Speed Up Transaction Gas Fee Right Now
How much does it cost to speed up a stuck Ethereum transaction? The card below shows today's exact cost for a replace-by-fee bump on a basic ETH transfer (21,000 gas), at three urgency tiers. For complex pending transactions, scale the figures by your tx's gas usage.
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How a speed-up actually works
When you click "Speed Up" in MetaMask (or any wallet), it does this:
- Same nonce. The replacement uses the exact same nonce as the stuck tx.
- Higher tip. The priority tip is bumped — at minimum 10% above the original, usually 50–100% in practice to outbid other pending txs.
- Same recipient + value. Everything else stays identical — you're replacing the fee bid, not the action.
- Validator picks higher. Validators choose the higher-paying tx and drop the original.
You don't pay double — only the replacement's gas. But the replacement's tip is higher than the original, so the total bill is more than you originally signed for.
Speed-up cost by transaction type
The card above assumes a basic ETH transfer (21,000 gas). Speed-up cost scales with the stuck transaction's gas:
- Stuck ETH transfer: 21,000 gas — multiply Standard/Fast/Rapid above
- Stuck USDC/USDT transfer: 55,000–63,000 gas — about 2.5x the figures above
- Stuck Uniswap swap: 150,000 gas — about 7x the figures above
- Stuck NFT mint: 250,000+ gas — at least 12x the figures above. Big cost on stuck mints.
How to avoid needing a speed-up
- Check live gas before signing. Use Ethereum gas fees now to see real-time conditions, then pick a tier that matches your urgency.
- For time-sensitive txs, pay Fast or Rapid. Saving $2 on Standard can cost $20 on a speed-up if conditions change.
- Don't sign during a base-fee spike. If a mint or congestion event is happening, base fee is jumping every block. Your "fast" estimate from 2 minutes ago is already stale.
- Cancel instead of bumping repeatedly. If you've already bumped twice, the next bump may also fail. Consider canceling and re-submitting fresh.
- Use an L2 for routine activity. Stuck transactions are extremely rare on Layer 2s because gas conditions are stable.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to speed up a stuck transaction?
You pay the full gas of a replacement transaction at the new, higher tip — not the original tip plus a delta. The card above estimates this for a basic ETH transfer (21,000 gas). For complex transactions (swap, mint), multiply by their gas usage.
What is replace-by-fee (RBF) on Ethereum?
Ethereum lets you replace a pending transaction with a new one that has the same nonce but a higher priority tip. Validators pick the higher-paying tx, the original gets dropped, and the new one confirms. MetaMask's "Speed Up" button does this automatically.
Does the original transaction's gas get refunded?
No. The original tx never confirms — it gets evicted from the mempool when the replacement confirms. You only pay gas for whichever tx actually goes through. But the new replacement has to outbid the original by at least ~10%, so you do pay more in total.
Why is my transaction stuck in the first place?
Your priority tip is below what current validators are accepting. Gas conditions changed since you submitted — maybe a congestion spike hit, or you set the tip too low. Mempool sits, validators ignore, tx waits.
How much higher does the speed-up tip need to be?
At minimum, Ethereum requires a 10% bump (per the EIP-1559 rules). In practice, you should bid at least 1.5–2x the current fast-tier tip to confidently outbid recent transactions and clear the mempool.
Can I avoid this by setting a higher tip upfront?
Yes — that's the cheapest path. Use a live gas tracker before signing, pick Fast or Rapid for time-sensitive txs, and don't guess. Most stuck-tx situations come from picking Standard during a quiet moment and then a congestion spike hitting.
What if speeding up still doesn't work?
Either bump again at an even higher tip, or cancel the tx (replace with a 0-value self-send at the same nonce). Cancellation has its own gas cost — see the cancel transaction page.
Related ETH gas tools and guides
Set the right gas the first time.
Check live gas before signing, or set an alert and transact when fees are stable.