Resource Notes
Use, understand, and apply the model
Key takeaway
Gas costs vary significantly by chain: Ethereum L1 ($1-$50 per transaction), Arbitrum ($0.01-$0.50), Polygon ($0.001-$0.10), and Solana (~$0.00025). L2s reduce costs by 95-99% after EIP-4844. Gas optimization can save 30%+ on transaction costs — at 10,000 transfers/day, saving $18,000/day at 30 Gwei, $3,000 ETH.
Gas Cost Reference Table (Updated Regularly)
Ethereum L1 (Typical Gas: 15–50 Gwei)
Reference Table
| Operation | Gas Used | Cost @ 20 Gwei + $3,000 ETH |
|---|---|---|
| Simple ETH transfer | 21,000 gas | $1.26 |
| ERC-20 transfer | 50,000–65,000 gas | $3.00–$3.90 |
| ERC-20 approve | 45,000 gas | $2.70 |
| Uniswap V3 swap | 120,000–180,000 gas | $7.20–$10.80 |
| NFT mint (ERC-721A, 1 token) | 60,000–80,000 gas | $3.60–$4.80 |
| NFT mint (ERC-721A, 5 tokens) | 80,000–100,000 gas | $4.80–$6.00 |
| Aave deposit | 200,000–250,000 gas | $12.00–$15.00 |
| Contract deployment (simple) | 500,000–800,000 gas | $30.00–$48.00 |
| Contract deployment (DeFi) | 3,000,000–8,000,000 gas | $180–$480 |
Arbitrum One (Typical: $0.01–$0.50)
Reference Table
| Operation | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| ETH transfer | $0.02–$0.08 |
| ERC-20 transfer | $0.03–$0.15 |
| Uniswap V3 swap | $0.10–$0.50 |
| NFT mint | $0.05–$0.25 |
| Contract deployment (simple) | $0.50–$2.00 |
| Contract deployment (DeFi) | $5.00–$25.00 |
Polygon PoS (Typical: $0.001–$0.10)
Reference Table
| Operation | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| MATIC transfer | $0.001–$0.005 |
| USDC transfer | $0.002–$0.01 |
| NFT mint | $0.005–$0.05 |
| Batch payroll (340 recipients) | $0.05–$0.15 |
| Contract deployment (simple) | $0.05–$0.30 |
Solana (Fixed pricing)
Reference Table
| Operation | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| SOL transfer | ~$0.00025 |
| SPL token transfer | ~$0.00025 |
| NFT mint | ~$0.01–$0.05 |
Gas Cost Impact on Protocol Design
High gas impact operations (avoid on L1):
- Loops over user arrays (scales with users)
- Complex state updates in single transactions
- Storing large amounts of data on-chain
Gas-efficient patterns:
- ERC-721A for batch NFT minting (5 tokens ≈ 1 token cost)
- MerkleProof for allowlists (O(log n) vs O(n))
- Calldata over memory for read-only parameters
- Packing multiple uint128 values into single storage slots