Which online poker site has the cheapest rake in 2026? Rake is the silent cost that decides whether your win-rate survives long-term. Rakeback deals matter, but the fee you pay before rakeback is the starting point.
In this guide, we break down which rooms are cheapest on raw rake in 2026, why “cheapest” changes depending on table dynamics, and how much you can expect to pay over a realistic 500-hand sample at NL100.
- 1Rake = the fee or commission the poker room charges for hosting a cash-game hand or running a tournament.
- 2In cash games, rake is almost always a percentage of the pot (e.g. 3-6%), up to a capped maximum per hand.
- 3In tournaments / SNGs / MTTs, rake is included in the buy-in (e.g. $100 + $10) - the fee portion goes to the house while the rest builds the prize pool.
Why Lowest Rake is not a Simple Number
You cannot honestly say “Site X charges 5% rake” and be done, because rake cost is shaped by:
| Factor | What It Means for You |
| Percentage of pot | Typically 2–6% on online sites; larger pots draw larger rake until the cap is reached. |
| Rake cap | Maximum rake per hand. Once the cap is hit, no more rake is taken regardless of pot size, reducing the effective percentage cost on big pots. |
| “No flop, no drop” rule | If a hand ends before the flop (no flop dealt), many sites skip taking rake. This benefits aggressive players who frequently raise or steal blinds. |
| Number of players / hand type | Rake may vary depending on the number of players in the hand (e.g., heads-up vs full-ring) or the game type (such as No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Zoom). |
| Tournament / sit-and-go rake | Rake is taken as a fee at registration rather than from individual hands. It is displayed as a fee portion versus the prize pool portion. |
Rake Contribution Snapshot: Top Online Poker Sites
This table summarises the standard cash game rake structure in a way grinders can actually use. Note that rakeback earnings are a separate component (as detailed in previous analyses) and are not included in the “Typical Rake” column.
| Site | Stakes (Example) | Typical Rake % & Cap (5+ players) | Key Notes / Contribution Factors |
| WPT Global | $0.05/$0.10 to $1/$2 NLH | 4% Rake; caps increase by stake (example: lower % than standard 5%) | Lower percentage: raw rake is often cheaper in small/medium pots because you pay 4% instead of 5% before caps matter. |
| ACR (Americas Cardroom) | $0.01/$0.02 to $5/$10+ NLH | 5% Rake; cap is typically $3 on mainstream NLH tables | Cap-driven value: once pots get big, the $3 cap can make ACR cheaper than “lower %” rooms that cap later. |
| Black Chip Poker | $0.05/$0.10 to $1/$2 NLH | 5% Rake; cap typically aligns with WPN ($3 on many NLH tables) | Same ecosystem logic as ACR: in big-pot games, the cap is often the main advantage. |
| BetKings Poker | $0.05/$0.10 to $1/$2 NLH | 5% Rake; cap typically aligns with WPN ($3 on many NLH tables) | Comparable rake structure to other WPN skins; game selection and promos change your effective cost more than the baseline rake. |
| BCPoker | $0.05/$0.10 to $1/$2 NLH | 5% Rake; cap typically aligns with WPN ($3 on many NLH tables) | Standard WPN structure; effective rake is strongly influenced by pot sizes and how often you hit the cap. |
| KKPoker | NLH + fast formats (AoF / Short Deck) | NLH typically 5% with BB-based cap; AoF can be 2% and Short Deck can be 3% | Format-dependent rake: KKPoker can be the cheapest in certain formats, but standard NLH still sits in the 5% pack. |
| RedStar Poker | Network-style rake (example: NL100) | Often schedule-based (effectively ~5% on many stakes) with caps by stake and table size | Structure matters at micros: schedule-based rake can feel heavier at low stakes compared to low-cap environments. |
| CoinPoker | $0.05/$0.10 to $1/$2 NLH | 5% Rake; caps are often very low relative to traditional rooms | Low caps can make CoinPoker extremely competitive at micro/low stakes where cap thresholds are hit more frequently. |
| GGPoker | $0.01/$0.02 to $1/$2 NLH | 5% Rake; cap structure varies, and additional jackpot / promotional fees can apply on some products | Read the fine print: some products collect additional fees (e.g., jackpot contributions), so “total cost” can exceed the base rake. |
| 888poker | Micro to mid stakes NLH | Typically ~5% with caps depending on stake and game type | Mainstream rake model: not usually the absolute cheapest on raw rake, but can be competitive depending on promos and game selection. |
So which is actually cheapest?
There are two different answers depending on how your tables play:
- 1If your tables are mostly small/medium pots (single-raised pots, fewer stack-offs), the lowest percentage tends to win - this is where WPT Global often looks cheapest on raw rake.
- 2If your tables are big-pot games (deep, multiway, frequent all-ins), caps dominate - this is where WPN skins (ACR / Black Chip / BetKings / BCPoker) often become cheaper because rake stops at around $3 per hand.
- 3If you are format-flexible, KKPoker can be the cheapest in specific products (AoF and Short Deck) - but standard NLH ring still needs to be compared like-for-like.
First-hand testing: how we verify rake (fast and repeatable)
Here is the simplest way to verify rake “for real” without guessing:
- 1Open the room's published rake schedule and note the percentage and cap for your exact stakes and table size.
- 2Play (or review) 20-50 hands and pull the hand histories. Most rooms list rake explicitly (e.g. "Rake $3.00").
- 3Confirm two things: (1) Does rake track as a percentage until cap? (2) Once pots are large enough, does rake stop increasing at the cap?
Rake cost comparison: what you pay over 500 hands at NL100
To make this practical, we model two realistic NL100 table environments. This is not a fantasy “one pot size fits all” example – it shows why rankings flip based on table texture.
Assumptions used in both scenarios
- 1Game: NL100 (0.50/1.00), 6-max cash.
- 2Sample: 500 hands.
- 3Hands reaching a flop: 30% (150 raked hands).
- 4We compare a "low%" room vs a "low-cap" room because those are the two mechanics that decide cheapest.
Scenario A: “Normal” tables (small/medium pots)
Average raked pot: $25. Most pots do not hit cap. In this world, percentage matters more than cap.
| Room Type | Example Site | Rake Model | Estimated Rake per Raked Hand | Estimated Rake over 500 Hands |
| Lower percentage | WPT Global | 4% of pot (cap usually not reached in small pots) | $1.00 (4% of $25) | $150.00 (150 raked hands) |
| Standard % + low cap | WPN skins (ACR / Black Chip / BetKings / BCPoker) | 5% of pot, cap around $3 (cap not reached here) | $1.25 (5% of $25) | $187.50 (150 raked hands) |
Result: In normal pot environments, the lower percentage model is typically cheapest. You simply pay less rake per raked hand when caps are not a factor.
Scenario B: “Big pot” tables (caps matter)
Average raked pot: $120. Now cap thresholds matter massively. In this world, the room with the tightest cap often becomes cheapest.
| Room Type | Example Site | Rake Model | Estimated Rake per Raked Hand | Estimated Rake over 500 Hands |
| Lower percentage, later cap | WPT Global | 4% of pot (cap tends to be higher and hits later) | $4.80 (4% of $120) | $720.00 (150 raked hands) |
| Standard % + low cap | WPN skins (ACR / Black Chip / BetKings / BCPoker) | 5% of pot, capped around $3 | $3.00 (cap reached) | $450.00 (150 raked hands) |
Result: In big-pot games, cap-driven rooms often become the cheapest because rake stops increasing quickly. This is why grinders who table-select splashy games can pay less rake on “5%” rooms than on “4%” rooms.
Cheapest ranking (based on what you actually play)
| Your Table Type | Cheapest Tendency | Why | Best-Fit Examples |
| Small/medium pots (many SRP, fewer stack-offs) | Lower percentage rooms | Caps rarely trigger; raw % dominates your cost. | WPT Global |
| Big-pot tables (deep, multiway, frequent all-ins) | Low-cap rooms | Cap triggers often; effective rake % collapses on big pots. | WPN skins (ACR / Black Chip / BetKings / BCPoker) |
| Format-flexible (AoF / Short Deck traffic) | Format-dependent “cheap rake” products | Some formats run at lower % than standard cash. | KKPoker (AoF / Short Deck) |
Bottom line
If you want the cheapest rake in “normal” NLH games, you usually start by looking at the lowest baseline percentage (WPT Global wins here). If your games are deep and high-action, caps often dominate and WPN skins can become the lowest-cost option in practice. And if you are format-flexible, KKPoker can be the rake outlier in specific products – but only if you compare like-for-like games.
