Cheapest network to send BTC right now
Right now the cheapest network to send BTC is BNB Smart Chain: $0.023 in total (exchange only). The dearest with a reading is Bitcoin at $1.79. 4 of 6 BTC rails have a reading; the rest are listed with what is missing.
Read 28 Sept, 02:45 UTC. Exchanges readable: Binance, KuCoin and HTX. BTC priced at $83,483.
| Rank | Network | Chain fee | Speed | Cheapest withdrawal | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20)cheapest 2 of 3 listed exchanges enabled | not tracked | — | $0.023 · Binance | $0.023 exchange only |
| 2 | Ethereum (ERC-20) 1 of 1 listed exchanges enabled | not tracked | — | $0.793 · Binance | $0.793 exchange only |
| 3 | Tron (TRC-20) 1 of 1 listed exchanges enabled | not tracked | — | $0.835 · HTX | $0.835 exchange only |
| 4 | Bitcoin 3 of 3 listed exchanges enabled | $0.117 | ~10–30 min | $1.67 · Binance | $1.79 exchange + chain |
| — | Arbitrum One 0 of 1 listed exchanges enabled | not tracked | — | none enabled | — no reading |
| — | Base 0 of 1 listed exchanges enabled | not tracked | — | none enabled | — no reading |
Basis: total is the cheapest enabled withdrawal fee across Binance, KuCoin and HTX plus the chain's own fee for sending on again, where both are known; a rail with one reading is ranked on that and labelled. Chain fees from the networks (cached 90 s), exchange fees from their public endpoints (cached 10 min). Each network name opens its page with every exchange's fee, minimums and 24h history.
BTC rails, in short
Bitcoin is native only on the Bitcoin network. What exchanges call BTC on BNB Smart Chain is BTCB, a Binance-issued token backed by bitcoin: it moves for cents but only counts as bitcoin where the receiver accepts BTCB.
Questions
- Which network is cheapest for BTC right now?
- BNB Smart Chain, at $0.023 total (exchange only). Next is Ethereum at $0.793. Cheapest only helps if the receiver accepts BTC on that network: check their deposit page before choosing.
- Is the exchange fee or the network fee the bigger cost?
- On 1 of the 1 BTC rails where we read both, the exchange withdrawal fee is larger than the chain's own fee. On Bitcoin, for instance, the cheapest withdrawal is $1.67 (Binance) against $0.117 on-chain. Exchanges charge a flat amount that rarely tracks the live fee market.
- Are the BTC tokens on different networks the same thing?
- Bitcoin is native only on the Bitcoin network. What exchanges call BTC on BNB Smart Chain is BTCB, a Binance-issued token backed by bitcoin: it moves for cents but only counts as bitcoin where the receiver accepts BTCB. For BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum and Tron we read only the exchange fee, not the chain's own.
CheapestChain is sponsored by Craze, a casino that takes crypto deposits. We have no commercial relationship with any exchange or network named here and no affiliate links to them. Not financial advice; fees change without notice.