USDC on Ethereum (ERC-20): fee right now
Sending USDC on Ethereum costs $0.021 (0.00001164 ETH) on-chain right now and takes about 1 min to confirm. That figure is a USDT transfer used as the proxy: same call, same gas. The cheapest exchange withdrawal we can read is HTX at $0.901 (0.90116 USDC), so leaving an exchange and sending on again costs about $0.922 in total. Among 8 USDC rails with a reading, Ethereum ranks 6 of 8 by total cost.
Read 15 Nov, 22:50 UTC; on-chain figures cached 90 s, exchange figures 10 min. Chain fee: USDT transfer used as the proxy: same call, same gas. Every number below names its source.
Exchange withdrawal fees
3 of 5 readable| Exchange | Fee (USD) | Fee (USDC) | Minimum | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | $1.00 | 1 USDC | 3 USDC | enabled · ~2 min |
| KuCoin | $5.50 | 5.5 USDC | 1 USDC | enabled · 64 conf |
| HTX | $0.901cheapest | 0.90116 USDC | 2 USDC | enabled · 64 conf |
| Bybit | unavailable: unavailable (Request parameter error: apiKey is missing) | |||
| OKX | unavailable: requires exchange login; not shown | |||
Basis: the flat fee each exchange charges to withdraw USDC on ERC-20, in USDC, converted at $1.00; read 15 Nov, 22:46 UTC. Paused means the exchange has the rail switched off right now. Full matrix on the exchange fees page.
On-chain fee, last 24 hours
$0.021
0.00001164 ETH · ~1 min
Basis: USDT transfer ≈ 65,000 gas × current gas price, from Ethereum public RPC eth_gasPrice; USDT transfer used as the proxy: same call, same gas. The 24h figures are this desk's own log of the same USD fee, sampled at most every 5 minutes; with fewer than two readings the chart says so. JSON at /api/fees/history?network=ethereum.
How to send USDC on Ethereum
- Ask the receiver for a USDC address on Ethereum (ERC-20) and check the network name on their deposit page matches. USDC on another network is a different token and a deposit on the wrong one is usually lost.
- On the exchange choose USDC, then network ERC-20; the form shows the fee and minimum. Right now the enabled rails are Binance ($1.00), HTX ($0.901) and KuCoin ($5.50).
- Keep a little ETH on the sending address: USDC transfers on Ethereum are paid for in ETH, not USDC.
- Paste the address into the address check to confirm it belongs to Ethereum before confirming; then use the route planner if you want every rail ranked for your amount.
USDC on other networks
| Network | Chain fee | Cheapest withdrawal | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) | $0.0016 | $0.00 · Binance | $0.0016exchange + chain |
| Polygon PoS | $0.0013 | $0.0099 · HTX | $0.011exchange + chain |
| Arbitrum One | $0.0055 | $0.036 · HTX | $0.041exchange + chain |
| Solana | $0.0004 | $0.300 · Binance | $0.300exchange + chain |
| Base | not tracked | $0.500 · KuCoin | $0.500exchange only |
| Optimism | not tracked | $1.00 · KuCoin | $1.00exchange only |
| Tron (TRC-20) | $2.08 | none enabled | $2.08chain only |
Basis: cheapest total first; total is the cheapest enabled exchange withdrawal plus the on-chain fee where both are known, otherwise whichever one is. Ranking for every network on the USDC hub.
Questions
- Why does the USDC fee on Ethereum change?
- The on-chain figure is a USDT transfer ≈ 65,000 gas × current gas price, read from Ethereum public RPC eth_gasPrice. It moves for two reasons: the network's fee market (gas, energy or priority price) rises and falls with demand, and the USD figure follows the ETH price ($1,825 when this page was built). We re-read both every 90 seconds and never fill a gap with an old number.
- What is the minimum USDC withdrawal on ERC-20?
- Right now: Binance 3 USDC, HTX 2 USDC and KuCoin 1 USDC. Below the minimum the exchange refuses the withdrawal; at or just above it the flat fee is a large share of what arrives ($1.00 of a 3 USDC withdrawal at Binance).
- Which is cheaper for USDC, TRC20 or ERC20?
- On-chain, right now: Tron (TRC-20) $2.08 against Ethereum (ERC-20) $0.021, so ERC20 is cheaper at the moment, which is unusual. Both are Tether-issued USDC; they are not interchangeable, so match the network on both sides.
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; exchange figures are read from each exchange's public endpoint and shown as they arrive. Not financial advice; fees change without notice, so check the form before confirming.