Transaction fees
How Ledger Enterprise calculates and displays transaction fees, why the figure you approve is a maximum, and what each network charges.
Every fee on Ledger Enterprise is a transaction fee, paid to the network's miners or validators. Ledger charges nothing on top.
The figure you approve is a maximum
Signing does not happen when you create a transaction. Time passes while the Request collects its approvals, and network prices move in that window.
So the platform authorizes a ceiling rather than a prediction.
At creation
The fee is estimated, and a buffer is added for most networks. The total is the maximum fee
While approving
Nothing is recalculated. Approvers see the Max fee, and on Ethereum the gas details. The buffer and the estimate are not stored on the Request
At broadcast
The network takes its actual price. The unused buffer stays in the Account
On every network that charges a fee, except Tron, the signing payload sent to the Hardware Security Module (HSM) carries the maximum fee. On Bitcoin, Ripple and Stellar, it also carries the maximum total, which is the amount plus the maximum fee. A Tron token transfer carries the maximum fee as its fee limit. A native TRX transfer carries no fee ceiling.
Important: The HSM will not sign beyond those ceilings. A transaction that would cost more fails, rather than costing more than was approved.
Nothing about a Request can be changed once it exists. On Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Creator of a send can replace it while it waits for confirmation. Speed-up replaces it with a higher fee. Cancel stops it, and the network still charges a fee. Each one creates a new Request. On other networks, a fee that turns out to be too low means creating the transaction again. See Bitcoin and Ethereum and EVM networks.
What the interface shows
The send form shows one figure on every network that charges a fee: Max fee, a ceiling. Canton charges the sender nothing.
Select Max fee to open Detailed fee, the breakdown behind it:
Max Fee
The ceiling approved for this transaction
Buffer (%)
The margin added to the estimate to reach the ceiling. Hidden when the buffer is 0%
Estimated base fee
What the network is expected to charge
Estimated priority fee
Ethereum only. The estimated priority fee per unit of gas
Gas limit
Ethereum only. The maximum gas the transaction can use
Protocol fee (additional)
Ethereum staking operations that withdraw, consolidate or upgrade only. Charged on top of the maximum fee. Never on a send
The buffer is what makes the ceiling larger than the estimate. Each network sets its own, listed below. On Tron, Detailed fee also states what covers the fee first.
By network
Bitcoin
Estimated base fee plus buffer
400%
Yes
Sat/vByte, on a new send only
Canton
No fee to the sender
None
No
The optional reason field
Ethereum and EVM
Gas limit multiplied by the sum of base fee, priority fee and buffer
200%
Yes
Gas limit, and the buffer percentage, on a new send only
Hedera
Estimated base fee plus buffer
100%
No
Nothing
Ripple
Estimated base fee, with no buffer
0%
No
The destination tag
Stellar
Estimated base fee, with no buffer
0%
No
The memo
Sui
Estimated base fee plus buffer
100%
No
Nothing
Tezos
Estimated base fee, plus buffer, plus an allocation fee where it applies
50%
No
Nothing
Tron
Worst-case TRX cost, assuming no bandwidth and no energy, with no buffer
0%
No
Nothing
Only Bitcoin and the EVM networks offer a choice of speed. The interface labels and the API values differ: Normal is SLOW, Fast is NORMAL, Urgent is FAST, and Custom is CUSTOM. On other networks, a speed sent over the API has no effect. Where the buffer is 0%, the maximum fee equals the estimate.
Notes on individual networks:
Bitcoin. The fee depends on transaction size, so it depends on how many unspent outputs are spent. See Bitcoin.
Canton. Holding fees apply to a coin contract, and only to archive one whose fees exceed its balance. See Canton.
Ethereum. The base fee and the priority fee are shown in Gwei, so small values stay readable. The priority fee is always paid in full; only the effective base fee is charged.
Tezos. Sending to an unallocated destination adds a one-time allocation fee. See Tezos.
Tron. For a TRX transfer, bandwidth covers the fee first. For a token transfer, bandwidth and energy cover it first. TRX from the balance covers the rest. See Tron.
Sponsored fees
Ledger Enterprise does not support sponsored fees on any network. One Account cannot pay another Account's transaction fee here, even where the network itself allows it.
Where fees appear
The send form
Max fee, with its countervalue. It is estimated again when the amount or the recipient changes
Detailed fee
Max Fee, the buffer when it is above 0%, the estimated base fee, and the Ethereum gas details
The Request
Max fee. Ethereum adds Fee strategy, Gas price or Estimated priority fee, Gas limit, and Protocol fee (additional) where it applies
The Ledger device
The fee, and the network's own extra fields
Operation history
The actual transaction fee paid
Fees are not shown in the operations list, only on an individual operation.
Related
Last updated