What it is
Five common transactions, five networks, one table: what a transfer, swap, NFT mint, contract deployment, and token approval cost on Ethereum versus Base, Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon zkEVM. Costs use static illustrative figures (a moderately busy day) so the ratios — the durable insight — stay visible regardless of gas weather.
Use it to answer the only question that matters before bridging: is this activity cheap enough to stay on mainnet, or does it belong on a rollup? For most everyday DeFi, the table ends the debate in one glance.
Why decentralization matters
Fee levels are access policy written in code: $50 swaps mean Ethereum is a settlement layer for whales while everyone else rents space from centralized exchanges. Every user who moves routine activity to a rollup does two good things at once — reclaims affordable self-custody and leaves scarce L1 block space for those who genuinely need base-layer guarantees. Scaling adoption is a decentralization strategy.
How the formula works
Figures assume 25 gwei L1 gas and $3,000 ETH (transfer ≈ $1.58, swap ≈ $11, mint ≈ $15, deploy ≈ $75, approval ≈ $4). L2 costs apply illustrative divisors observed in normal conditions (Base ~12x, Optimism ~10x, Arbitrum ~8x, Polygon zkEVM ~15x cheaper). These are snapshots, not quotes — real costs swing with congestion, blob prices, and sequencer fees. Treat ratios as truth, absolutes as weather.
Calculator
Risks
Cheap fees don’t make chains safe — every L2 here runs training-wheels operators (centralized sequencers, upgrade keys). And fee tables age: upgrades like EIP-4844 already rewrote these ratios once and will again. Re-check periodically, and never choose a chain on fees alone.
Worked example
Minting an NFT collection of 100 items at $15 each on mainnet costs $1,500 in gas alone — project-killing for small creators. The same mints on Base (~$1.25 each) total $125, turning impossible economics merely expensive. That 12x multiple is why entire categories (gaming items, social mints, micro-tipping) exist only on L2s: mainnet prices them out of existence, rollups price them into viability. Pick your actual transaction type above and price your own plans before committing to a chain.
Key numbers to remember
Baseline assumptions behind the table: 25 gwei, $3,000 ETH. Transfer $1.58 vs ~$0.11–0.20; swap $11.25 vs ~$0.75–1.41; mint $15 vs ~$1–1.88; deploy $75 vs ~$5–9.38. Ratios persist across gas regimes even as absolutes swing — that persistence is the table’s actual value. Recheck after major upgrades; EIP-4844 already rewrote every row once. For unusual transaction types, scale from the closest row by gas units. And remember that fee leadership rotates: today’s cheapest L2 subsidizes growth that tomorrow’s congestion reprices. For unusual transaction types, scale from the closest row by gas units.
Common mistakes
Choosing chains on fees while ignoring where your tokens actually have liquidity — the cheapest swap is worthless if slippage eats the savings. Forgetting withdrawal windows and fast-bridge premiums in total-cost math. Assuming today’s fee hierarchy is permanent (upgrades reshuffle it yearly). And bridging dust amounts where fixed bridge costs exceed any conceivable savings — batch or stay put.
FAQ
Cheapest L2 overall? It rotates with congestion and upgrades — currently zkEVM-class chains lead on pure cost, OP-stack chains on liquidity depth. Re-check quarterly.
Do L2 fees include bridging? No — budget one L1 transaction each way on top. Frequent small crossings can erase the savings; batch movements.
Will L1 fees ever drop? Only via reduced demand or future scaling; EIP-4844 deliberately cut L2 data costs, not L1 execution. Plan accordingly.
Related
- Layer 2 · Rollup · Gas
- Blob Space and EIP-4844 · L2 Fundamentals
- Base profile — the cheapest row, honestly assessed.