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How to Set Custom Network Fees on EVM Networks

What Is an EVM Custom Fee?​

On supported Ethereum-compatible networks, Gem Wallet lets you use the suggested Normal or Fast network fee or enter a Custom fee. Custom EVM fees are shown in Gwei and can contain two parts:

  • Base Fee — the maximum base-fee rate per unit of gas that the transaction can accommodate. The network determines the base fee actually charged.
  • Priority Fee — the tip offered to the validator to prioritize the transaction.

The transaction's maximum gas price is the Base Fee plus the Priority Fee. Its estimated total network fee also depends on the gas limit required by the transfer, token action, swap, or smart-contract call.

caution

Custom fees are intended for experienced users. An unnecessarily high Priority Fee can make a transaction expensive, while an invalid or insufficient fee may prevent submission or delay confirmation.

Open the Custom Fee Settings​

You can reproduce these steps without broadcasting a transaction:

  1. Open an asset on a supported EVM network in Gem Wallet.
  2. Select Send.
  3. Enter an address you control on the same network.
  4. Enter an amount that leaves enough of the network's fee asset available for gas.
  5. Select Continue to open the confirmation screen.
  6. Select Network Fee.
  7. Select Custom.
  8. Review the available fee fields and estimated network fee.
  9. Close the confirmation screen without selecting Confirm if you are only reviewing the feature.

Custom fee options appear only when the selected network and transaction support them.

Enter the Base Fee and Priority Fee​

For an EVM network with a non-zero base fee, Gem Wallet displays two fields:

  1. Enter the maximum Base Fee you are willing to accommodate.
  2. Enter the Priority Fee you want to offer as a tip.
  3. Review the recalculated total Network Fee.
  4. Apply the custom values.
  5. Back on the confirmation screen, verify the amount, recipient, network, and fee before confirming.

Both fields use Gwei. Do not enter an ETH amount into a Gwei field. One Gwei is 0.000000001 ETH or another network's equivalent native gas asset.

On a supported EVM network whose current base fee is zero, such as BNB Smart Chain under the current fee model, Gem Wallet shows only the Priority Fee field.

Use the Suggested Values​

When a custom field is empty, its placeholder shows the value used by the current Normal fee suggestion. Leaving the field empty tells Gem Wallet to keep using the network-derived suggestion.

This distinction matters while the confirmation screen is open:

  • An empty field can follow updated network conditions when the fee refreshes.
  • A value you type remains your selected custom value.

If you want the fee to continue adapting to the network, leave the fields empty or select Normal instead of copying the placeholder into each field.

Understand the Base Fee​

Gem Wallet's normal EVM fee includes headroom above the current network base fee so that a transaction is less likely to become invalid if the base fee rises before inclusion. The wallet does not let a custom Base Fee go below the protected value used by Normal.

The Base Fee field is not an amount that is automatically spent in full. EVM transactions pay according to the network's actual base fee when included, subject to the transaction's maximum. Unused headroom is not charged as a network fee.

Increasing only the Base Fee ceiling does not directly tip validators. If the existing ceiling already covers the network base fee, the Priority Fee is the component intended to affect transaction priority.

Understand Fee Validation​

Gem Wallet checks custom values before allowing them to be applied:

  • The Base Fee cannot be lower than the current protected Normal base-fee value.
  • The Priority Fee cannot be lower than the network's configured minimum.
  • Custom values cannot exceed the maximum permitted relative to the Normal fee.
  • Invalid, zero, or out-of-range values display the allowed boundary and prevent the custom selection from being applied.

Network conditions can change after you open the screen. Review the final fee immediately before submitting the transaction.

Which Asset Pays the Fee?​

The native asset of the selected EVM network normally pays the gas fee. Examples include:

  • ETH on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, and other ETH-based networks.
  • BNB on BNB Smart Chain.
  • POL on Polygon.
  • AVAX on Avalanche C-Chain.

Sending an ERC-20 token does not make that token the fee asset. Keep enough of the network's native gas asset in the same wallet.

After Sending the Transaction​

Open the transaction from Activity to review its status and final network fee. The fee shown before confirmation is an estimate or maximum calculation; the confirmed transaction receipt records the gas actually used and the effective gas price.

If the transaction remains unconfirmed, do not immediately submit the same payment again. Follow Why Is My Crypto Transaction Pending? and inspect the original transaction on the network's explorer.

For an overview of blockchain fees, see What Are Network Fees?. Bitcoin uses a different custom fee model based on sat/vB; see How to Set a Custom Bitcoin Network Fee.