eth_maxPriorityFeePerGas

The eth_maxPriorityFeePerGas method returns the recommended priority fee (tip) per gas unit that should be included in EIP-1559 transactions. This value represents what validators are currently expecting as an incentive to include transactions in blocks.

Use Cases

• Fee market analysis for blockchain researchers
• Transaction fee optimization for wallets and dApps
• EIP-1559 transaction construction in applications
• Gas price strategy development for high-priority operations
• Priority estimation for time-sensitive transactions
• DApp gas price suggestions for better user experience
• Monitoring validator incentives in real-time
• Optimizing transaction costs during network congestion
• Setting appropriate fees for smart contract deployments
• Building fee estimators for wallet applications

Method Details

This method provides the current recommended priority fee in wei.

Response Example

{
	"jsonrpc": "2.0",
	"id": 1,
	"result": "0x3b9aca00" // 1 Gwei (1,000,000,000 wei)
}

Understanding Priority Fees

The priority fee is a component of the EIP-1559 fee structure:

• Base Fee: Algorithmically determined, burned upon transaction inclusion
• Priority Fee (tip): Optional payment to validators for transaction inclusion
• Max Fee: Maximum amount a user is willing to pay (includes both base fee and priority fee)

The priority fee serves as an incentive for validators to include a transaction in their block. Higher priority fees generally result in faster transaction inclusion, especially during periods of network congestion.

Important Notes

• Priority fees fluctuate based on network demand
• For time-sensitive transactions, consider using a higher priority fee
• During periods of low network activity, the minimum priority fee (often 1 Gwei) is usually sufficient
• This method reflects the node's estimation, other nodes may have slightly different estimates
• This method is only relevant for networks that support EIP-1559 (Ethereum post-London fork)
• Even with a high priority fee, inclusion is not guaranteed during extreme congestion
• Priority fees can vary significantly during NFT drops and other high-demand events
• Different validators may have different strategies for transaction selection
• Historical fee data (via eth_feeHistory) can provide context for current priority fee recommendations
• Some wallets and dApps implement their own fee estimation algorithms that may differ from the node's suggestion

See also

• eth_feeHistory - Retrieve historical fee data for more precise estimation
• eth_gasPrice - Get legacy gas price for pre-EIP-1559 transactions