Gas & fees explained like you’re five — Key concepts

Gas unitsGas counts the work your transaction needs. A simple send uses fewer units; a swap or NFT mint uses more. Units are the “distance” of the job.

Base fee + tipBase fee adjusts automatically with demand (crowded = higher base). Tip is what you add to get picked faster. Together they decide how quickly you get included.

Total feeTotal ≈ gas used × price per unit. Busy networks increase the price per unit. Quiet networks make it cheaper. Wallets show estimates to help you choose.

Gas limitThis is a safety cap, not a spend target. Set too low, your tx can fail. Set reasonably high, the unused portion is not spent—it’s just a ceiling.

Wallet presets (slow/normal/fast) are just pre-filled base fee and tip values. You can always look at the numbers to see how many minutes you’re trading for a few extra cents.