Solana (SOL) Transactions: Fees, Speed, Limits

Solana is a blockchain platform that supports decentralized applications and cryptocurrencies, including its own SOL coin. Solana, like many altcoins, was designed to improve scalability and transaction speed, and it succeeds admirably. And in this article, we'll take a closer look at how Solana transactions function and discuss the factors you should consider to make your cryptocurrency transactions more efficient.

How Do Solana Transactions Work?

To send SOL, you need a Solana-compatible wallet and the recipient’s crypto wallet address. After you enter the address and the amount, the wallet forms a transaction that includes several key elements:

• a signature, which authorizes the transfer and proves ownership of the funds;

• accounts, which define who pays the fee, where the SOL is taken from, where it is sent, and which smart contracts are involved;

• instructions, which describe the actions executed on the blockchain;

• a commission, paid in SOL (typically ~0.000005–0.00002 SOL);

• and a hash, a unique transaction ID that lets you track the transfer in Solana explorers.

Some transactions may also require a small refundable rent-exempt deposit for creating new accounts such as token accounts.

Once the transaction is created, it’s signed with the sender’s private key and then distributed through the Solana network. Validators receive it and check the signature, account balances, and the correctness of instructions.

Transaction processing on Solana is handled by validators using a hybrid Proof-of-Stake + Proof-of-History mechanism. Proof-of-History provides a cryptographic timestamp for each action, allowing validators to order and verify transactions extremely quickly.

Thanks to this system, Solana achieves ~1000 transactions per second (theoretically up to 65,000 TPS). Validators include the transaction in the next block and receive the fee paid by the sender. Complex smart contract operations may cost slightly more but typically remain below $0.003.

After the transaction enters a block, it usually reaches finality in 1–2 seconds, making Solana one of the fastest blockchains. Once confirmed, the transaction becomes irreversible, and the SOL coins appear in the recipient’s wallet.

Solana Transaction Fees

Fees on the Solana network, like on other blockchains, are based on a rewards system: the validators who check transactions receive them as payment for their work. But unlike many other networks, commissions are extremely low in Solana.

So, SOL transfers are charged a commission of 0.000005 SOL on average, which is less than a cent. Of course, this amount can vary, but slightly. That is another advantage of Solana's commissions: they remain low even during high network congestion periods. This effect is associated with the high scalability of the network, which makes SOL transactions a popular choice for high-frequency trading, DeFi, and dApps. Even during peak activity or stress tests, Solana fees rarely exceed $0.002–$0.003, and priority fees remain optional for most transfers.

How Long Does It Take For Solana To Transfer?

Solana has one more advantage over other blockchains, and that is the fast speed of transfers. It takes 0.4-0.5 seconds to confirm a Solana transaction, and up to 65,000 transactions can be processed simultaneously every second. This speed is due to a combination of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and Proof-of-History (PoH) mechanisms, both of which increase the speed of transaction processing in the network. In real-world network conditions, Solana typically processes 3,000–5,000 TPS, with documented peaks above 100,000 TPS during 2025 performance stress tests.

Like fees, the processing speed of SOL transactions is generally stable. Nevertheless, it can vary due to several factors.

Why Is Your Solana Transaction Pending?

If you have encountered a situation where your SOL transfer still hasn't arrived at the specified crypto wallet address, it may be connected with several reasons. They are mainly related to the network’s state and the peculiarities of the transaction itself:

• Network congestion: despite Solana's high bandwidth, heavy network usage can cause delays. Although it does not occur frequently.

• Network or validator failures: technical problems can occur on the network, and validators can encounter difficulties or just process transactions slowly.

• Complex transaction: if the transfer involves interaction with multiple smart contracts or programs, it may take longer to process. In this case, your Solana transaction may exceed its sizes limit, which is 1232 bytes.

• Not enough coins to pay the transaction fee: if the account does not have the required number of SOLs to pay the commission, the transaction will remain unprocessed.

• Low priority: despite stable fees on the Solana network, at high activity periods, validators prioritize transactions with the highest fees.

Some transactions may also be delayed due to account initialization fees, RPC overloads, or validator desynchronization — common temporary issues on high-throughput networks. However, most pending transactions are usually processed as soon as possible. However, if the process is going on for days or weeks, you may need to retransfer. But it is worth checking the status of the transaction first.

How to Check SOL Transactions?

You can always find out what state your Solana transaction is in. To do it, use special blockchain explorers that will give you all the information you need. Here is the step-by-step process:

• Step 1: Select a Solana explorer: go to the official Solana website and select the “Explorer” section, or use the “Solscan” or “Solana Beach” services. For convenience, you can use the explorer on the exchange you used to transfer coins. For example, the Cryptomus platform provides such an option.

• Step 2: Save the transaction hash: the ID of your SOL operation can be found in the transfer history of the crypto wallet or exchange you used. Copy it for further actions.

• Step 3: Find the transaction in the explorer: paste the hash of your transaction into the search bar of the selected service. Your transfer will then appear in front of you.

• Step 4: View the data: click on your transaction, and you will see all the information about it. It will include the sender and recipient, amount, fee, block number, timestamp, and transaction status. There may be a situation where your SOL transaction is not found. It may occur because of an incorrectly entered hash or explorer’s delays in updating data. You cannot influence the platform’s technical problem, but recheck the hash you entered in such a situation.

Solana transactions are the most chosen for frequent trading due to their high speed and low cost. It is the main advantage of the blockchain network over others. However, delays here are also possible due to network conditions and specifics of a particular transaction, so try to choose the most unloaded time for making transfers and double-check the correctness of the entered data.

We hope this guide has been helpful to you, and now you know what Solana transactions are all about. If you still have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments!