Gas prices sourced from Ethereum mainnet via public RPC. Actual costs vary by block conditions.
What Is Ethereum Gas?
Gas is the unit of computational work required to execute transactions on the Ethereum network. Every action — from simple ETH transfers (21,000 gas) to complex DeFi swaps (150,000+ gas) — requires a fee paid to validators who include it in a block. Gas prices fluctuate with network demand, measured in Gwei (1 Gwei = 0.000000001 ETH).
Since EIP-1559, Ethereum uses a two-part fee structure: a base fee that adjusts automatically with block congestion (and is burned forever), plus a priority tip you add to incentivize validators to include your transaction faster. The total you pay = (base fee + priority tip) × gas units used.
Gas prices are most expensive during periods of high demand — NFT launches, DeFi liquidation cascades, token airdrops. Off-peak hours (weekends, late night UTC) often have 40–70% lower gas. Use the BTC Mempool Visualizer to similarly check Bitcoin network congestion and fee rates.
ETH Gas Tiers Explained
Slow (low priority tip): Transaction included within 5–10 minutes. Safe for non-urgent operations with significant savings on high-congestion days.
Standard: Typically confirmed within 1–3 minutes. The recommended setting for most users under normal conditions.
Fast (high priority tip): Usually included in the next 1–2 blocks (~15 seconds). Use for time-sensitive trades, arbitrage, or when the network is congested.