Bitcoin Transaction Fee Calculator
Estimate Bitcoin transaction fees based on your transaction amount and current network conditions. See the fee in satoshis and USD, as a percentage of your transaction, and get estimated confirmation times for each priority level.
Fee rates update automatically every 30 seconds using live data from the Bitcoin mempool when available.
Fee Estimates
Why Do Fees Vary?
Bitcoin transaction fees depend on transaction size (measured in virtual bytes), not the amount of Bitcoin you send. Sending 0.001 BTC costs the same in fees as sending 10 BTC if the transaction data is the same size.
Fees increase during periods of high demand because Bitcoin blocks have limited space (~4MB every ~10 minutes). When more people want to transact, they bid higher fees to get their transactions included faster.
For small or time-insensitive payments, the Lightning Network offers near-instant settlement with fees typically under 1 satoshi.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Bitcoin transaction fees calculated?
Bitcoin fees are based on transaction size in virtual bytes (vBytes), not the amount of Bitcoin being sent. Miners prioritize transactions by fee rate (satoshis per virtual byte). A typical transaction with one input and two outputs is about 140 vBytes. The total fee equals the fee rate multiplied by the transaction size.
What is the mempool and why does it affect fees?
The mempool (memory pool) is a waiting area for unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions. When the mempool is congested with many pending transactions, users compete by offering higher fees to get their transactions confirmed faster. During quiet periods, fees can drop to just a few satoshis per virtual byte.
What is the difference between Priority, Standard, and Economy fees?
Priority aims for confirmation within about 10 minutes (next block), Standard targets about 30 minutes (within 3 blocks), and Economy aims for about 60 minutes (within 6 blocks). Higher priority costs more but gets confirmed faster. For non-urgent transactions, Economy can save significant fees.
When should I use Lightning Network instead of on-chain?
The Lightning Network is ideal for small, frequent payments where on-chain fees would be disproportionate to the amount sent. If the fee represents more than 1-2% of your transaction value, Lightning is likely a better option. Lightning fees are typically less than 1 satoshi for small payments.
Why is the fee shown as a percentage of my transaction?
Showing the fee as a percentage helps you judge whether an on-chain transaction makes economic sense. If you are sending 10,000 sats and the fee is 2,000 sats (20%), that is expensive relative to the amount. For large transactions, the same fee represents a tiny fraction of the total.