Fee guide

This guide mirrors the order we use in live audits. It is not a substitute for a booked calculation when size or route complexity is high, but it shows what “fee clarity” means at our desk.

The layers we always name

1. Network gas — paid to the chain for the transaction(s) your route needs.
2. Liquidity spread — the difference between mid-market and the price you actually receive in the pool or book.
3. Venue or protocol fee — any stated swap or trading fee.
4. Bridge or wrap cost — only when the route leaves one network for another.
5. Settlement and withdrawal — often forgotten; sometimes larger than the swap line itself.

If a screenshot shows only item 3, the calculator is incomplete.

Working through a path

1. Fix the pair, size, and destination. Vague ranges produce vague fees.
2. Enter the route on the Smart Crypto Calculator PC without rounding away small gas units — they accumulate on multi-hop paths.
3. Add withdrawal or settlement schedules from the venue you actually use, not a generic average.
4. Re-run once if gas moved more than you can tolerate while you were reading the first sheet.
5. Decide: proceed, wait, or change venue. The calculator does not decide for you.

Common mistakes we see in Hong Kong sessions

• Comparing a “zero fee” promo that still embeds spread
• Ignoring bridge latency as if it had no cost beyond the fee line
• Using yesterday’s gas chart for a swap you will send at lunch rush
• Mixing quote currency units so totals look smaller than they are

When to book help

Use a swap fee audit when size is material or routes compete. Use a scenario fee report when you want a document for partners. Use a walkthrough when you want to run the PC calculator alone afterward.

Microsoft Store listing

The Smart Crypto Calculator PC build we reference in sessions is listed for PC via Microsoft. On our home page, Get it from Microsoft opens apps.microsoft.com directly — no file download from this site.

Ready with a pair list? Request a fee review.