Comparison of Cryptocurrency Transaction Fees Across Different Networks
Nano offers completely free transactions — $0 fees. The unique DAG architecture eliminates the need for miners. Transactions are confirmed instantly, which is perfect for micropayments and daily settlements.
Stellar and Ripple charge less than $0.001 per transaction. Stellar processes payments in 3-5 seconds with a fee of $0.00001. Ripple completes transactions in 4 seconds at a cost of $0.0002. Both networks are optimized for international transfers.
Comparison of Popular Blockchains
Bitcoin remains expensive — the average transaction fee is $0.92-1.18 in 2025. During high network congestion, fees can rise to $5-10. Confirmation time is 10-60 minutes depending on priority. This is acceptable for large amounts, but too expensive for everyday payments.
Ethereum has improved after updates, but the average fee is still $0.53. Layer 2 solutions (Arbitrum, Optimism) reduce costs to $0.01-0.05. Confirmation time is 15 seconds on the main network, 2-3 seconds on L2.
Solana processes transactions for $0.00025 with a speed of 2.5 seconds. TRON provides free daily transactions through the energy system. After exhausting the limit, the fee will be $0.10-0.50.
Choosing the Optimal Network for Business
For international B2B payments, choose Stellar or Ripple. Minimal fees and partnerships with banks ensure reliability. Many financial institutions have already integrated these networks into their infrastructure.
For retail sales, Solana or Polygon are suitable. Fast and cheap transactions won't scare away customers. Stablecoin support protects against volatility.
For large one-time deals, use Bitcoin or Ethereum. High liquidity and recognition make them a universal choice. A $1-5 fee is negligible when transferring thousands of dollars.
Hidden Exchange Costs
Top crypto exchanges charge 0.1-0.25% for trading operations. Binance offers a 25% discount when paying fees with BNB token. KuCoin reduces fees to 0.08% when using KCS. Kraken uses a maker-taker model: 0.25% for makers, 0.40% for takers.
Withdrawal of funds is a separate expense item. Bitcoin costs an average of 0.0005 BTC ($50-60). Ethereum — 0.005 ETH ($10-20). Stablecoins on TRON network — $1-2.
Fee Minimization Strategies
Use batch transactions to save up to 50% on fees. Combine multiple payments into one transaction. Bitcoin supports natively, Ethereum requires a smart contract.
Choose times with low network load. Weekends and nighttime hours (UTC) are usually cheaper. Monitor gas trackers for Ethereum — the difference can be 3-5x during the day.
Keep funds on multiple blockchains. Diversification allows you to choose the optimal network for each transaction. Use bridges to transfer between networks when necessary.
Future of Fees
Lightning Network for Bitcoin reduces fees to $0.001 with instant transactions. Adoption is growing — already 150,000 active channels. By 2027, most small Bitcoin payments will go through Lightning.
Ethereum is transitioning to sharding, which will reduce fees by 10-100 times. Full implementation is expected by 2027-2028. Layer 2 solutions will continue to develop in parallel.
New blockchains (Sui, Aptos) promise fees of less than $0.001 at speeds of 100,000+ TPS. Real performance will show during mass adoption.
