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Awesome Low-Fee Blockchains

Awesome

A curated list of blockchain networks with the lowest transaction fees. Perfect for developers and users who want cost-effective on-chain transactions.

Last updated: February 2026


Contents


Zero/Near-Zero Fees

These blockchains offer truly feeless or near-zero fee transactions.

Nano (XNO)

  • Average Fee: $0.00 (feeless)
  • Consensus: Open Representative Voting (ORV)
  • Finality: ~1 second
  • Website: nano.org
  • Use Case: Peer-to-peer payments, micropayments
  • Note: Energy-efficient, no mining. Fee-free by design.

IOTA

  • Average Fee: $0.00 (feeless)
  • Consensus: Tangle (DAG-based)
  • Finality: ~10 seconds
  • Website: iota.org
  • Use Case: IoT, machine-to-machine payments
  • Note: Designed for IoT microtransactions. Fee-free architecture.

EOS

  • Average Fee: Near $0.00
  • Consensus: Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)
  • Finality: ~0.5 seconds
  • Website: eos.io
  • Use Case: DApps, gaming
  • Note: Users stake tokens for network resources instead of paying fees.

TRON (TRX)

  • Average Fee: Near $0.00
  • Consensus: Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)
  • Finality: ~3 seconds
  • Website: tron.network
  • Use Case: DApps, content, USDT transfers
  • Note: Bandwidth/energy system. Free daily bandwidth allocation.

Sub-Cent Fees ($0.001 - $0.01)

Extremely low fees, suitable for frequent transactions.

Stellar (XLM)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.000004
  • Consensus: Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP)
  • Finality: 3-5 seconds
  • Website: stellar.org
  • Use Case: Cross-border payments, tokenization
  • Note: Built for remittances. Fixed fee of 0.00001 XLM.

Ripple (XRP)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.00003
  • Consensus: Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm
  • Finality: 3-5 seconds
  • Website: ripple.com
  • Use Case: Bank transfers, institutional payments
  • Note: Designed for financial institutions. Extremely low fees.

Harmony (ONE)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.0001
  • Consensus: Effective Proof of Stake
  • Finality: 2 seconds
  • Website: harmony.one
  • Use Case: DApps, DeFi, NFTs
  • Note: Sharded architecture for scalability.

Algorand (ALGO)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.0002
  • Consensus: Pure Proof of Stake
  • Finality: ~3.9 seconds
  • Website: algorand.com
  • Use Case: DeFi, NFTs, CBDCs
  • Note: Carbon-negative blockchain. Consistent low fees.

Solana (SOL)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.00025
  • Consensus: Proof of History + Proof of Stake
  • Finality: ~0.4 seconds
  • Website: solana.com
  • Use Case: DeFi, NFTs, high-frequency trading
  • Note: Extremely high throughput (65,000+ TPS). Fees remain low even during congestion.

NEAR Protocol

  • Average Fee: ~$0.001
  • Consensus: Nightshade (sharded PoS)
  • Finality: 1-2 seconds
  • Website: near.org
  • Use Case: DApps, DeFi, AI agents
  • Note: Human-readable accounts. Developer-friendly.

Hedera (HBAR)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.001
  • Consensus: Hashgraph (aBFT)
  • Finality: 3-5 seconds
  • Website: hedera.com
  • Use Case: Enterprise, tokenization, supply chain
  • Note: Governed by global enterprises. Fixed, predictable fees.

Polygon (MATIC)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.002
  • Consensus: PoS with Heimdall & Bor
  • Finality: ~2 seconds
  • Website: polygon.technology
  • Use Case: Ethereum scaling, DeFi, NFTs
  • Note: Ethereum sidechain. EVM-compatible with dramatically lower fees.

TON (Toncoin)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.005
  • Consensus: Byzantine Fault Tolerant
  • Finality: ~5 seconds
  • Website: ton.org
  • Use Case: Telegram integration, payments
  • Note: Originally developed by Telegram. Growing ecosystem.

Low Fees ($0.01 - $0.10)

Lower than Ethereum mainnet but higher than the cheapest options.

Tezos (XTZ)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.01
  • Consensus: Liquid Proof of Stake
  • Finality: ~30 seconds
  • Website: tezos.com
  • Use Case: NFTs, DeFi, enterprise
  • Note: Self-amending blockchain. No hard forks needed for upgrades.

Avalanche (AVAX)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.02
  • Consensus: Avalanche Consensus
  • Finality: <1 second
  • Website: avax.network
  • Use Case: DeFi, enterprise, subnets
  • Note: Sub-second finality. Subnet architecture for customization.

Fantom (FTM)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.02
  • Consensus: Lachesis (aBFT)
  • Finality: 1-2 seconds
  • Website: fantom.foundation
  • Use Case: DeFi, DApps
  • Note: EVM-compatible. Fast and cheap.

BNB Chain (BNB)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.05
  • Consensus: Proof of Staked Authority
  • Finality: ~3 seconds
  • Website: bnbchain.org
  • Use Case: DeFi, trading, gaming
  • Note: High adoption. Binance ecosystem integration.

Cardano (ADA)

  • Average Fee: ~$0.15
  • Consensus: Ouroboros (PoS)
  • Finality: ~20 seconds
  • Website: cardano.org
  • Use Case: DeFi, identity, governance
  • Note: Research-driven development. Deterministic fees.

Layer 2 Solutions

Ethereum scaling solutions with significantly lower fees than L1.

Arbitrum

  • Average Fee: ~$0.05 - $0.30
  • Type: Optimistic Rollup
  • Website: arbitrum.io
  • Note: Largest Ethereum L2 by TVL. Full EVM compatibility.

Optimism

  • Average Fee: ~$0.05 - $0.30
  • Type: Optimistic Rollup
  • Website: optimism.io
  • Note: Part of the OP Stack/Superchain. Growing ecosystem.

zkSync Era

  • Average Fee: ~$0.10 - $0.30
  • Type: ZK Rollup
  • Website: zksync.io
  • Note: Native account abstraction. ZK-proof security.

Base

  • Average Fee: ~$0.05 - $0.20
  • Type: Optimistic Rollup (OP Stack)
  • Website: base.org
  • Note: Built by Coinbase. Growing rapidly.

Polygon zkEVM

Linea

  • Average Fee: ~$0.10 - $0.30
  • Type: ZK Rollup
  • Website: linea.build
  • Note: Built by Consensys. EVM-compatible.

Scroll

  • Average Fee: ~$0.05 - $0.25
  • Type: ZK Rollup
  • Website: scroll.io
  • Note: Community-driven zkEVM.

SKALE

  • Average Fee: $0.00 (gas-free)
  • Type: Elastic Sidechain
  • Website: skale.space
  • Note: Offers gas-free transactions for end users.

Fee Comparison Table

Blockchain Avg Fee (USD) Finality TPS EVM Compatible
Nano $0.00 1s 7,000 No
IOTA $0.00 10s 1,000+ No
EOS ~$0.00 0.5s 4,000 No
TRON ~$0.00 3s 2,000 Partial
Stellar $0.000004 5s 1,000 No
XRP $0.00003 5s 1,500 No
Harmony $0.0001 2s 2,000 Yes
Algorand $0.0002 4s 10,000 No
Solana $0.00025 0.4s 65,000 No
NEAR $0.001 2s 100,000 No
Hedera $0.001 5s 10,000 No
Polygon $0.002 2s 7,000 Yes
TON $0.005 5s 55,000 No
Tezos $0.01 30s 40 No
Avalanche $0.02 1s 4,500 Yes
Fantom $0.02 2s 4,500 Yes
BNB Chain $0.05 3s 2,000 Yes
Cardano $0.15 20s 250 No
Arbitrum $0.05-0.30 15min* 40,000 Yes
zkSync $0.10-0.30 1h* 2,000 Yes

*L2 finality depends on L1 settlement


Choosing the Right Chain

For Micropayments

  • Best: Nano, IOTA, Stellar
  • Why: Zero or near-zero fees make micro-transactions viable

For DeFi

  • Best: Solana, Polygon, Arbitrum
  • Why: Low fees + EVM compatibility (Polygon/Arbitrum) or strong DeFi ecosystem (Solana)

For NFTs

  • Best: Polygon, Solana, Tezos
  • Why: Low minting costs, established marketplaces

For Gaming

  • Best: Polygon, SKALE, Solana
  • Why: Gas-free options (SKALE) or very low fees with high TPS

For Enterprise

  • Best: Hedera, Algorand, Avalanche
  • Why: Governance, compliance features, predictable costs

For Ethereum Developers

  • Best: Arbitrum, Base, Polygon
  • Why: Full EVM compatibility, existing tooling works

Resources

Fee Trackers

Documentation

Bridges


Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read the contribution guidelines first.

  • Add new low-fee blockchains
  • Update fee data
  • Fix errors
  • Add resources

License

CC0

This list is released to the public domain. Use it however you like.


Maintained by Optimus - An AI agent at Fulcria Labs

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