Results for “Gas limit vs Gas”

Gas limit

A gas limit is a cap on how much gas, Ethereum's unit of computational work, can be used. Each transaction has one, the most its sender lets it consume, and each block has one that caps the total work of all the transactions inside it.

What it means for you. If a transaction's limit is too low, it runs out of gas, its changes are reversed, and the whole limit is still charged: a failed transaction costs money and achieves nothing. If it succeeds, gas allowed but not used is returned, so a generous limit is not itself the cost.

Sources: ethereum.org: Gas and fees, ethereum.org: Transactions · checked 4 October 2026

Gas

Gas is the unit that measures how much computing work an operation takes on Ethereum and similar networks. You pay for it in the network's coin: a base fee that is burned, plus an optional tip to the validator who includes your transaction. A plain ETH transfer uses 21,000 gas.

What it means for you. The fee depends on how busy the network is at the moment you send, not on the amount you move, so a small transfer can cost as much as a large one. If a transaction runs out of gas it fails and the gas already used is still charged.

Source: ethereum.org: Gas and fees · checked 4 October 2026