Bitcoin fees today

How to read today's Bitcoin fees

Bitcoin fees are not set by anyone — they are an auction for space in the next blocks. Each block holds roughly 1 million virtual bytes (vB), and miners fill it with the transactions that pay the most per vB. That rate, in satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB), is the number that matters; the dollar cost of a transaction is simply its size multiplied by that rate.

• Next block — the rate that should get you into the very next block, about 10 minutes away on average.
• 30 minutes / 1 hour — slightly cheaper rates that are likely to confirm within roughly three or six blocks.
• Economy — the cheapest sensible rate when the mempool is quiet; it may take hours when traffic picks up.

Is now a good time to send?

The verdict at the top compares the current next-block rate with the median fee rate miners accepted over the past 7 days. When today's rate is below the weekly median, it is a cheap moment to send or consolidate coins; when it is well above, waiting a few hours — often until the weekend or the quieter hours listed above — usually saves money.

Why fees spike

Fee rates rise when more people want block space at once: sharp price moves, exchanges sending large batches of withdrawals, token or inscription mints, and simply busy hours when the US and European markets overlap. Because new blocks arrive at random intervals, a run of slow blocks can also push the waiting queue — and fees — up for a while.

How to pay less

• Send when the mempool is quiet (see the cheapest hours above).
• Use a native SegWit (bc1q…) or Taproot (bc1p…) address — those transactions are smaller.
• Pick the rate for when you actually need it to confirm, not always "next block".
• Use a wallet with Replace-by-Fee, so you can start low and bump the fee if needed.
• Consolidate many small coins into one while fees are low — it makes future payments cheaper.

Paid too little and now it's stuck?

If fees rose after you sent, your transaction can wait in the mempool for hours or days. You can speed it up yourself with RBF or CPFP, rebroadcast it for free, or use premium acceleration to get it confirmed in 10–60 minutes without changing it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a normal Bitcoin fee right now?

It changes block by block. The cards at the top show the live rates; the chart shows what miners actually accepted over the past week, so you can see whether today is cheap or expensive.

How much does it cost to send bitcoin today?

For a simple payment of about 141 vB, multiply the rate by 141 to get the fee in satoshis. The dollar amounts under each card do this for you at the current BTC price.

What is the cheapest time to send bitcoin?

Usually weekends and the quiet hours shown in the "cheapest hours" list, when fewer transactions compete for block space. The list is recalculated automatically from the last 7 days of blocks.

Where does this data come from?

Live fee estimates and mempool size come from public Bitcoin explorers (mempool.space with fallbacks). The 7-day chart shows fee-rate percentiles of mined blocks. Data refreshes automatically; no sign-up needed.

Can I show these fees on my own website?

Yes — the free Bitcoin fee widget shows the live rates on any site with one line of code.