Base vs Ethereum vs Optimism vs Arbitrum: where is swapping cheapest?

BlazePhoenix Engineering · updated 2026-07-19 · 4 min · written from the deployed bytecode

By Mitra (@Sigmacrit) — anonymous developer of the BlazePhoenix protocol. The code is the résumé.

Abstract in 15 languages · resumo · resumen · 摘要 · 要旨 · ملخص

EnglishGas is cents on every L2 and dollars on mainnet — but liquidity depth, not gas, decides your real cost; the cheapest chain is the one with the deepest pools for YOUR pair.

PortuguêsO gas custa cêntimos em qualquer L2 e dólares na mainnet — mas é a profundidade de liquidez, não o gas, que decide o custo real; a chain mais barata é a que tem as pools mais fundas para O TEU par.

EspañolEl gas cuesta céntimos en cualquier L2 y dólares en mainnet — pero la profundidad de liquidez, no el gas, decide tu coste real; la chain más barata es la de pools más profundas para TU par.

FrançaisLe gas coûte des centimes sur les L2 et des dollars sur le mainnet — mais c'est la profondeur de liquidité, pas le gas, qui décide du coût réel ; la chaîne la moins chère est celle aux pools les plus profondes pour VOTRE paire.

DeutschGas kostet auf jeder L2 Cents und auf Mainnet Dollar — doch die Liquiditätstiefe, nicht das Gas, bestimmt die echten Kosten; die günstigste Chain ist die mit den tiefsten Pools für DEIN Paar.

РусскийГаз стоит центы на любой L2 и доллары в mainnet — но реальную цену определяет глубина ликвидности, а не газ; самая дешёвая сеть та, где пулы глубже для ВАШЕЙ пары.

TürkçeGaz her L2'de sent, mainnet'te dolardır — ama gerçek maliyeti gaz değil likidite derinliği belirler; en ucuz zincir SENİN paritenin en derin havuzlarına sahip olandır.

العربيةالغاز سنتات على أي L2 ودولارات على الشبكة الرئيسية — لكن عمق السيولة، لا الغاز، هو ما يحدد تكلفتك الحقيقية؛ فأرخص سلسلة هي صاحبة أعمق المجمعات لزوجك.

हिन्दीगैस हर L2 पर सेंट्स और मेननेट पर डॉलर है — पर असली लागत गैस नहीं, लिक्विडिटी की गहराई तय करती है; सबसे सस्ती चेन वही है जिसमें आपके पेयर के लिए सबसे गहरे पूल हों।

日本語ガス代はL2なら数セント、メインネットでは数ドル。しかし本当のコストを決めるのはガスではなく流動性の深さ。最安のチェーンとは、あなたのペアに最も深いプールを持つチェーンです。

中文L2 上 gas 只要几美分,主网要几美元——但决定真实成本的是流动性深度而非 gas;最便宜的链是对你的交易对拥有最深池子的那条。

한국어가스는 모든 L2에서 몇 센트, 메인넷에선 몇 달러지만 실제 비용은 가스가 아니라 유동성 깊이가 결정합니다. 가장 싼 체인은 당신의 페어에 가장 깊은 풀이 있는 체인입니다.

Bahasa IndonesiaGas hanya sen di setiap L2 dan dolar di mainnet — tapi kedalaman likuiditas, bukan gas, yang menentukan biaya nyata; chain termurah adalah yang pool-nya terdalam untuk pasangan ANDA.

বাংলাগ্যাস প্রতিটি L2-তে সেন্ট আর মেইননেটে ডলার — কিন্তু আসল খরচ ঠিক করে লিকুইডিটির গভীরতা, গ্যাস নয়; সবচেয়ে সস্তা চেইন সেটিই যেখানে আপনার পেয়ারের পুল সবচেয়ে গভীর।

FilipinoAng gas ay sentimos sa bawat L2 at dolyar sa mainnet — pero ang lalim ng liquidity, hindi gas, ang nagpapasya sa tunay na gastos; ang pinakamurang chain ay ang may pinakamalalim na pool para sa PARES mo.

Gas first, because it is what everyone asks: Ethereum mainnet swaps cost dollars (sometimes tens in congestion); Base, Optimism and Arbitrum swaps cost cents. All three L2s inherit Ethereum's security model while batching transactions off-chain and settling proofs back to mainnet. For small trades the answer is simple: any L2 beats mainnet by 100x on gas.

But gas is the SMALL number. The big one is liquidity depth: a $5,000 swap into a thin L2 pool can lose 2% to price impact — $100 — which dwarfs every gas fee involved. Ethereum mainnet still holds the deepest pools for majors; Base leads new-token liquidity; Arbitrum and Optimism sit between. The cheapest chain is the one whose pools are deepest FOR YOUR PAIR, not the one with the lowest gas.

How to actually decide

Practical rule: majors in size → mainnet depth may beat L2 gas savings; anything under a few thousand dollars → an L2, and Base if the token is Base-native. Before committing, read real depth: the Pool X-Ray shows a token's actual on-chain pool balances per chain, and the max-safe-trade figure tells you whether YOUR size fits without pain.

BlazePhoenix deploys byte-identical contracts on all four chains, so the quote logic — on-chain, capacity-clamped, surplus-returning — behaves the same everywhere. Compare the same pair across chains with four free API calls and let the arithmetic, not the marketing, pick your venue.

Do not trust this page — reproduce it

Every claim above is checkable against the chain. Start here:

run the same quote on two chains — /api/quote?chain=base&… vs chain=arbitrum — and compare output per unit; the difference IS the depth gap, reproducible any block

Contracts are verified on every chain we deploy to — addresses in the protocol manifest. Deeper formal treatment: the whitepaper (PDF).

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