A network fee is a small amount of cryptocurrency that users pay to a blockchain so their transaction or action can be processed. This fee goes to the people or machines that record the transaction, and the amount can change based on how busy the network is.
Fees pay for the computing work and bandwidth needed to check and record transactions. They also help prevent the network from getting overloaded with unnecessary activity. In addition, fees give validators or miners extra income on top of any block rewards.
Blockchains set fees in different ways. On UTXO chains like Bitcoin, fees depend on how much space a transaction takes up in a block, measured in bytes. On smart-contract platforms, fees are based on how much computing power the action needs, often measured in units called gas. Networks can also change fee levels automatically as traffic goes up or down.
Blockchains use a few main fee models. Some have a fee market where users can pay more to get their transaction included faster. Others use a gas system that measures the computing steps for each action. Newer systems may split fees into a base amount that changes with network traffic and an extra tip to speed things up. These models affect how predictable fees are for users.
Wallets suggest fees and let users choose between faster processing or lower cost. If the network is busy, paying a higher fee usually means your transaction is confirmed sooner. The pool of waiting transactions, called the mempool, is where miners or validators select which transactions to process next. Some wallets also let you set your own fee for more control.
If you want to lower costs, you can use a less busy network, wait for times with less activity, or use layer 2 solutions that bundle many transactions off-chain and settle them on the main chain. You can also batch several payments into one transaction or pick blockchains designed for low-fee transfers.
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