How do I use priority fees when the solana network is congested?

11 October 2026

Priority fees are an optional extra tip you attach to a Solana transaction to make validators include it sooner. When the network is congested, the base fee alone might not be enough to get your transaction confirmed quickly, so adding a priority fee can move you ahead of the queue. You set it in your wallet or through the dApp you are using, and the process differs slightly depending on whether you are on Phantom, Solflare, or a custom setup.

What a priority fee actually does

Solana processes transactions in blocks, and validators decide which ones to include. The base fee is the same for everyone, but a priority fee (sometimes called a "tip" or "compute price") is additional lamports you pay per unit of compute your transaction uses. Validators are economically incentivized to include higher-paying transactions first. During congestion, the competition for block space becomes intense, and transactions without a priority fee can sit pending for a long time - or expire entirely when their blockhash becomes stale.

The key thing to understand is that a priority fee does not guarantee inclusion. It raises your transaction's attractiveness to validators. If you are interacting with a popular NFT mint or a DeFi pool during a spike, you may need to bid aggressively. If you are just sending SOL to a friend during normal traffic, the standard fee is probably fine.

Setting priority fees in phantom

Phantom has a simple interface for this, but it is not always obvious where the option lives.

1. Open Phantom and click Settings (the gear icon).
2. Go to Preferences and scroll down to Transaction settings.
3. You will see a toggle for "Use custom priority fees." Turn it on.
4. When you trigger a transaction, Phantom will show a field where you can enter the maximum priority fee in SOL or lamports. It will also display a suggested range based on current network conditions.

Phantom's default suggestion is often reasonable, but during severe congestion, you may need to increase it. A common mistake is setting a fee that is still too low relative to the current demand. If your transaction is stuck, you can retry it with a higher fee rather than waiting indefinitely.

Setting priority fees in solflare

Solflare offers more granular control, including the ability to set a compute limit and a compute price.

1. When you initiate a transaction, Solflare shows a "Advanced Settings" or "Transaction Options" button before you confirm.
2. Click it to reveal fields for Compute Limit and Priority Fee.
3. The compute limit is the maximum amount of compute units your transaction can use. The priority fee is what you pay per unit. Multiply the two to get your total tip.

For example, if you set a compute limit of 200,000 units and a priority fee of 0.00001 SOL per 1,000 units, your total tip is 0.002 SOL. Solflare also shows a network congestion indicator that suggests a reasonable range.

Using Priority Fees with dApps Directly

Some dApps (especially DEXs like Jupiter or Raydium) have their own fee settings built in. Look for a "Settings" or "Gear" icon near the swap button. Jupiter, for instance, lets you set a "Max Priority Fee" in SOL under its transaction settings. The dApp then constructs the transaction with that fee embedded.

If the dApp does not expose a fee setting, you can often still add a priority fee by using a wallet that supports manual fee overrides. Phantom's custom fee option applies to dApp transactions initiated through the wallet, though the exact behavior can vary.

A more precise method: using solana CLI

If you are comfortable with the command line, solana gives you exact control. First, ensure you have the CLI installed and your keypair configured. Then, when sending a transaction, use the --with-compute-unit-price flag to set the micro-lamports per compute unit, and optionally --compute-unit-limit to cap the total.

solana transfer <recipient> <amount> --from <your_keypair> --with-compute-unit-price 10000 --compute-unit-limit 200000

The unit price is in micro-lamports (1,000,000 per SOL). A price of 10,000 micro-lamports per unit with a 200,000 unit limit gives a 2 SOL tip - that is extreme, but it shows the math. For normal congestion, a price between 100 and 1,000 micro-lamports often suffices. Check current network stats to gauge demand.

What Happens If You Set the Fee Too Low or Too High

Too low, and your transaction may sit in the queue until it expires. You will see an error about a blockhash not being found, and you will need to retry. Too high, and you simply overpay - the extra lamports are not refunded if your transaction succeeds with less compute than the limit.

A practical strategy for congestion

A reasonable approach is to start with the wallet's suggested fee, but if the network is heavily congested, check an explorer like Solscan or a fee estimator site before confirming. These tools show real-time priority fee percentiles. Paying the 75th percentile rather than the median often clears the queue quickly without wasting money. If your transaction is time-sensitive, err on the higher side; if it is not, you can afford to wait.

One more thing: some wallets let you enable "Retry with higher fee" after a transaction has been submitted. This creates a new transaction with the same instructions but a higher tip. It does not double-spend; it replaces the old one if the new one is confirmed first.

When not to bother

If you are sending SOL between your own wallets during quiet hours, the standard fee is fine. Priority fees matter most during NFT mints, token launches, or when the network is experiencing a surge from a popular dApp. Knowing how to set them gives you control, but it does not require you to use them every time.

Back to wallet fixes