What you are really paying when you swap crypto
People compare a swap quote against a price on a chart, see a gap, and assume the difference is the service fee. It usually is not. Three separate things sit inside that gap.
The service fee
This is the part that belongs to whoever built the interface you are using. Here it is 1.65 percent, flat, on every pair and every size.
It is already inside the amount the quote says you will receive. It is not added at the end and it is not deducted afterwards.
A service fee is worth knowing exactly, because it is the only one of the three that is a fixed, stated number you can hold anyone to.
The route spread
Every route that fills a swap sets its own spread, and that spread varies by pair and by size. Thin pairs cost more than heavily traded ones.
This is normally the largest of the three costs, and it is the one people mistake for a service fee.
It is inside the quote as well, which is why the total gap against a market rate is always wider than the stated service fee alone.
Network fees
The chain charges its own fee to deliver the coins, and that has nothing to do with any service. It moves with congestion.
On a busy network at a busy moment, this can be the difference between a swap being worth doing and not.
Small swaps feel network fees hardest, because the fee is roughly fixed in absolute terms rather than proportional to your amount.
How to compare honestly
Compare the final receive amount, not the advertised percentage. The receive figure is the only number that contains all three costs.
Get quotes for the same pair and the same size at roughly the same moment. Rates move, so quotes taken an hour apart are not comparable.
Be suspicious of anyone claiming to be cheapest on everything. Route pricing varies by pair, so no single service wins every combination.
Common questions
- Is the fee taken from what I send or what I receive?
- It is reflected in the amount you receive. The quote shows what the route expects to deliver with everything already accounted for, so the receive figure is the number to judge.
- Why is the gap against the market rate bigger than 1.65 percent?
- Because you are seeing the service fee, the route spread and the network fee together. Only the first of those is the service fee.
Swap pages related to this guide
Check a rate yourself
Requesting a quote costs nothing and commits you to nothing. You see the number before you decide.
Route availability, limits, timing and verification requirements vary by partner and jurisdiction. Review the live quote and the applicable route conditions before depositing.