Crypto gas fees explained

A gas fee is the small payment you make to a blockchain network to process your transaction — like postage for sending value. It goes to the validators who secure the network, not to any company.

What is "gas"?

Every action on a blockchain — sending tokens, swapping, deploying a contract — uses computing power. Gas is the unit that measures that work, and the gas fee is what you pay for it, in the chain's native coin (BNB, ETH, SOL).

Why do gas fees go up and down?

Most chains use a simple auction: when many people transact at once, fees rise; when the network is quiet, they fall. Fees depend on network demand and how complex your transaction is (deploying a token costs more than a simple transfer).

Gas fees by chain

• Solana — a fraction of a cent; the cheapest.
• BNB Chain — typically well under $1.
• Base & Arbitrum — a few cents (layer-2s).
• Ethereum — the most expensive, from a couple of dollars to much more when busy.

Estimate any transaction with our gas fee calculator, compare real costs in the cost calculator, and see our chain comparison.

Why layer-2s are so cheap

Base and Arbitrum are "layer-2" networks that bundle many transactions together and settle them on Ethereum. You get Ethereum-grade security at a tiny fraction of the cost — ideal for creating a token affordably.

How to save on gas

• Choose a low-fee chain (Solana, BNB Chain, Base, Arbitrum) for your launch.
• Transact when the network is less busy.
• Keep a small amount of the native coin in your wallet to cover fees.

What you pay to create a token

Creating a token costs the network gas fee plus a one-time service fee — and nothing else. There are no subscriptions. Exact amounts per chain are shown on each token creator page before you deploy.

How are gas fees calculated?

A gas fee is not a single fixed number — it is the product of two things: the amount of computational work your transaction needs (measured in gas units) and the price you pay per unit (the gas price, set by network demand). A simple token transfer uses little gas; a complex contract interaction uses more. On many networks the gas price has a base fee that rises and falls with congestion, plus an optional priority fee (a tip) to get included faster. Multiply the work by the price and you get the fee — which is why the same action can cost cents one moment and more the next as demand shifts.

This also explains why deploying a token costs more than a simple transfer: creating a token runs a contract, which takes more gas than just moving coins. But on a low-fee chain even a contract deployment stays cheap, because the gas price is so low to begin with.

A worked example: gas units × gas price

The formula is easiest to see with real numbers. In October 2026 we measured our token-creation call on Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2. It used about 1.49 million gas for a standard token and up to 1.53 million with optional features switched on. At the network’s 0.02 gwei minimum base fee, that is roughly 0.00003 ETH of gas. Add the 0.009 ETH service fee and the whole launch costs about 0.00903 ETH.

Send a similar contract call on Ethereum mainnet and the gas units stay roughly the same; what changes is the price per unit, which is usually much higher on mainnet and moves with demand. That is why the same token can cost very different amounts to create on different chains.

Gwei, base fee and tip

On Ethereum and other EVM chains, gas prices are quoted in gwei: one billionth of the chain’s coin (0.000000001 ETH on Ethereum). Since Ethereum’s London upgrade in 2021 (EIP-1559), every transaction there pays a base fee set by the network, which is burned, plus an optional priority fee, or tip, that goes to the validator. Your wallet fills in both; you only need a balance that covers them.

Gas on layer-2s: you still need the right coin

A layer-2 fee has two parts: the cost of running your transaction on the layer-2, and a data fee for posting it to Ethereum. Wallet estimates already include both. You pay them in the layer-2’s gas coin: ETH on Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Linea, Scroll, Unichain, World Chain, Soneium and Robinhood Chain, MNT on Mantle and METIS on Metis. ETH sitting on Ethereum mainnet can’t pay layer-2 gas, so bridge it over or withdraw it from an exchange straight to the layer-2.

The network cost of creating a token

These figures come from our live generator pages. The token generator overview lists the service fee on all 23 chains, and the gas fee calculator estimates a transaction at today’s gas price.

Gas fees and how a chain is secured

Gas fees are also tied to how a blockchain secures itself. On Proof-of-Stake networks — which most modern low-fee chains use — validators are paid partly through these fees, and the efficient design keeps costs low. The fee you pay is what compensates the network for processing and securing your transaction, with no bank or processor taking a cut. Understanding this makes gas feel less like an arbitrary charge and more like what it is: the cost of using a decentralised, secure network that no single company runs.

Gas in a multichain world

Because every chain has its own fees, your choice of network is the biggest factor in what you pay — and in a multichain world you have many options. The same token you want to launch can cost very different amounts to deploy depending on the chain. That is why, if low cost matters, picking a low-fee network is the single most effective decision. When you create a token, you pay a one-time service fee plus the network gas fee for that chain, and you can choose from 23 of them.

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