What Is Gas (Transaction Fee)?
Definition
Gas is the fee paid to blockchain validators for processing transactions. On Ethereum it's measured in gwei, on Solana it's called a priority fee — both compensate the network for computation.
Every blockchain operation costs gas — the fee that incentivizes validators to process and confirm your transaction. Gas ensures the network doesn't get spammed with free transactions.
- Solana — base fee is ~0.000005 SOL per signature (under $0.001). Priority fees are optional and paid for faster inclusion during congestion. Total transaction cost is typically under $0.01.
- Ethereum — gas is measured in "gas units" × "gas price" (in gwei). A token creation might use 2M gas units at 20 gwei = 0.04 ETH. Gas prices fluctuate with network demand.
- Base — uses Ethereum's gas model but at 10-100x lower prices due to L2 batch compression. Typical transaction costs $0.01-0.10.
Gas fees are separate from CoinDevTools service fees. When creating a token, you pay: the CoinDevTools flat fee (0.3 SOL or 0.03 ETH) PLUS the blockchain gas fee. On Solana, gas is negligible. On Ethereum, it can be significant during high-congestion periods.
Related Terms
Gas Fees
Gas fees are the transaction costs paid to blockchain validators for processing and confirming transactions. They vary by chain — near-zero on Solana, variable on Ethereum.
Smart Contract
A smart contract is a self-executing program stored on a blockchain that automatically enforces the rules of an agreement when predefined conditions are met.
DeFi (Decentralized Finance)
DeFi is a category of blockchain-based financial services that operate without banks or intermediaries — including lending, borrowing, trading, and earning yield through smart contracts.