Ethereum gas fees in 2024: When is ETH gas the cheapest and how to optimize costs

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, operates through a complex system of transaction processing rewards. The core element of this mechanism is gas fees — payments required to compensate for computational resources when confirming transactions and executing smart contracts on the network. It is critically important for users to understand how these fees are formed and when ETH gas becomes most affordable.

Basic Principles of Ethereum Gas Fees

Gas fees represent payment in Ether (ETH) for computational work performed by network validators. Gas is a universal unit of measurement for operation complexity: simple actions require less gas, while complex processes like interacting with smart contracts require significantly more.

The calculation structure includes two main components:

• Gas units — determine the amount of work needed to execute a transaction
• Gas price — measured in gwei (1 gwei = 0.000000001 ETH) and depends on network demand

Calculation formula: Total fee = Gas units × Gas price

Practical example: Sending ETH requires 21,000 gas units. At a gas price of 20 gwei, the fee will be 21,000 × 20 = 420,000 gwei = 0.00042 ETH.

System Transformation: EIP-1559 and Its Impact

The London Hard Fork update introduced EIP-1559, radically changing the gas pricing mechanism. Instead of an open auction where users bid competitively, the system now sets a base fee automatically based on network load.

Key changes:

• The base fee adjusts algorithmically depending on demand
• Part of the base fee is burned, reducing the total ETH supply
• Users can add priority tips to accelerate processing
• The system has become more predictable and fair

Calculating Costs for Different Types of Operations

Different actions on the network require varying amounts of gas:

Interacting with decentralized applications (DeFi), such as the Uniswap protocol, may require 100,000 gas units or more, especially during high network load.

When is Ethereum Gas Cheapest: Cost Optimization

Gas prices vary significantly depending on network activity. Understanding these cycles allows for substantial cost savings on transactions.

Most favorable periods:

• Weekends (Saturday, Sunday) — activity drops by 30-40% compared to weekdays
• Early morning hours (2:00–6:00 UTC) — minimal activity from Asian and American markets
• Post-major events — when traders have completed large-scale operations

During peak activity (NFT launches, meme coin rallies, major protocol updates), gas fees can increase 5-10 times, making basic operations economically unfeasible.

Tools for Monitoring and Forecasting Gas Prices

Etherscan Gas Tracker — the most reliable source for current prices with breakdowns for slow, standard, and fast modes, as well as historical trends.

Blocknative provides trend analysis and allows predicting periods of lower fees via its built-in Gas Estimator.

Milk Road uses visual heat maps to quickly identify the most advantageous time windows — especially useful for spotting “opportunity windows” on weekends.

Factors Influencing Gas Fee Dynamics

Network demand — when many users send transactions simultaneously, they compete for block space by offering higher fees. This creates a natural pricing mechanism.

Operation complexity — smart contracts and DeFi transactions require more computations than simple transfers, thus requiring more gas.

Network upgrades — the implementation of Dencun (including EIP-4844) increased throughput from 15 transactions per second to approximately 1000 TPS, significantly reducing network pressure and gas prices.

Future Outlook with Ethereum 2.0

Ethereum 2.0 (Serenity) promises revolutionary changes through the transition to Proof of Stake and shardings:

• Transaction verification will become more energy-efficient
• Throughput will increase dozens of times
• Target transaction costs will drop below $0.001

The Beacon Chain is already active, and The Merge has been completed. Further upgrades, including full sharding deployment, will gradually reduce gas fees.

Layer 2 Solutions: Alternatives to High Fees

Optimistic Rollups (Optimism, Arbitrum), and ZK-Rollups (zkSync, Loopring) process transactions off the main chain, periodically submitting data batches to Ethereum.

Practical efficiency:

• Loopring: transactions cost less than $0.01 versus several dollars on mainnet
• zkSync and Arbitrum: fees are reduced by 90-99% while maintaining security

These protocols have proven effective for active traders and frequent DeFi users.

Practical Strategies to Reduce Gas Costs

Constant monitoring — use Etherscan to track current prices and historical patterns. Recommended prices help plan the optimal timing.

Timing transactions — postpone non-urgent transactions to weekends or nighttime UTC hours. For urgent operations, be prepared for higher fees.

Wallet built-in features — MetaMask and other interfaces offer gas estimations and manual settings to balance speed and cost.

Migrating to L2 networks — for regular operations, move activity to Arbitrum, Optimism, or zkSync to save 99% on fees.

Batch operations — combine multiple actions into one transaction where possible, splitting the base fee among operations.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to estimate future fees?
Use Etherscan Gas Tracker or Blocknative for forecasts based on current demand and historical patterns. Weekends and nights usually show lower prices.

Payments for failed transactions?
Yes, validators still use resources to process, so fees are charged regardless of success. Always check parameters before sending.

“Out of Gas” error?
The gas limit set was insufficient. Increase the limit on retry, ensuring it covers the full complexity of the operation.

Difference between base fee and priority tip?
The base fee is automatically calculated based on demand and is partially burned. Priority tips are additional amounts to accelerate inclusion in a block.

Conclusion

Mastering Ethereum gas fee management is an essential skill for optimizing expenses. Understanding pricing mechanisms, monitoring network activity, and utilizing Layer 2 solutions can significantly reduce costs. As Ethereum 2.0 rolls out and the L2 ecosystem expands, users will have more tools for cost-effective blockchain interaction.