Fees and confirmations

Every payment waits in a queue until a miner puts it in a block. The fee decides where it waits in that queue. Once it is in a block, each new block on top counts as one more confirmation.

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The queue right nowLoading live figures…

Payments waiting

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Queue size

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Fee for the next block

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A simple payment would pay

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In dollars

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Newest block

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The newest block was added …. Fees rise when many people want into the next block and fall when the queue is short.

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How fees work

Blocks have limited room, so miners pick the payments that pay the most for the space they take. Fees are counted in satoshis per virtual byte, written sat/vB. A simple payment takes about 141 virtual bytes, so at 2 sat/vB it pays about 282 satoshis. The amount sent doesn't matter: moving 1 bitcoin costs about the same as moving 0.001.

Your wallet suggests a fee from the queue it sees. Exchanges and apps often charge their own withdrawal fee on top, which can be higher than what the network itself needs. Both come out of what you send, which is why a balance is a little lower after moving coins between your own wallets.

Waiting and confirmed

Pending	The payment is in the queue, called the mempool, but in no block yet. It can still be replaced or dropped.
1 confirmation	The payment is in a block: confirmed. On average that takes about ten minutes, longer when the fee is low. Now and then the newest block is replaced by another; an ordinary payment in it then usually goes back to the queue or into the replacing block.
6 confirmations	Five more blocks on top, about an hour later. Each block makes the payment much harder to undo, so many services wait for several confirmations, often around six, before crediting larger amounts.