How Ethereum Gas Fees and Bitcoin Fees Work

4 min read · updated 14 November 2026

Why Ethereum gas and Bitcoin fees go up and down, what gwei and sat/vB mean and how to pay less for a transaction.

Every transaction on a blockchain pays a fee to the network. The gas fees page shows current Ethereum and Bitcoin fees and what a typical transaction costs in dollars.

Ethereum gas

On Ethereum, each action uses a fixed amount of gas. A simple ether transfer uses 21,000 gas. A token transfer uses more, and a swap on a trading app uses more again. You pay the gas used times the gas price.

The gas price has two parts. The base fee is set by the network and burned. It rises when blocks are more than half full and falls when they are less full. The priority fee, or tip, goes to the validator and helps your transaction get picked sooner.

Gas prices are quoted in gwei. One gwei is one billionth of an ether.

Bitcoin fees

Bitcoin fees depend on the size of the transaction in virtual bytes, not on the amount sent. The rate is quoted in satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB). Miners pick the transactions that pay the most per byte, so in busy periods low-fee transactions wait longer.

How to pay less

• Send when the network is quiet. Fees are often lower at weekends and during US and European night hours.
• If speed does not matter, choose the low or economy rate in your wallet.
• For small amounts, consider a layer 2 network, where fees are usually a fraction of a cent to a few cents.

Fees on this page are estimates from recent blocks. Your wallet shows the final fee before you confirm.

This guide is general information, not financial advice.