Notitia
The cost of an on-chain transaction.
‘Gas’ measures the computational work a transaction asks of the network. The more complex it is (a swap vs a simple transfer), the more gas it uses - and the higher the fee, paid in the native token (ETH, etc.).
Gas price moves with congestion: it spikes when the network is busy. Layer 2s cut these fees dramatically.
Fees = gas units used × gas price. Compare a plain transfer, a swap and an NFT mint.
Cost depends on complexity and network congestion. On a $100 swap, $9 of fees is 9%: a pro batches operations, picks the time or uses a layer 2.
Test your understanding with a quick interactive quiz.