Pick two chains and an amount and see what a bridge really costs: the fee, the gas, how long it takes, which bridge the route uses, and above all how much actually arrives on the other side. Bridge interfaces quote a fee. This quotes the outcome.
Bridge interfaces quote a fee. The number that matters is what arrives on the other side, which is the fee plus the gas plus whatever the route loses on the exchange rate. This asks a route aggregator for a real quote and reports all of it, including how long the route says it will take.
Fees on a bridge are largely fixed rather than proportional, so the percentage you lose falls sharply as the amount rises. Moving fifty pounds can cost several percent. Moving five thousand usually costs a fraction of one. If you are bridging a small amount regularly, batching it into one larger transfer is normally the single biggest saving available.
Bridges have historically been where the largest crypto losses happen, because a bridge holds assets on one chain while issuing a claim on another, and that pool is a concentrated target. A cheaper route is not automatically a better one. A route through a well established bridge at a slightly higher fee is often the right trade, and the route name is shown here so you can look it up rather than accepting whatever is cheapest.
Nothing here connects a wallet or creates a transaction. It is a quote, and you carry out the transfer wherever you choose.
Three things added together, and interfaces usually show you only the first. There is the bridge fee, the gas to send the transaction, and any difference in exchange rate between the asset you send and the one you receive. This page reports all three and, more usefully, the share of what you sent that actually lands.
Because most of the cost is fixed rather than proportional. The same route costs roughly the same whether you move fifty pounds or five thousand, so on a small transfer that fixed cost is a large share of it. If you bridge small amounts regularly, combining them into one larger transfer is usually the biggest saving available to you.
No, and this is worth being blunt about. Bridges have been the site of the largest losses in crypto, because a bridge holds real assets on one chain while issuing claims on another, and that pool is a concentrated target. A well established bridge at a slightly higher fee is frequently the better trade. The route name is shown so you can look it up rather than picking on price alone.
From a few seconds to half an hour depending on the route and the chains. Fast routes usually work by having a party front you the funds on the destination and settle later, which is why they cost a little more. The quoted time is the route’s own estimate and congestion can extend it.
No. It requests a quote using a placeholder address, so nothing is signed, no transaction is created, and no wallet is involved. You carry out the transfer wherever you choose.
We seal the list every week and keep re-checking every token on it, so you can see what actually happened to them rather than only what is trading today.
