Straightforward answers to the most common questions about gas fees, Gwei, and how to pay less.
A gas fee is the cost paid to a blockchain network's validators or miners for processing and confirming a transaction. It compensates them for the computational resources used to execute the transaction.
Gwei is a denomination of Ether (ETH), equal to one billionth of an ETH (0.000000001 ETH). Gas prices on Ethereum are quoted in Gwei because transaction costs are typically fractions of a full ETH.
Gas fees are set by supply and demand for block space. When many people are transacting at once, users compete by offering higher fees to get included sooner, driving the average price up. During quiet periods, fees drop significantly.
These are priority tiers. Slow offers a lower fee but may take longer to confirm during busy periods. Standard balances cost and speed for typical use. Fast pays a premium for near-immediate confirmation, useful for time-sensitive transactions.
Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Base process transactions off Ethereum's main chain and settle them in batches, dramatically reducing the per-transaction cost while still inheriting Ethereum's security guarantees.
This changes over time and depends on network congestion, but networks like Solana, Polygon, and most Layer 2s (Arbitrum, Base) are typically far cheaper than Ethereum mainnet, often costing a fraction of a cent per transaction.
Yes. If a transaction runs out of allocated gas or fails for other reasons (like a smart contract reverting), the gas used up to that point is still consumed and not refunded.
The concept of a network fee exists on nearly every blockchain, but the terminology and fee model vary. Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains specifically call it "gas," while other networks may simply call it a transaction or network fee.
Use a live gas tracker to check current network conditions before confirming. Our Ethereum Gas Tracker and network-specific pages show real-time Slow/Standard/Fast estimates so you can time your transaction accordingly.