Cross-Chain Fee Estimator
Network Cost Comparison
Compare the estimated cost of a simple transfer across different blockchains based on current L1 gas prices.
Cross-Chain Fee Estimator
Estimated Cost for Simple Transfer
Ethereum L1
$1.05
Arbitrum One
$0.11
Optimism
$0.05
Polygon (MATIC)
$0.02
Multi-Chain Gas Fees Explained
Gas fees vary drastically between chains. Layer 2 networks inherit Ethereum's security but offer much lower fees by batching transactions.
Layer 1 vs. Layer 2 Costs
Ethereum (L1): Every node processes every transaction, leading to high fees ($2-$50+). It prioritizes decentralization and security.
Layer 2 (Arbitrum, Optimism): Details are executed off-chain. Only the final proof is posted to L1. This splits the L1 gas bill among thousands of users, resulting in fees under $0.10.
Sidechains (Polygon PoS, Gnosis)
Sidechains run their own consensus (security models) separate from Ethereum. They are extremely cheap ($0.01) but arguably less secure than L2 Rollups which derive security directly from Ethereum.
The Blockchain Trilemma
Blockchains struggle to achieve Decentralization, Security, and Scalability simultaneously. High fees are often the price of high security and decentralization (Ethereum). L2s attempt to solve this by handling scalability off-chain.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Sending $1 or $1M costs the same gas fee. However, complex operations (like swapping or bridging) use more 'gas units' than simple transfers.
Calldata is the space in a block where transaction data is stored. L2s rely heavily on cheap calldata (or data blobs) to post their proofs to L1.