One of the most common questions when bridging from Polygon to Arbitrum is: how much will it cost? The total fee consists of two components — the network gas fee on Polygon and the bridge protocol fee.

Gas Fees on Polygon

Polygon is renowned for its extremely low gas fees. A typical Polygon transaction costs between $0.001 and $0.05 in POL (formerly MATIC). You must hold a small amount of POL in your wallet to approve and send the bridge transaction from Polygon.

Bridge Protocol Fees

Different bridge protocols charge different fees. Liquidity-based bridges that use relayers typically charge a flat fee of $0.01 to $0.50 per transfer, regardless of the amount being bridged. Some bridges charge a percentage fee ranging from 0.03% to 0.1% of the transfer amount.

Slippage and Price Impact

For stablecoin transfers (USDT, USDC), slippage is negligible and you receive almost exactly 1:1. For volatile assets like ETH, slippage depends on the liquidity available in the bridge's pools. Always check the estimated receive amount before confirming.

Finding the Cheapest Route

Bridge aggregators compare multiple routes and protocols to find the best combination of speed, fees, and price impact. By using an aggregator, you can typically save 20–50% on bridge fees compared to using a single protocol directly.

Fee Comparison by Token

Stablecoins (USDT, USDC) are generally the cheapest assets to bridge because liquidity pools are deep and slippage is minimal. ETH and other volatile assets may incur slightly higher effective costs due to slippage in thinner liquidity pools. Large transfers (over $10,000) should always check price impact carefully.

How to Minimize Bridge Fees

Bridge during periods of low network activity. Use protocols that offer flat fees rather than percentage fees for large transfers. Compare multiple routes using an aggregator. Batch multiple small transfers into a single larger transfer when possible.