Transaction fee models

Learn how major blockchain networks calculate transaction fees and how to configure the right parameters for your transfers.

In blockchain networks, transaction fees determine not only whether a transfer is confirmed but also how quickly it is processed. Since each network adopts a different calculation model, understanding these rules is essential for making informed configuration choices.

EVM chains

EIP-1559 model

Some EVM chains support EIP-1559. Currently supported chains include:

• Ethereum Mainnet
• Sepolia Testnet
• Scroll Mainnet
• Base
• BNB Smart Chain
• Polygon
• Sonic
• Berachain

In the EIP-1559 model, the estimated transaction fee is calculated as: (base fee + priority fee) * gas limit

Parameter	Description
Base fee	The maximum amount you are willing to pay per gas unit to execute the transaction on-chain.
Priority fee	The maximum additional fee per gas unit paid to miners/validators to prioritize your transaction.
Gas limit	The maximum number of gas units you are willing to spend to execute the transaction or run the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Different operations consume different amounts of gas units.

For both Legacy and EIP-1559 fee models, an additional fee is charged when submitting transaction calldata to L1 (Layer 1).

You can customize the following parameters:

• Max fee: The maximum total fee for the transaction.
• Max priority fee: The maximum additional fee per gas unit paid to miners/validators to prioritize your transaction.
• Gas limit

Legacy model

All EVM chains support the Legacy model.

In the Legacy model, the estimated transaction fee is calculated as: gas price * gas limit

Parameter	Description
Gas price	The gas price in gwei, representing the amount of ETH paid to validators per gas unit to process the transaction.
Gas limit	The maximum number of gas units you are willing to spend to execute the transaction or run the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Different operations consume different amounts of gas units.

For both Legacy and EIP-1559 fee models, an additional fee is charged when submitting transaction calldata to L1 (Layer 1).

You can customize the following parameters:

• Gas price
• Gas limit

UTXO-based chains

Currently supported chains include:

• Bitcoin
• Cardano
• Nervos CKB
• Handshake

On UTXO-based chains, the estimated transaction fee is calculated as: fee rate * transaction size

Parameter	Description
Fee rate	The fee per byte of data, indicating how many satoshis are paid per vByte (abbreviated as sats/vByte).
Transaction size	The on-chain space occupied by the transaction, which affects the total fee in UTXO models.

You can customize the following parameters:

• Fee rate

Solana

On Solana, you can use the native model or choose the Legacy model. In the native model, the estimated transaction fee is calculated as: base fee + (CU price * CU limit)

Parameter	Description
base fee	A fixed fee charged per signature (by default, 5,000 Lamports per signature).
CU price	The price per Compute Unit (CU), used to increase transaction priority. Denominated in Lamports.
CU limit	The maximum number of CUs the transaction is allowed to consume. A higher value increases priority but also increases cost.

You can customize the following parameters:

• CU price
• CU limit

Filecoin

On Filecoin, you can use the native model or choose the Legacy model. In the native model, the estimated transaction fee is calculated as: min(gas fee cap, base fee + gas premium) * gas limit

Parameter	Description
Gas fee cap	The maximum price you are willing to pay per unit of gas.
Base fee	The minimum fee required for block inclusion, which adjusts dynamically with network congestion and is burned after payment, thereby reducing the total FIL supply.
Gas premium	A user-specified miner tip to increase transaction priority.
Gas limit	The maximum amount of gas the transaction is allowed to consume.

You can customize the following parameters:

• Gas fee cap
• Gas premium
• Gas limit

Chains using the fixed model

The following chains adopt a fixed fee model:

• TRON
• Algorand
• Polkadot
• Internet Computer and its ICRC assets (ckBTC, ckETH, ckUSDC, ckUSDT, DKP, GLDGOV, ICS, NICP, OC, OGY)
• Stellar
• Ripple
• Tezos
• Sui
• Near

The fixed fee model charges a fixed fee for each transaction.

If you need to estimate transaction fees using the WaaS 2.0 API, please refer to Estimate transaction fees.