USDC on Ethereum (ERC-20): what a transfer costs right now
Network fees only, in USD.
LiveUpdated Refreshed every 10 minutes
- Fee per transfer
- $0.0150.0000066 ETH
- To a new address
- $0.021
- Fee paid in
- ETH
- Circle credits a USDC deposit after
- 12 blocks, about 3 minutesFinalized after about 15 minutes
- Issued by
- CircleContract address below
- Align accepts it
- Yes, USDC on Ethereum
Worked out the same way as the stablecoin fee tracker, which compares every network side by side.
What sets the fee on Ethereum
An Ethereum transfer pays for the gas it uses, times the price per unit of gas: a base fee set by the protocol for each block, which is burned, plus an optional priority fee to the validator. Gas is paid in ETH, so the dollar cost moves with network demand and with the ETH price, not with USDC.
The gas a USDC transfer uses is close to constant. On 22 October 2026 it was 45,504 gas to an address that already held USDC and 63,042 to an address that had never held it, because writing a new balance costs more than updating one. We multiply those by the live gas price on every refresh.
The fee doesn't depend on the amount: $10 and $10 million cost the same. Ethereum.org notes that a transaction that fails still pays for the gas it used.
Not included: exchange withdrawal fees, bridging, conversion spreads and Align's own pricing, which is quoted on request.
How long a transfer takes
- New block
- Every 12 seconds
- Circle credits a USDC deposit after
- 12 blocks, about 3 minutes
- Finalized
- About 15 minutes
Ethereum adds a block every 12 seconds, and a block is finalized after about 15 minutes, according to ethereum.org. Circle credits a USDC deposit on Ethereum after 12 confirmations, about 3 minutes, and that is the time the tracker shows. Exchanges and providers set their own number of blocks.
The USDC contract on Ethereum
0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48
Circle lists this as the USDC contract on Ethereum. A token called USDC at any other address on Ethereum isn't Circle's USDC. Source: Circle, USDC contract addresses. View it on the block explorer.
Sending USDC on Ethereum to Align
Align accepts USDC on Ethereum. It also accepts USDC on Solana, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and Avalanche, and lists every network it supports in its docs. Money you receive lands in your balance as USDC, and from there you can send it to wallets or pay out in USD, EUR, GBP or AED from named accounts in your company's name.
Not sure which network to use? See which network to use for USDT and USDC payments.
Common mistakes
- Sending on an L2 to the same address. An 0x address exists on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon and Avalanche alike, so a wallet set to the wrong network sends without complaint. Check the network field says Ethereum.
- No ETH for gas. A self-custody wallet pays gas in ETH, so it needs ETH next to its USDC. The USDC itself can't pay the fee.
- Bridging when the recipient takes another network. If the recipient accepts USDC on a cheaper network, ask for that address instead of paying Ethereum gas. To move USDC between networks, Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) burns it on one and mints it on the other.
- Trusting the token name. Anyone can deploy a token called USDC. Compare the contract with 0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48, the address Circle publishes.
Not sure which network an address is on? Paste it into the wallet address checker. If a transfer has already gone to the wrong network or address, see what to do if you send USDT or USDC to the wrong network.
Other networks
- USDT on Tron (TRC-20) network fee
- USDT on Ethereum (ERC-20) network fee
- USDT on Solana network fee
- USDC on Base network fee
- USDC on Solana network fee
- USDC on Polygon network fee
- USDC on Arbitrum network fee
- USDC on Optimism network fee
- USDC on Avalanche network fee
- Every network side by side, including Aptos
Common questions
- How much is the USDC ERC-20 network fee?
- It's the gas a transfer uses, about 45,500 units, times the current gas price, paid in ETH. Right now that comes to about $0.015, or about $0.021 to an address that has never held USDC. The amount you send doesn't change it.
- Is it cheaper to send USDC on Ethereum or on Base?
- It changes with the gas prices on both networks and the ETH price, so compare the live figures on the stablecoin fee tracker before you send. Send on the network the recipient names either way.
- How do I move USDC from Ethereum to another network?
- Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP) burns USDC on the source network and mints the same amount on the destination. Circle puts a standard transfer from Ethereum at 15 to 19 minutes and a Fast Transfer at about 8 to 20 seconds.
- Does Align accept USDC on Ethereum?
- Yes. Align accepts USDC on Ethereum, Solana, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and Avalanche. When you send USDC or USDT from an AlignPay balance, Align pays the network fee.
Sources
- Circle, USDC contract addresses
- Ethereum.org, Gas and fees
- Ethereum.org, Proof of stake
- Circle, Blockchain confirmations (Circle Mint)
- Circle, Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol
- Align docs, Blockchains and stablecoins
- Live data: public Ethereum RPC endpoints, with ETH prices from Kraken (Coinbase as a fallback).
Estimates of network fees for information, not financial advice. Actual fees depend on network load at the moment you send and on the wallet or provider you use.
Get started
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