The XRP transaction fee on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) is one of the lowest in the blockchain industry. Every time you send XRP, the network charges a minimum of 0.00001 XRP, also known as 10 drops. At current XRP prices, this is less than one ten-thousandth of a US cent.

Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum where fees go to miners or validators, XRP fees are permanently destroyed — a mechanism known as "burning." This keeps the network free of spam while also gradually reducing the total XRP supply over time.

How the XRP Fee Is Calculated

The fee you pay is determined by two factors: the base fee (currently 10 drops) and the current network load factor. Under normal conditions, the load factor stays at 1, meaning you pay exactly the base fee. During periods of heavy congestion — such as when transactions approach 200 per ledger — the load factor multiplies, and fees temporarily rise to deter spam.

The formula is simple: Current Fee = Base Fee × Load Factor. Even at peak congestion, XRP fees remain far below those of other major blockchains.

What Is a Drop?

A drop is the smallest unit of XRP, equal to 0.000001 XRP. The standard network fee of 10 drops equals 0.00001 XRP. This micro-denomination allows the XRPL to support both massive institutional transfers and tiny micropayments without any meaningful cost.

XRP Fee vs Bitcoin and Ethereum

XRP fees are routinely 50,000 times cheaper than Bitcoin fees and thousands of times cheaper than Ethereum gas fees. Ripple has executed transfers worth nearly $1.88 billion for a total fee of roughly $0.0013 — a real-world demonstration of the network's extraordinary cost efficiency.

Where Do XRP Fees Go?

XRP fees are not paid to any party. They are burned — destroyed permanently — upon transaction confirmation. This deflationary mechanism means the total XRP supply decreases slightly with every transaction on the ledger, protecting the network from spam while benefiting long-term token scarcity.