Cake Wallet fees: what you actually pay
Cake Wallet charges no fee to send or receive; you pay only the network fee, which goes to the blockchain. Swaps, buying, selling and Cake Pay use third-party providers whose costs are built into the price you are quoted, and swap quotes can also include an undisclosed affiliate markup for Cake.
Cake Wallet is free to download and has no subscription, account or "wallet fee". Money still changes hands in a few places, though, and not all of it is shown as a separate line. This page puts every cost in one place, with the source and date of each fact.
At a glance
| Action | Who gets paid | How you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Send | The network (miners or validators) | Network fee on the Send screen and the confirmation sheet |
| Receive | Nobody (the sender pays the network fee) | Nothing |
| Swap | The swap provider, and possibly Cake through an affiliate markup | Built into the quoted rate, plus your deposit's network fee |
| Buy or sell | The buy or sell provider | Built into the provider's quote, plus payment-method fees |
| Cake Pay | Cake Pay | Face value plus a very small conversion fee, plus the network fee |
Sending and receiving: no Cake fee
Cake Wallet's documentation says: "Cake Wallet does not charge a fee to send or receive" (Cake Wallet docs, 2026). When you send, you pay only the network fee, and it goes to the blockchain, not to Cake. Receiving costs you nothing; the sender pays the network fee for that transaction.
Network fees by coin
Network fees depend on how busy each blockchain is, not on Cake Wallet. On the Send screen, open Advanced Settings and tap the Fees row to see the estimate and choose a priority. A per-wallet default is under Settings, Wallet settings, Fee priority. The options differ by coin (Cake Wallet docs, October 2026):
| Coin or network | Fee options |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin | Fast, Medium (default), Slow, Custom (exact sat/byte rate); each shows an estimated time |
| Monero, Zcash | Slow, Automatic, Medium, Fast, Fastest |
| Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Decred | Fast, Medium, Slow |
| Ethereum, Polygon, Base, BNB Smart Chain | Fast, Medium, Slow, paid in the chain's own coin |
| Solana, Tron, Arbitrum | No choice; a read-only estimate is shown |
| Nano | No network fee |
Tokens such as USDT or USDC need the network's native coin for fees, for example ETH on Ethereum or TRX on Tron. If a Bitcoin transaction is stuck, Bump fee (Replace-by-Fee) on the transaction details screen lets you raise the fee, except for payments to Silent Payment addresses. See transaction pending and the coin pages for Bitcoin and Monero.
Some features have their own costs. Moving Litecoin into or out of MWEB is itself a transaction with a network fee. Lightning is described by Cake Wallet as "low-fee", but Cake Wallet's docs do not publish a fee schedule for it, so check the amount on the confirmation screen; see Lightning in Cake Wallet.
Swap fees: in the rate
Swaps are run by outside providers. Cake Wallet says they build their spread or fee into the quoted rate and that fixed-rate quotes come at a slightly worse rate than floating ones (Cake Wallet docs, 2026). There is no separate swap-fee line.
Cake Wallet's docs do not say whether Cake itself earns on swaps, but the open-source code shows that the quoted rate can include an affiliate fee or markup for Cake. The current code passes commission, markup, referral or app-fee settings to Chainflip, SwapTrade, Trocador, NEAR Intents and Jupiter. The values are added when the app is built and are not public. The one figure written into the code, 1.75% on THORChain routes, applies to a provider that is not offered in version 6.5.0. We cannot tell you the exact markup on a given trade; nobody outside Cake can.
What you can do is measure the total. Compare the amount you will receive with the market rate for the same pair, using our swap cost calculator, and compare several providers in the swap screen. Your deposit also pays a normal network fee. Details are in how to swap in Cake Wallet.
Buying and selling: provider fees
Buying with a card or bank transfer and selling for fiat are handled by Robinhood Connect, DFX, Onramper, MoonPay and Kriptonim (Cake Wallet docs, October 2026). Cake Wallet says fees and rates are set by the provider, that it "does not process payments itself", and that your final amount reflects the provider's rate at settlement, its fees and the network fee for delivery to your wallet. Fees vary with the provider, the payment method, the currency and the country. Since 6.5.0, the buy and sell confirmation screen shows each provider's minimum and maximum. No Cake fee on buying or selling is published. More in buying and selling crypto in Cake Wallet.
Cake Pay fees
Cake Pay sells gift cards and prepaid cards at face value, "with a very small fee added to cover cryptocurrency conversion costs" (Cake Pay docs, 2026). Because the card price is converted from fiat to crypto, Cake Wallet notes there can be small differences, under 1%, between prices shown. You also pay the normal network fee for the payment. No percentage for the conversion fee is published. See Cake Pay.
Costs that are easy to miss
- Floating-rate drift. A floating swap quote can move before your deposit is processed.
- Below-minimum swaps. The app warns that an amount under the minimum may not be converted and may not be refunded.
- Payment method fees. Card purchases are usually more expensive than bank transfers with the same provider.
- Many small inputs. A transaction that spends many small received amounts is larger and costs more in network fees.
- Fake "fee" demands. Cake Wallet never asks you to pay a fee to unlock, withdraw or recover funds. Requests like that are scams; see fake apps and scams.
How this compares
Most self-custody wallets work the same way: no fee to send or receive, and a margin in swap or buy quotes. What differs is how visible that margin is. Cake Wallet's code is open, so the existence of partner markups can be checked, but their size cannot. If you want the lowest swap cost on a large amount, comparing quotes inside the app with the market rate is the most reliable check. Other wallets are compared in Cake Wallet alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cake Wallet free?
Yes. The app is free and Cake Wallet charges no fee to send or receive. You pay the network fee when you send; swap quotes can include a provider spread and an affiliate markup for Cake.
Does Cake Wallet charge a swap fee?
Not as a separate line. The quoted rate includes the provider's spread and can include an affiliate fee or markup for Cake, whose size is not published.
Why is my Bitcoin fee so high?
Bitcoin fees depend on how busy the network is and on the size of your transaction. Choose Slow or a Custom sat/byte rate if you are not in a hurry.
Can I change the Monero fee?
Yes. Monero offers Slow, Automatic, Medium, Fast and Fastest. Higher priorities pay more to be confirmed sooner.
Who sets the fees for buying crypto?
The provider you choose, such as MoonPay or DFX. Fees depend on the payment method, currency and country.
Does Cake Pay add a fee?
Cards are sold at face value with a very small fee for crypto conversion, plus the network fee for your payment.