One of the first things people notice when they try crypto?

Gas fees.

Sometimes they’re pennies. Other times, they’re $50+. And if you’ve ever been surprised by a massive fee just to send a token or mint an NFT, you’re not alone.

But what exactly is a gas fee?

And more importantly—why is Sui so much cheaper than most other blockchains?

Let’s break it down.

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🤖 What Is a Gas Fee?

In simple terms:

A gas fee is the price you pay to use the blockchain.

Every time you: • Send tokens • Mint an NFT • Trade on a DEX • Play a game that writes data on-chain

…you’re asking the blockchain’s network of computers (called nodes or validators) to do some work.

That work requires energy, bandwidth, and time. So users pay a small fee to compensate those who keep the network running.

Just like a delivery fee or toll gate—you’re paying to move something from one point to another on the blockchain.

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💸 How Do Gas Fees Work on Most Blockchains?

Let’s look at a few well-known examples:

Blockchain Typical Gas Fee (USD) Why It’s High Ethereum $5 – $50+ Network congestion, limited throughput Solana <$0.01 Very efficient, but suffers downtime Polygon ~$0.01 – $0.10 Still depends on Ethereum occasionally Bitcoin $1 – $10+ Fee market for limited block space Sui <$0.01 (consistently!) Parallel execution, scalable design

On Ethereum, during big NFT mints or high DeFi traffic, gas fees can spike into the hundreds of dollars. This is because Ethereum only processes about 15–20 transactions per second.

It’s like a single-lane bridge—everyone’s waiting in line and paying more to go first.

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⚙️ So Why Is Sui So Much Cheaper?

Sui was designed differently, with performance and affordability in mind.

Here’s how it keeps costs low:

🧠 1. Parallel Execution

Sui processes many transactions at once, rather than putting them all in a queue. This massively boosts throughput—tens of thousands per second vs Ethereum’s ~20.

Result: No traffic jam = no bidding war = no crazy gas spikes.

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⚙️ 2. Scalable Infrastructure

Sui is built to scale horizontally. That means as more users come online, the system becomes more efficient—not less.

More validators = more throughput, not higher fees.

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📦 3. Object-Based Data Model

Instead of global account states like Ethereum, Sui treats assets as independent objects. This makes it easier to process simple transactions (like sending tokens or minting NFTs) without affecting the whole network.

In other words: your small transaction doesn’t need to wait for everyone else’s.

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🔄 4. Deterministic Fee System

Unlike Ethereum where you guess the gas you need (and overpay to be safe), Sui has predictable and minimal fees.

You know the cost before submitting your transaction. And it’s usually fractions of a cent.

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🙋 Why Does This Matter to You?

Low gas fees don’t just save you money—they unlock whole new experiences:

✅ Mint NFTs for under $0.01 ✅ Trade tokens instantly with minimal cost ✅ Try apps without worrying about “is this worth the gas?” ✅ Onboard new users without paying $100+ in setup costs ✅ Build games, art, and social tools where every interaction is on-chain

🧠 In short: when fees are nearly free, everyone can participate—not just whales.

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📱 Real Examples of Cheap Gas on Sui

Let’s compare a few typical actions:

Action Ethereum Gas Cost Sui Gas Cost Minting an NFT $10–$100+ <$0.01 Sending tokens to a friend ~$2–$10 <$0.001 Swapping on a DEX $15–$40 <$0.01 Claiming an airdrop ~$5–$25 <$0.001 Playing a game (on-chain) $1 per move? Basically free

Multiply that over time, and Sui doesn’t just save you money—it changes what’s possible.

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🚫 No More “I Want to Try It, But the Fees…”

For years, crypto adoption has been slowed by a simple reality:

Trying new things was too expensive.

Especially for beginners, spending $20 just to “try out an app” felt ridiculous.

Sui flips that on its head.

Now you can: • Explore dApps • Mint NFTs • Play games • Participate in quests

…without thinking twice about gas fees.

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💡 Final Thoughts: Sui’s Cheap Fees = More Access

Sui didn’t just make gas fees lower—it made the blockchain approachable.

And that’s a big deal.

Because the next 100 million users won’t join crypto for the tech—they’ll join because it feels: • Easy • Fast • Fun • Affordable

And Sui’s low fees are a big part of making that vision a reality.