XRPL Transfer Fees

What Are XRPL Transfer Fees?

In addition to the base network fee, the XRP Ledger supports a second type of fee called the transfer fee. Transfer fees apply to issued tokens (IOUs) on the XRPL — not to XRP itself. When a token issuer sets a TransferRate, any transfer of their token between accounts (excluding transfers to/from the issuing account directly) incurs a percentage fee, which is retained by the issuer as reduced outstanding obligations.

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How TransferRate Works

A token issuer sets TransferRate as a 32-bit integer where 1,000,000,000 = no fee (0%) and 1,005,000,000 = 0.5% fee. The maximum allowed TransferRate is 2,000,000,000 (100% fee), reduced from ~329% by the fix1201 amendment in November 2017. The fee is deducted from the sender: to deliver 100 tokens with a 1% fee, the sender must send 101 tokens.
Transfer Fee vs Network Fee

The XRPL network fee (0.00001 XRP, burned) and the transfer fee are entirely separate mechanisms. The network fee applies to every transaction regardless of token type. The transfer fee is token-specific, set by the issuer, and retained by the issuer — it is not burned. XRP itself has no transfer fee; only issued tokens can carry one.
Stablecoin Transfer Fees

An example: ACME Bank issues a EUR stablecoin on the XRPL with a 1% TransferRate. To deliver 2 EUR.ACME to a recipient, the sender must send 2.02 EUR.ACME. ACME's outstanding liabilities decrease by 0.02 EUR, effectively reclaiming that backing reserve. This model allows issuers to monetize token transfers within the ledger.
Checking an Account's TransferRate

Anyone can query a token issuer's TransferRate using the account_info API method. If TransferRate is omitted from the response, the issuer charges no transfer fee. Developers and users should always check the TransferRate of any token they plan to send to calculate the true cost of delivery.
Setting TransferRate as an Issuer

Token issuers submit an AccountSet transaction with the TransferRate field to configure or update their fee. JavaScript developers can use the xrpl.percentToTransferRate() utility function to convert a human-readable percentage (e.g., '0.5%') to the correct TransferRate integer value. The fee applies to all of the issuer's tokens across the ledger.

XRPL Fee Quick Reference

Base Fee: 0.00001 XRP (10 drops) | Fee in USD: ~$0.0000152 | 1M Transactions: ~$15.20 | Fees are burned permanently — not paid to validators. Account reserve: 1 XRP. Trustline reserve: 0.2 XRP. Fee updated via validator vote every ~15 minutes.
XRPL vs. Other Networks

Ethereum avg fee: $1–$10+ | Bitcoin avg fee: $1–$5 | Solana avg fee: $0.004 | XRPL avg fee: $0.0000152 | The XRP Ledger is approximately 265x cheaper than Solana and 50,000x cheaper than Ethereum for standard payment transactions.
Historical Fee Burns

Since the XRP Ledger launched in June 2012, more than 14.3 million XRP have been permanently burned through transaction fees. At current prices this represents significant value destroyed, making XRP a deflationary asset over long time horizons.