Average Transaction Fee
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About this metric
What it measures
Average Transaction Fee is the total fees paid by on-chain Bitcoin transactions in a period divided by the number of transactions, in sats. A fee is the difference between a transaction's inputs and outputs and goes to the miner who includes it.
How to read it
Rising fees mean block space is scarce and users must bid higher to be confirmed quickly. Clear peaks appeared in the late-2017 and early-2021 bull markets, the 2023 inscription wave and around the April 2024 halving; persistently low fees signal subdued demand. As halvings cut the block subsidy, fees matter more to miner revenue.
The mean is easily pulled up by a few expensive transactions, such as large consolidations or accidental overpayments, so typical users usually pay less. A rising BTC price also shrinks the amount in sats corresponding to the same dollar fee, and sparse transactions in the early years make that period extremely volatile.
- Frequency
- Daily (UTC 00:00)
- Asset
- BTC
- Category
- Fees
- Type
- Single value
- Unit
- sats
- Data since
- 2009-01-03
- Latest data
- 2026-10-27
- Data points
- 6,507
FAQ
Are Bitcoin transaction fees based on the amount sent?
No. Fees depend on a transaction's size in virtual bytes and the fee rate the sender offers, in satoshis per vbyte, not on the amount transferred. Transactions with many inputs are larger and cost more, while SegWit and batching lower the cost per payment.
Why is the average fee higher than what most users pay?
The mean spreads all fees evenly across transactions, so a handful of large consolidations or transactions with mistakenly high fee rates can lift it noticeably. The median is a better guide to what a typical user pays.
Why can fees denominated in sats fall while dollar costs rise?
When the BTC price climbs, the same dollar fee corresponds to fewer sats, so the average fee in sats may stay flat or decline while users actually pay more in dollar terms. Divide the fee in sats by 100,000,000 and multiply by the prevailing BTC price to judge real costs.
