Ethereum Mainnet Gas Prices: 2024 Baseline vs Late 2026
Ethereum mainnet average daily gas price reached 2.038 Gwei on September 27, 2026, according to YCharts and Etherscan data. The following day the figure stood at 1.328 Gwei, producing a standard 21,000-gas ETH transfer cost of approximately $0.0737.
These levels sit well below the median gas price of roughly 42 Gwei recorded around the Dencun upgrade date in March 2024. The drop reflects sustained capacity growth and activity migration, yet short-term spikes still occur; the same September 27 period saw intraday peaks near 10.5 Gwei during meme-coin bursts, with daily averages ranging between 0.7 Gwei and 2.3 Gwei.
One year prior to the late-September 2026 readings, the daily average had already fallen to 1.078 Gwei, indicating the decline began well before 2026. Mainnet remains exposed to demand surges that can briefly lift prices, but the overall range has compressed compared with pre-2024 conditions.
Layer-2 Fee Trajectory After Successive Upgrades
The cross-L2 median user fee stood at 20¢ per transaction in February 2024 before the Dencun upgrade. After Dencun activated in March 2024 with EIP-4844 blobs, the same median dropped to 1.9¢ by April 2024 according to growthepie monthly data. This initial reduction came directly from cheaper data availability for rollups settling on Ethereum.
Pectra followed in May 2025 and doubled effective L2 capacity. By June 2025 the median fee reached 0.11¢. The upgrade’s larger blockspace allocation allowed more transactions to share the same settlement cost, tightening the median further.
Fusaka went live around December 2025. It introduced PeerDAS, raised blob targets to 14 per block through successive BPO steps, and added a blob fee floor. These changes pushed the median to 0.06¢ in January 2026. By August 2026 the figure had settled at 0.09¢, still a 229× reduction from the pre-Dencun level reported by growthepie.
Layer-2 networks continue to absorb the vast majority of Ethereum activity. The successive upgrades kept settlement costs low enough that users rarely notice spikes on the base layer, even when mainnet demand fluctuates.
Bitcoin Transaction Fees Amid Record 2026 Volume
On September 28, 2026, Bitcoin's average transaction fee reached $0.3842. Through the first nine months of the year the typical fee hovered near 41 cents even as daily volume averaged 578,000 transactions, according to Firsthand Bitcoin analysis of on-chain data.
These figures arrived during the network's busiest stretch in a decade. Activity remained elevated across the period, yet fees did not rise in proportion. In quieter intervals within the same year, fees still accounted for less than 1 percent of total miner revenue, showing that the fee market absorbed the added load without shifting costs sharply onto users.
The combination of sustained high throughput and contained fees points to improved efficiency in how transactions are prioritized and confirmed. Miners continued to earn the bulk of their revenue from the subsidy rather than from user payments, even while processing nearly 578,000 transactions each day on average.
Side-by-Side Metrics Table: 2024 vs 2026
The table below compiles verified snapshots for four core metrics. Dates are shown in each cell so readers can trace every figure to its source. Ethereum mainnet transfer costs use the standard 21,000-gas ETH send. Cross-L2 median fees reflect monthly aggregates across active rollups. Bitcoin figures cover average fee per transaction and daily on-chain volume.
| Metric | 2024 Reference Point | 2026 Value (Date) |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum mainnet transfer cost (21k gas) | Data gap for full-year 2024 baseline | $0.0737 (Sep 28, 2026, Newisty RPC snapshot) |
| Cross-L2 median fee | $0.20 (Feb 2024, pre-Dencun, growthepie) | $0.0009 (Aug 2026, growthepie) |
| Bitcoin average transaction fee | Data gap for specific 2024 months | $0.3842 (Sep 28, 2026, YCharts) |
| Bitcoin daily transaction volume | Data gap for specific 2024 months | 578,012 avg (Jan 1–Sep 28 2026, Firsthand Bitcoin) |
Supporting context clarifies the spread. Ethereum mainnet daily average gas reached 2.038 Gwei on September 27 2026 (YCharts), versus 1.078 Gwei one year earlier. The same network showed a 1.328 Gwei snapshot on September 28 2026, producing the $0.0737 transfer cost cited above. L2 medians continued their descent after the Fusaka upgrade, landing at 0.09 cents by August 2026—a roughly 222-fold drop from the February 2024 level. Bitcoin maintained sub-$0.41 fees throughout 2026 despite sustained high volume, with fees representing less than one percent of miner revenue in quieter periods. These contrasts illustrate how successive protocol changes and shifting activity patterns altered cost structures between the two years.
What Still Moves Fees in 2026
Meme coin activity remains the primary driver of short-term spikes on Ethereum mainnet. Launches and related trading can lift gas prices to 10.5 Gwei within hours, while daily averages continue to fluctuate between 0.7 Gwei and 2.3 Gwei as sentiment shifts.
Layer-2 networks continue to capture the bulk of new transactions whenever mainnet demand rises. Users route activity to these chains to avoid elevated base-layer costs, preserving low fees for transfers, swaps, and decentralized applications even during peak periods.
Going forward, similar volatility patterns are expected whenever speculative narratives gain traction. Protocol teams will likely focus on further blob-target increases and execution optimizations to reduce the frequency of these spikes, yet the structural split between mainnet settlement and L2 execution should keep effective costs stable for participants who prioritize L2 routing.
FAQ
What are current Ethereum mainnet gas prices in September 2026?
Ethereum mainnet averaged 2.038 Gwei on September 27, 2026, per YCharts data. A standard 21,000-gas ETH transfer cost about $0.0737 at the September 28 snapshot of 1.328 Gwei.
Which chain offers the lowest fees for simple transfers right now?
Ethereum Layer-2 networks show the lowest costs, with a cross-L2 median fee of 0.09¢ per transaction in August 2026, down from 20¢ in February 2024 before the Dencun upgrade.
Can Ethereum gas fees spike again despite recent upgrades?
Yes. Mainnet prices showed volatility in September 2026, briefly reaching daily averages near 10.5 Gwei during meme activity even after Fusaka activation in December 2025.
How have upgrades like Pectra and Fusaka changed user costs?
Post-Pectra in May 2025, L2 median fees fell to 0.11¢; after Fusaka in December 2025 they reached 0.06¢ in January 2026, with the August 2026 figure at 0.09¢ according to growthepie analysis.
How can I check live crypto gas prices?
Track Ethereum figures on YCharts or Etherscan dashboards and Bitcoin fees on YCharts or Blockchain.com. These sources publish daily averages and recent snapshots updated as of late September 2026.