Ethereum Gas Tracker — Current Gas Fees
Live Ethereum network gas prices. Updated every 15 seconds.
What is Gas in Ethereum?
Gas is the fee paid to Ethereum network validators (formerly miners) to process your transaction. It is measured in Gwei (1 Gwei = 0.000000001 ETH). The total fee you pay = Gas price (Gwei) × Gas units required by the transaction type.
Simple ETH transfers cost 21,000 gas units. More complex operations like Uniswap swaps or NFT mints require 100,000–500,000+ gas units because they execute smart contract code.
Why Do Gas Prices Fluctuate?
Gas prices follow supply and demand. When many people want to transact simultaneously (during NFT mints, DeFi launches, or market crashes), demand for block space spikes and fees increase. On quiet weekends or low-activity periods, gas drops to single-digit Gwei.
How to Save on Gas Fees
Transact during off-peak hours (evenings and weekends UTC). Use Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, or Base for DeFi activity — fees are 10–100× cheaper. For simple transfers, choose the "Slow" option when you're not in a hurry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest time to send Ethereum?
Gas is typically cheapest between 00:00–08:00 UTC (midnight to 8 AM) and on weekends. Major market events, NFT launches, and DeFi protocol updates cause sudden spikes.
What is Gwei?
Gwei is a denomination of ETH. 1 Gwei = 0.000000001 ETH (10⁻⁹ ETH). Gas prices are quoted in Gwei for readability — saying "10 Gwei" is much clearer than "0.00000001 ETH".
Why is my Uniswap swap so expensive?
Uniswap swaps require ~150,000 gas units (vs. 21,000 for a simple transfer) because they execute smart contract code. At 10 Gwei and $3,000 ETH price, a Uniswap swap costs about $4.50.
What happens if I set gas too low?
Your transaction will be stuck in the mempool until either gas prices drop to your level or you cancel/speed up the transaction. Use "average" or higher for time-sensitive transactions.
Do Layer 2 networks have the same gas fees?
No — Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base have dramatically lower fees, often under $0.01 per transaction. They batch transactions and post them to Ethereum in bulk, sharing the cost.