Zcash fees explained (ZIP-317)
A normal Zcash payment costs 0.0001 ZEC (10,000 zatoshi), which was about 12 US cents at the roughly $1,220 price of 23 October 2026. Wallets follow ZIP-317: 5,000 zatoshi per logical action with a minimum of two actions, so fees only rise for transactions with many inputs or outputs.
Zcash fees are small, predictable and not an auction. Unlike Bitcoin, where you bid for block space, Zcash wallets calculate a standard fee from the size of the transaction using a rule called ZIP-317. If you want the exact figure for a transaction, use our ZIP-317 fee calculator.
The ZIP-317 rule
The conventional fee is:
fee = 5,000 zatoshi x max(2, logical actions)
One ZEC is 100,000,000 zatoshi, so 5,000 zatoshi is 0.00005 ZEC. The "grace" of two actions means the minimum fee is 10,000 zatoshi, or 0.0001 ZEC.
Logical actions are counted for each part of the transaction and added together:
| Part of the transaction | How actions are counted |
|---|---|
| Transparent | The larger of inputs and outputs (strictly: input bytes divided by 150 and output bytes divided by 34, rounded up) |
| Sapling | The larger of spends and outputs |
| Orchard | The number of actions |
| Ironwood | The number of actions (counted like Orchard since NU6.3) |
| Sprout (legacy) | Two per JoinSplit |
Worked examples
| Transaction | Logical actions | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Shielded payment, 2 Ironwood actions | 2 | 10,000 zat (0.0001 ZEC) |
| Transparent payment, 1 input, 2 outputs | 2 | 10,000 zat (0.0001 ZEC) |
| Shielding 5 transparent coins into 2 Ironwood actions | 5 + 2 = 7 | 35,000 zat (0.00035 ZEC) |
| Payment to 10 recipients from a shielded wallet | about 10 or more | about 50,000 zat (0.0005 ZEC) or more |
At a price of about $1,220 (23 October 2026), 0.0001 ZEC was roughly $0.12. Because the fee is fixed in ZEC, its value in dollars moves with the price. Convert amounts with our zatoshi converter and price converter.
Why some transactions cost more
- Many small transparent inputs. If an exchange or miner paid you in many small amounts, shielding them all at once counts each input. This is the most common reason for a higher fee.
- Many outputs. Paying many people in one transaction adds actions.
- Fragmented shielded notes. A wallet holding many small notes may need several to make a payment.
- Paying a TEX address from shielded funds. This takes two transactions, so two fees.
- Gradual migration. Moving Orchard funds to Ironwood in several steps, for privacy, means several fees.
Is the fee mandatory?
ZIP-317 is a convention, not a consensus rule. The ZIP says wallets should pay it, and node software uses it to decide what to relay and mine. A transaction paying less is not invalid, but it may be slow to confirm or never be mined. In practice every mainstream wallet pays the ZIP-317 fee automatically and you cannot lower it. Before ZIP-317, introduced in 2023, wallets used a flat fee of 0.00001 ZEC; ZIP-317 raised costs for very large transactions to discourage spam.
Exchange and service fees are separate
The network fee is tiny. What usually costs more is what exchanges charge: trading fees, spreads and withdrawal fees set by each platform. Swap services add their own margins. Compare those before choosing where to buy; see how to buy Zcash. Hardware wallets and Zcash wallets themselves do not usually add a fee on top of the network fee, but check: some apps with built-in swaps or purchase partners do.
Fees and confirmation time
Because nearly everyone pays the same standard fee, paying more does not normally make a transaction faster. Blocks currently arrive every 75 seconds on average, and NU7, planned for around 5 November 2026, cuts that to 25 seconds. Exchanges choose how many confirmations they wait for before crediting deposits. Estimate waits with our confirmation time tool.
What may change
NU7 adds the Network Sustainability Mechanism, defined in ZIP 234 and ZIP 235, which deals with how issued and removed supply is handled over time (Cointelegraph, 18 Sep 2026). The articles we checked did not say that NU7 changes the per-action fee itself, so for now ZIP-317's 5,000 zatoshi per action still applies. A draft ZIP-317 revision would charge for extra memo data, but it depends on another proposal (ZIP 248) and is not deployed. Proposals for dynamic fees have been discussed but not adopted. We will update this page if fees change.
Tips to keep fees low
- Shield exchange withdrawals in one go rather than letting many tiny deposits pile up.
- Withdraw fewer, larger amounts from exchanges.
- Batch payments to several people when your wallet supports it.
- Do not try to set a custom low fee; a stuck transaction costs more time than it saves.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send Zcash?
A normal payment costs 0.0001 ZEC under ZIP-317. Transactions with many inputs or outputs pay 0.00005 ZEC for each extra logical action.
Are shielded transactions more expensive than transparent ones?
Not for simple payments. Both cost 0.0001 ZEC when they use two or fewer logical actions. Shielding many small transparent inputs at once costs more because each input counts.
Can I pay a higher fee to confirm faster?
Usually it makes no difference, because blocks rarely fill up and wallets use the standard fee. Confirmation depends mainly on block time, 75 seconds now and 25 seconds after NU7.
Why did my exchange charge much more than 0.0001 ZEC?
Exchanges set their own withdrawal fees, which are separate from and usually larger than the network fee.