About the Bitcoin Fee Estimator
Bitcoin fees move all day, depending on how many people want space in the next block. This tool reads the current recommended fee rates from the public mempool.space service (with blockstream.info as a backup) and shows them for four speeds: the next block, about half an hour, about an hour, and economy. Below that you pick your address type and the number of inputs and outputs, and the tool turns each rate into a cost in satoshis, and in money if you type a price. Use it before you send to avoid overpaying in a busy hour or being stuck with a fee that is too low. The numbers are estimates and they can change in minutes.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Bitcoin Fee Estimator
- 1Open the page. The current fee rates load by themselves.
- 2Read the four speeds. Fees are in satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB).
- 3Choose the address type you will spend from, and the number of inputs and outputs.
- 4Optionally type a price for one bitcoin to see each fee in money.
- 5Press Refresh before you send, because fees change quickly.
How Bitcoin fees work
Bitcoin fees are not a percentage of the amount. They depend on the size of the transaction, not on how much money it moves. Sending a hundred dollars and a hundred thousand dollars costs the same if the transaction has the same shape. Miners fill each block with the payments that pay the most per virtual byte, so the fee rate decides how fast you are mined.
The size grows with the number of inputs, which are the coins you spend. If you collected many small payments, spending them all in one go makes a large transaction and a large fee. Spend from fewer, bigger coins when you can, and use native SegWit or Taproot addresses, which are cheaper than legacy ones.
Tips to pay less
- Send when the network is quiet: weekends and early morning in the United States and Europe are often cheaper.
- Pick the economy or one-hour rate for anything that is not urgent.
- Use a wallet that supports replace-by-fee, so you can start low and raise the fee if the payment sticks.
- Join many small coins into one when fees are low, not when they are high.
More on fees
To work out the exact size of a transaction with your own inputs and outputs, use the Bitcoin Transaction Fee Calculator. After sending, follow the payment with the Bitcoin Transaction Status Checker. To convert the fee between units, the Satoshi to BTC Converter works to the last satoshi, and the Bitcoin Price Converter adds a money value.
Features
- Live rates for next block, 30 minutes, 1 hour and economy
- Cost of your transaction in satoshis at each speed
- Optional money value from a price you type
- Typical sizes for legacy, wrapped SegWit, native SegWit and Taproot
- Shows the minimum relay fee
- mempool.space with blockstream.info as a backup
- Refresh button for the latest numbers
Frequently asked questions
What does sat/vB mean?
It means satoshis per virtual byte. A satoshi is one hundred millionth of a bitcoin, and a virtual byte is the size unit used for Bitcoin transaction fees. Multiply the rate by your transaction size to get the fee.
Which speed should I choose?
Choose the fastest rate when the payment is urgent, the one-hour rate for normal payments and economy when you can wait many hours. If you are moving your own coins and do not mind waiting, economy saves the most.
Why do fees change so much?
Each block has limited space, about every ten minutes. When many people send at once, they bid against each other for the space, and fees rise. Fees usually fall at weekends and overnight in the main time zones.
How big is a normal transaction?
A simple payment from native SegWit with one input and two outputs (the payment and change) is about 141 virtual bytes. Legacy addresses are larger, about 226, so they cost more. Many inputs make a transaction bigger.
Are the fees guaranteed?
No. They are estimates of what usually gets a transaction into a block in that time. A sudden rush can leave a payment waiting longer. Wallets with replace-by-fee let you raise the fee later.
Do I need to give an address or a key?
No. The fee rates are public data for everyone, so this tool never asks for an address, a seed phrase or a private key.
Can this tool send my payment?
No. It only shows fee information. You send from your own wallet and choose the fee there.