How to Create a Token on Base
Base is the cheapest serious place to launch an ERC-20: cents in gas, two-second blocks, and the buyers who trade new tokens. This is the whole sequence, from an empty wallet to a verified contract with liquidity, with the real costs at each step.
Short answer
Put a little ETH on Base, decide name, symbol, supply and decimals, open the CoinDevTools Base token creator, fill in the four values, and confirm one transaction. The token is live and in your wallet in seconds, verification is submitted for you, and the fee is 0.03 ETH plus cents of gas. Then add liquidity so it can trade.
What you are actually deploying
A token on Base is a smart contract that keeps a table of balances and lets holders move them. The standard for that contract is ERC-20, and the implementation almost everyone uses is OpenZeppelin's, which has been read by more people than any other piece of Solidity. CoinDevTools deploys that implementation, with an Ownable extension, and writes your name, symbol, decimals, supply and owner address into the source before compiling it. There are no hidden functions, no tax logic, no owner-only mint, and no constructor arguments, which is also why verification is straightforward.
Because the values are compiled in, they are permanent. That is the one property of this whole process worth slowing down for: the supply you type is the supply on the explorer for the life of the contract, and the symbol you type is the symbol every aggregator will show.
The steps
Get a wallet with a little ETH on Base
MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Rabby or any EVM wallet works. Add the Base network (chain ID 8453, RPC mainnet.base.org) if it is not there already, then bridge or buy a small amount of ETH on Base. The deploy itself costs cents in gas; the CoinDevTools fee is 0.03 ETH on top.
Decide the four numbers before you open anything
Name, symbol, total supply and decimals. Decimals is almost always 18 on EVM chains, because every DEX, wallet and aggregator assumes it. Supply is fixed at deploy for a standard ERC-20, so pick the number you want on the explorer forever.
Open the Base token creator and connect
On the CoinDevTools Base page, connect the wallet and make sure it is on Base, not Ethereum mainnet. The form shows the fee and an estimate of gas before anything is signed.
Fill in the form and review the summary
Name, symbol, supply, decimals, and the owner address (your wallet by default). The summary repeats every value; read it once, because the contract is compiled from these values and they cannot be edited after deployment.
Confirm one transaction
Your wallet shows a single contract-creation transaction. Approve it. Base blocks land every two seconds, so the token usually exists before the confirmation screen finishes animating.
Check it on Basescan
The success screen links the new contract address on basescan.org. The full supply is already in the owner wallet. Source verification is submitted automatically; if the Contract tab still says unverified after a few minutes, the verification guide has the exact compiler settings.
Do the trust steps buyers check first
Renounce ownership if you want the contract immutable, add liquidity on a Base DEX so it can trade, and lock or burn the LP. Each is a separate transaction and a separate signal; the launch checklist puts them in order.
What it costs
Two different things get paid: the CoinDevTools fee, which is fixed, and Base gas, which depends on the network at the moment you sign. Gas is gas units times gas price; the deploy uses roughly 1.2 million units, and Base prices are usually a small fraction of a gwei, which is why the deploy lands at cents rather than dollars.
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| CoinDevTools fee | 0.03 ETH flat | Same on Base and Ethereum. No subscription, no per-holder fee. |
| Deploy gas on Base | usually well under $1 | A standard OpenZeppelin ERC-20 uses roughly 1.1 to 1.3 million gas. Base gas prices sit in the fractions of a gwei most of the day, plus a small L1 data fee. |
| Adding liquidity | gas only | Plus whatever ETH and tokens you pair. The pool size is your decision, not a fee. |
| Renounce, burn, lock | gas only | Each is one small transaction, cents on Base. |
The same deploy on Ethereum mainnet uses the same gas units at a gas price measured in whole gwei, so it costs tens of dollars on a quiet day and far more on a busy one. The Base vs Ethereum comparison puts the two side by side.
The five mistakes that cost people a redeploy
Deploying on Ethereum mainnet by accident
Same wallet, same form, ten to a hundred times the gas. The creator checks the connected chain, but the wallet decides where the transaction goes. Look at the network name in the wallet before you approve.
Picking decimals other than 18
Nothing breaks, but some DEX front ends, price feeds and portfolio trackers display 6- or 9-decimal EVM tokens oddly. Unless you have a specific reason, use 18.
Typos in the name or symbol
They are written into the compiled contract. There is no rename. Explorers and aggregators pull the on-chain values, so a typo follows the token everywhere.
Announcing before liquidity exists
A token without a pool has no price and cannot be bought. Buyers who arrive early see nothing and leave. Add liquidity first, then post.
Skipping verification
Every scanner tool buyers run on Base leans on published source. An unverified contract reads as either careless or hiding something, and it costs nothing to fix.
After the deploy: the three signals buyers check
A Base buyer running a scanner on your contract looks at three things in the first ten seconds: is the source verified, has ownership been renounced, and is the liquidity locked or burned. None of them happens by itself. Verification is submitted automatically after a CoinDevTools deploy; renouncing ownership, adding liquidity and burning the LP are each one transaction from the same site. The Base token launch checklist is the full order of operations.
Related
Create your token on Base
Standard OpenZeppelin ERC-20, deployed from your wallet, verified automatically. 0.03 ETH plus cents of gas.
Open the Base token creatorFAQ
How much does it cost to create a token on Base?+
The CoinDevTools fee is 0.03 ETH. Gas for the deployment on Base is normally well under a dollar, because Base gas prices are a fraction of a gwei and the contract needs about 1.2 million gas. The later trust steps are separate transactions that each cost cents in gas.
Do I need to know Solidity?+
No. The contract is OpenZeppelin's ERC20 plus Ownable, the same reviewed implementation most tokens use, with your name, symbol, decimals, supply and owner written into the source before it is compiled. You choose values; you do not write code.
How long does it take?+
About five minutes if the wallet already has ETH on Base. The deploy transaction itself confirms in a few seconds; most of the time goes on deciding the name, symbol and supply.
Can I change the supply, name or symbol later?+
No. A standard ERC-20 fixes all three at deployment. If you need a different supply, deploy a new token. Ownership can be renounced later, and liquidity can be added or removed at any time.
Is the token verified on Basescan?+
Verification is submitted automatically after deployment. If the explorer has not attached the source after a few minutes, the Basescan verification guide lists the exact compiler version, optimizer setting and EVM version to finish it by hand.
Base or Ethereum mainnet?+
Same contract, same fee, very different gas. Base is the right default for most launches: cents to deploy, seconds to confirm, and the buyers who trade new tokens are there. Ethereum mainnet makes sense when the audience, the exchange, or the integration you are targeting requires it.