Crypto escrow fees, explained
There are three costs to understand: Vaultion’s platform fee, the network’s gas, and, only on the Kleros path and only if a dispute is raised, an arbitration fee. Here is exactly what each one is, who pays it, and when.
Start an escrowOne tiered fee, paid once
The fee is a percentage of the escrow amount, charged once when the escrow is created, as a separate on-chain transfer you can see on the block explorer. The tier is set by the dollar-equivalent amount. Larger deals pay a lower rate.
The escrowed amount is never touched
The fee sits on top of the deal amount. If you escrow 1,000 USDC in the Standard tier, you send 1,030 USDC in total, and the seller receives exactly 1,000 USDC on release. The same schedule applies on every network, and on Solana it is enforced by the program itself.
What the chain charges
Gas is paid to the network, not to Vaultion, in the network’s native coin. It applies to every on-chain step: creating, funding, releasing, disputing and collecting. The amount depends entirely on the network and how busy it is.
Arbitration costs, and when there are none
How this differs from traditional escrow
Traditional escrow services hold your money in their own account and charge for the custody and the payment rails. Vaultion never holds the funds, so the fee pays for the contract, the escrow page, notifications and, when needed, human review. There is no account, no subscription, and no withdrawal charge: the winner collects directly from the contract, paying only gas.
Frequently asked
Who pays the Vaultion fee, the buyer or the seller?
The party who creates and funds the escrow pays it, at creation, as its own transfer on top of the escrow amount. The full escrowed amount is what the seller receives on release. If you want to share the fee, agree the deal price accordingly.
Is the fee refunded if the deal is cancelled or refunded?
No. The fee is taken once when the escrow is created and is not returned, whichever way the escrow ends. It pays for the escrow existing, not for the outcome.
Is there a minimum escrow amount?
Yes, $50 in dollar-equivalent stablecoin. Below that, gas alone would be a meaningful share of the deal.
Do I pay anything if there is a dispute?
On the Vaultion-assisted path, no. Assisted disputes are fee-less and decided by a Vaultion reviewer. On the Kleros path, available on Ethereum, the disputing party pays a Kleros arbitration fee set by the Kleros protocol, not by Vaultion.
What about gas?
Every on-chain action costs the network’s own gas, paid in that network’s native coin: ETH on Ethereum, Arbitrum and Base, BNB on BNB Chain, TRX on TRON, SOL on Solana. Vaultion does not receive any of it. On Ethereum mainnet gas can exceed the Vaultion fee for small escrows, which is one reason the other networks exist.
Keep reading
See your exact fee before you commit
The create flow shows the fee for your amount on the pricing step. Nothing is charged until you fund.
