Finance

Ethereum Fees Stays Low: How Network Upgrades Are Revolutionizing Transaction Costs

Ethereum fees remain low despite rising activity, thanks to recent upgrades enhancing scalability and efficiency.

byAndres Castro

October 30, 2025, 11:24 AM

Close-up of several physical Ethereum cryptocurrency coins stacked and arranged on a surface.

The digital shimmer of Ethereum coins represents the ever-evolving landscape of decentralized finance. By MDL.

Executive Summary

Ethereum transaction fees are consistently hovering near historic lows despite a recent surge in daily network activity, signaling a more mature and scalable infrastructure.

The sustained low transaction costs are a direct result of the Dencun and Pectra upgrades, which reduced Layer 2 transaction fees and offloaded transactions from the mainnet.

This combination of historically low fees and increasing network activity underscores Ethereum’s progress toward becoming a more scalable and efficient blockchain, positioning it for broader adoption.

The Story So Far

The current stability of Ethereum transaction fees at historic lows, despite rising network activity, is a direct consequence of recent network enhancements like the Dencun and Pectra upgrades, which were specifically designed to reduce costs and improve scalability by increasing layer-2 capacity and offloading transactions from the mainnet.

Why This Matters

The sustained low Ethereum transaction fees, despite a recent surge in network activity, signal a significant advancement in the platform’s scalability and efficiency. This development, largely attributed to upgrades like Dencun and Pectra, addresses a key historical criticism of high costs, potentially paving the way for broader adoption and a wider range of real-world applications within its ecosystem.

Who Thinks What?

Ethereum transaction fees are consistently near historic lows despite a recent surge in daily network activity, signaling a more mature and scalable infrastructure.

The sustained low gas fees are a direct result of Ethereum’s recent Dencun and Pectra upgrades, which were designed to reduce transaction costs and enhance network throughput by doubling layer-2 blob capacity and offloading more transactions from the mainnet.

The combination of historically low transaction fees and increasing network activity underscores Ethereum’s progress toward becoming a more scalable and efficient blockchain, positioning it for broader adoption and a wider range of advanced real-world applications.

Ethereum transaction fees are consistently hovering near historic lows, despite a recent surge in daily network activity, signaling a more mature and scalable infrastructure for the world’s largest smart contract platform. The low costs stand in sharp contrast to previous periods where high demand often led to soaring fees, a common criticism of Ethereum in past market cycles.

Stable Fees Amid Rising Activity

Individual Ethereum transaction fees have remained at approximately 0.16 gwei, translating to about $0.01 per transaction. Fees for token swaps were slightly higher at $0.15, while non-fungible token (NFT) sales incurred costs of around $0.27, according to blockchain data aggregator Milkroad.

This stability in fees comes as network activity has seen a significant uptick. Daily transactions on Ethereum recently climbed to 1.6 million, marking a near one-month high not seen since early October. Active addresses also reached a monthly peak of 695,872, as reported by crypto intelligence platform Nansen.

Impact of Recent Upgrades

The sustained low gas fees are a direct result of Ethereum’s recent Dencun and Pectra upgrades, both designed to reduce transaction costs and enhance network throughput. The Pectra upgrade, deployed in May, notably doubled the blob capacity of layer-2 (L2) networks, leading to an approximate 50% reduction in L2 transaction fees.

Additionally, the Pectra upgrade helped offload more transactions from the mainnet, further contributing to cost efficiencies. The Dencun upgrade, implemented on March 13, 2024, has also been instrumental in cutting L2 transaction fees and moving more transactions off the Layer 1 blockchain, making average Ethereum transaction fees 95% cheaper a year after its deployment, Cointelegraph reported.

A More Scalable Ethereum

The combination of historically low transaction fees and increasing network activity underscores Ethereum’s progress toward becoming a more scalable and efficient blockchain. These developments position the network for broader adoption and a wider range of advanced real-world applications.