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Does Exodus have transaction fees to send or receive?
Does Exodus have transaction fees to send or receive?

Nearly all blockchain transactions cost network transaction fees to send. In Exodus, 100% of these fees go to the network.

Updated over a week ago

Are there Exodus wallet fees? Or Exodus transaction fees? How about Exodus exchange fees? Exodus doesn't charge any fees, but almost all blockchain transactions will cost a network transaction fee (also known as gas) when you send crypto.

Exodus does not keep any part of the transaction fees. 100% of these fees go to the network. For example, in Exodus, all Bitcoin fees go to the miners on the Bitcoin network.

In need of a self-custody wallet to send and receive crypto? Download Exodus here.


In this article:


What are transaction fees?

Almost all blockchain networks (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) require you to pay a small fee to send a transaction. This is because miners or validators spend resources to help process and secure all transactions on the network. Transaction fees are paid to the network miners or validators as an incentive to ensure transactions are delivered reliably and quickly.

So while you'll need to pay a transaction fee to the network when you send crypto, there are no Exodus wallet fees. Exodus exchange fees also include a transaction fee, because you are sending your crypto to a third-party swap API provider. 100% of these transaction fees go to the miners and validators of the network.

Popular networks are crowded and thus more expensive. Bitcoin and Ethereum are popular networks, and they usually have the highest transaction fees.

Another reason blockchain networks charge fees is to make it harder for someone to flood the network with junk transactions. If sending transactions were free, one bad actor could damage the network speed and reliability for everyone by spamming the network with many tiny transactions (also called dust transactions).

Usually, the fees for sending a transaction do not depend on the amount you are sending but on how much data needs to be processed by the network to send the transaction.

For example, Bitcoin transaction fees are measured in Satoshis (Bitcoin's smallest unit) per byte, also called Sats/b. The more information included (bytes), the more Satoshis (bits of BTC) you will need to pay to send the transaction. The amount of information in a transaction does not depend on the amount sent but on the number of previously received deposits (inputs). The more inputs you have, the more expensive the transaction is to send.

This is why people who mine BTC and receive many small payments tend to have much larger transaction fees. For more information on mining fees, see Can I receive mining payouts?


Tutorial videos: Network fees explained, Bitcoin fees explained


How do transaction fees work?

For UTXO-based assets like Bitcoin, the more inputs (previously received deposits) you have, the more expensive the transaction is to send.

The easiest way to think about transaction fees is with change and dollars. One dollar is the same as 100 pennies. However, it requires more work to count 100 pennies and give them to someone for payment than handing over a single one-dollar bill.

Let’s look at an example using Bitcoin (BTC):

Alice receives 0.01 BTC every day for 100 days. Bob receives a payment of 1 BTC once. Alice and Bob now both have 1 BTC.

If Alice and Bob now try to send 1 BTC, Alice will have to pay a much larger fee than Bob. This is because the Bitcoin network has to process more data with Alice's transaction, bundling all of her small “inputs” together to send all of her BTC.

Bob only has 1 input, so less data is needed as he does not need to bundle any transactions together.

This is similar to someone trying to spend 100 pennies vs. a one-dollar bill. Both have the same value, but the 100 pennies are much harder to count (and heavier), and it takes more effort to process them and make the transaction.

This only affects BTC and other UTXO-based assets like BCH, BSV, BTG, LTC, DGB, etc.

Ethereum (ETH) and other non-UTXO-based assets have a different fee calculation system based on the type of transaction being sent. For example, you will pay a larger fee (gas) if you send to a smart contract address or if you send an ERC20 (Ethereum-based) token compared to if you send ETH.

Something important to keep in mind is that Exodus will calculate and set fees automatically.


How do I see my transaction fees?

In Exodus, you can always see current network fees for your transaction before you send your crypto:

Mobile

Desktop

Web3 Wallet


What do "Estimated Network Fee" and "Max Network Fee" mean?

On some networks, most notably Ethereum (as well as Hedera Hashgraph), it is not possible to calculate the exact amount of a transaction fee, also known as a network fee, or gas. This is because of the way the network operates.

Because of this, when you send or exchange ETH, ERC20 tokens, or HBAR, you might see the fields "Estimated Network Fee" and "Max Network Fee".

"Estimated Network Fee"

If you see an amount in an Estimated Network Fee field, this is the closest approximation of the transaction fee (gas) according to market conditions at the time.

Market conditions can change rapidly, so you might end up paying either more or less than this estimated amount.

"Max Network Fee"

If you see an amount in a Max Network Fee field, this is the most that you might pay for the transaction.

Because market conditions can change rapidly, to be on the safe side, the maximum fee that a transaction could cost is shown.

In most cases, the actual fee will be less than the amount you see in the Max Network Fee field.

So the Max Network Fee is the most that you might pay for the transaction. Only the actual fee will be deducted from your wallet.

100% of this fee goes to the network.

After your transaction has been sent, you can click or tap on the transaction ID to find out exactly how much gas your transaction cost.


Why are fees so high sometimes?

The main reasons that Bitcoin transaction fees are sometimes high, and confirmation times are slow, are limited block sizes and the amount of users transacting on the network.

The Bitcoin blockchain network can only handle a certain amount of transaction data for each block, with a maximum limit of 1MB.

When there is a lot of activity on the network, and more transactions than a block can accommodate, fees rise as senders compete to have their transactions included in the next block. Miners prioritize transactions with higher fees.

The same is also true for Ethereum. Though its block size is dynamically adjustable depending on network demand, its block size is ultimately finite, so gas fees spike during times of high network congestion.

When calculating transaction fees, Exodus uses a dynamic model based on the current fee rate to ensure that your transaction is completed in a timely manner. This may result in a higher fee. However, you can adjust this by setting a custom fee: How do I set a custom fee?

If you’re curious as to why exchanges sometimes offer lower fees for withdrawals even when network congestion is high, it is because they can batch many transactions together, which reduces the overall fee per transaction. This allows exchanges to offer lower fees.

To learn more about the differences between self-custody wallets and centralized exchanges, please visit: Why does self-custody matter?


How do I set a custom fee?

Are you interested in a self-custody wallet that lets you set custom transaction fees? Download Exodus.

In Exodus Desktop and Exodus Mobile, you can set custom fees for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ERC20 transactions.

Exodus Web3 Wallet supports setting custom fees for ETH and ERC20 transactions.

The following articles will guide you through how to set custom fees:


What are the fees for buying, selling, or swapping crypto?

Exodus has a variety of third-party API providers which make it easy for you to buy, sell, or swap your crypto. These transactions may include a spread or a fee.

Swapping crypto - When swapping crypto in Exodus, your swap may include a spread and a network fee. You will always be able to see the amount of crypto you'll receive before you make the swap. You can learn more about swapping crypto in our article: How do I swap crypto using the in-app exchange?

Buying and selling crypto - When buying and selling crypto in Exodus, your order will have a processing fee and a network fee. You will always be able to see these fees before buying or selling your crypto. If you'd like to learn more about buying or selling your crypto, check out these articles:

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