Polygon Gas Fee Guide: How to Set the Right Gas Price
Gas fees on Polygon are paid in MATIC and are typically very low — around $0.01 per transaction. But setting the wrong gas price can either waste money or leave your transaction stuck. This guide explains everything you need to know.
Understanding Gas on Polygon
Gas Limit: The maximum amount of computational work your transaction can use. Standard MATIC transfers use 21,000 gas. ERC-20 token transfers (like USDC) use 65,000–90,000 gas.
Gas Price (Gwei): The amount of MATIC you are willing to pay per unit of gas. Higher Gwei = faster processing.
Total Fee = Gas Limit × Gas Price (Gwei)
Current Recommended Gas Prices
| Priority | Gas Price | Expected Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Slow (Eco) | 30–50 Gwei | 30–60 seconds |
| Standard (Fast) | 50–80 Gwei | 10–30 seconds |
| Fast (Fastest) | 80–150 Gwei | 2–10 seconds |
Always check Polygonscan Gas Tracker for live recommended values, as gas prices change with network demand.
How to Set Gas in MetaMask
- When sending a transaction, click the gas fee field (shows as “Estimated gas fee”)
- Select “Market,” “Aggressive,” or “Low” preset
- For custom settings, click “Advanced options” and enter your Gwei value
- Adjust the Max Priority Fee and Max Fee per Gas fields
The Polygon network has limited capacity to process transactions. Transactions that include higher fees are the first ones to be processed by validators.
Why Is My Gas Estimation Wrong?
Gas estimation can fail if: you are interacting with a complex smart contract; the contract state changes between estimation and execution; or network conditions shift rapidly. In these cases, set your gas limit 20–30% higher than the estimate to avoid out-of-gas errors.
Canceling or Speeding Up a Transaction
If you set gas too low, you can replace the pending transaction by submitting a new one with the same nonce but higher gas price. This is called a “gas bump.” See our pending transaction guide for detailed steps.