Why network fees change the cost of the same swap from coin to coin
Each chain charges to move coins, and that charge ignores how much you send. Here is how it plays out on small swaps and big ones.
Getting a transaction into a block always costs a fee. That money goes to miners or validators, not to us. The size of the fee depends on how busy the network is and how much space your transaction takes up. The amount of money you move has nothing to do with it.
Fees vary by chain
- Bitcoin fees go up and down with demand for block space. Quiet times are cheap, while busy times can get pricey.
- Ethereum fees are paid in gas, and token transfers such as ERC20 USDT use more gas than a plain ETH transfer.
- Tron, Solana, TON, Litecoin and BNB Chain tend to cost much less per transfer.
Every swap involves two fees
Fee one is what you pay to send your deposit, and your wallet shows it before you confirm. Fee two is what we pay to send the new coins to you. That second fee is already built into the rate, so the amount we display is what remains after it.
How this affects your swap
With a small swap, that second fee takes a larger share. This is why tiny swaps look worse as a percentage, and why minimum amounts exist. With a bigger swap, the fee shrinks to almost nothing in comparison. On Swap1337, the percentage shown against the market price already accounts for all of it. Play with different amounts on the swap page and watch the effect in real time.
Quick answers
Which side of the swap pays the network fee?
You cover the fee for sending your deposit out of your wallet. The fee for sending the new coins to you is already included in the rate, which is why we display the amount after all fees.
Why do some coins have a higher minimum swap amount?
Mainly network fees. If delivering your coins costs a few dollars, a tiny swap would hand most of its value over to the fee.
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