exchange?+
No. Credentials are not shared between the demo and production, so demo keys only work against demo endpoints. Create a separate key on your real account.