Best Layer 2 Networks for Low Fees, Ranked on Real Costs

If you are deciding where to move ETH or stablecoins off Ethereum mainnet, the best layer 2 networks for low fees are Base and OP Mainnet. Each posted a median fee of 0.1 cents at 07:05 UTC on 28 September 2026, according to fee data from growthepie. Arbitrum One came in at 0.7 cents, ZKsync Era at 2.1 cents and Ethereum itself at 11.3 cents.

Fees are only half of that decision. ZKsync Era, the dearest of the four, returns your money to Ethereum in about three hours, while Base holds a standard withdrawal for five days and 12 hours. Each network also depends on one operator to order transactions.

The ranking below uses measured medians and published exit rules, and it ignores advertised throughput.

How the Best Layer 2 Networks Compare on Cost

Base and OP Mainnet tie as the cheapest of the four, and ZKsync Era charges the most while offering the quickest exit. Fees are the growthepie medians above; stage, value secured and sequencer details come from L2Beat's layer 2 summary on 28 September 2026 unless another source is named.

Base

• Median fee: 0.1 cents
• Withdrawal to Ethereum: 5 days 12 hours
• Sequencer: Single operator; you can force a transaction through Ethereum after 12 hours
• L2Beat stage: Stage 1
• Value secured: $16.19 billion
• Tokenized assets: $358 million

OP Mainnet

• Median fee: 0.1 cents
• Withdrawal to Ethereum: At least 3 days 12 hours
• Sequencer: Single operator; you can force a transaction through Ethereum
• L2Beat stage: Stage 1
• Value secured: $1.98 billion
• Tokenized assets: $27 million

Arbitrum One

• Median fee: 0.7 cents
• Withdrawal to Ethereum: About 6.4 days
• Sequencer: Single operator; you can force a transaction through Ethereum after one day
• L2Beat stage: Stage 1
• Value secured: $11.59 billion
• Tokenized assets: $1.06 billion

ZKsync Era

• Median fee: 2.1 cents
• Withdrawal to Ethereum: About 3 hours
• Sequencer: Single operator; nothing forces a queued transaction in
• L2Beat stage: Stage 0
• Value secured: $272 million
• Tokenized assets: $2.95 billion

Four other rollups sit outside this list. Starknet uses its own account model and wallets, and Linea's 5.6-cent median was more than double ZKsync Era's. Scroll, at 0.8 cents, secured only $48 million at Stage 0, according to L2Beat, and Mantle keeps its data with EigenDA, outside Ethereum.

What Is a Layer 2, and Where Does Your Fee Go?

A layer 2 is a separate network that runs transactions away from Ethereum and records the results back on it, which is how it charges a fraction of a mainnet fee. All four networks above are rollups: they bundle hundreds of transactions, post the compressed data to Ethereum, and treat Ethereum as the final record. Picture a courier who collects a whole street's letters and posts them in one envelope, so every sender shares a single stamp.

Your fee covers two costs. One is running your transaction on the layer 2. The other is your share of publishing the bundle to Ethereum, in temporary data slots called blobs, the method growthepie lists for all four.

The sequencer is the program that collects and orders those transactions. It decides when your transfer is included and where your swap lands in the queue.

What Do 100 Transactions a Month Actually Cost?

At the 28 September 2026 medians, 100 transactions a month cost about 10 cents on Base or OP Mainnet and $2.10 on ZKsync Era. Using the growthepie figures captured at 07:05 UTC:

• Base or OP Mainnet: 0.1 cents × 100 = 10 cents a month, or $1.20 a year
• Arbitrum One: 0.7 cents × 100 = 70 cents a month, or $8.40 a year
• ZKsync Era: 2.1 cents × 100 = $2.10 a month, or $25.20 a year
• Ethereum mainnet: 11.3 cents × 100 = $11.30 a month, or $135.60 a year

The gap between the cheapest and the dearest layer 2 is $24 a year at that pace. One mistaken bridge costs more.

A median is the middle transaction, so half of users paid more. Simple ETH transfers usually cost less than swaps: Arbitrum One's transfer fee was 0.1 cents on the same reading, level with Base.

Why Withdrawal Times Range From Hours to Days

Withdrawal times differ because the networks prove their records to Ethereum in two different ways. Base, OP Mainnet and Arbitrum One are optimistic rollups, meaning they post results and treat them as correct unless someone disputes them within a set window called the challenge period. It behaves like a cheque clearing: the balance shows, but the money cannot leave until the window closes. According to Arbitrum's developer documentation, results posted to Ethereum "enter the dispute window (6.4 days)."

ZKsync Era is a zero-knowledge rollup. It submits a mathematical proof that each batch is valid, so nobody waits for disputes. It still keeps a safety pause: ZKsync's documentation states that "withdrawals in ZKsync Chains are delayed for 3 hours."

So the two cheapest networks hold an exit for days, and the most expensive lets you out in hours. Fast bridges can cut an optimistic exit to minutes for a fee, and our guide on how to bridge to Base safely prices those routes.

Who Runs the Sequencer, and Can It Block You?

One operator orders transactions on each of the four networks, according to L2Beat's risk analysis on 28 September 2026. It can delay or reorder what you submit, so the useful question is what happens if it refuses you.

On Base, OP Mainnet and Arbitrum One you can send the transaction to a contract on Ethereum and force it through, after 12 hours on Base and one day on Arbitrum One. ZKsync Era has a queue on Ethereum too, but L2Beat notes that "there is no mechanism that forces L2 Sequencer to include transactions from the queue."

L2Beat also grades rollups by stage, from Stage 0, where the team keeps broad control, to Stage 2. ZKsync Era sits at Stage 0 and the other three at Stage 1. L2Beat attaches its own warning to every grade: "Please mind, stages do not reflect project security." Read the stage as a measure of how much you rely on the team.

Which Layer 2s Actually Hold Tokenized Assets?

ZKsync Era and Arbitrum One hold the most tokenized real-world asset value of the four, according to RWA.xyz network data as of 28 September 2026. ZKsync Era carried $2.95 billion across just 50 assets, and Arbitrum One $1.06 billion across 7,083. Base held $358 million in 1,004 assets and OP Mainnet $27 million in 1,144.

That order runs against the value-secured ranking, where Base leads by a wide margin. ZKsync Era's total rests on a handful of large issuances, so it tells you where particular issuers deployed. Arbitrum One's count shows breadth, with many smaller funds and credit products.

Ethereum mainnet still holds $16.64 billion across 2,871 assets on the same reading. If tokenized Treasuries are your reason for looking, check which chain the product lives on first. Our RWA and DeFi coverage and our explainer on what RWA tokenization means cover the eligibility limits most of these products carry.

What Changed in Base and ZKsync Exit Rules

Both networks shortened their exits through protocol changes. The Beryl upgrade reached Base mainnet on 25 June 2026 and cut the single-proof dispute window from seven days to five, according to Base's documentation. Older guides still quote a full week.

ZKsync Era reduced its execution delay from 21 hours to three hours under a governance proposal known as ZIP-4, according to ZKsync's documentation.

Neither change touched fees or sequencer control. Arbitrum One's 6.4-day window and OP Mainnet's minimum of three days and 12 hours were unchanged on 28 September 2026.

What This Means for Your Next Layer 2 Transfer

Start with where your money sits now. If your exchange withdraws straight to one of these networks, that direct route usually beats a fee saving on a network you would have to bridge into. Check the network name on the withdrawal screen before you confirm, since tokens sent to the right address on the wrong network can be hard to recover. Send a small test amount first.

Then ask how quickly you might need the funds back on Ethereum. If the answer is within a day, a five-day exit is a real cost, and ZKsync Era or a paid fast bridge earns its price. If you will stay for weeks, the apps you want matter more than the exit window. None of this is financial advice.

Which Layer 2 Network Suits Which Kind of Reader

Base suits frequent small payments and Coinbase users, since it tied for the lowest median fee and secures the most value of the four. OP Mainnet offers the same fee with a shorter optimistic exit, at least three and a half days against five and a half, though it holds far less value and fewer apps.

Arbitrum One suits DeFi users and anyone after the widest spread of tokenized products, with 7,083 real-world asset tokens on the RWA.xyz reading. ZKsync Era suits the reader who may need funds back on Ethereum at short notice. Its three-hour exit costs about two cents a transaction, and it comes with Stage 0 controls and a sequencer queue that nothing forces open.