Gwei
Definition
A gwei is one billion wei, or 0.000000001 ether; gas prices on Ethereum are commonly quoted in gwei for readability.
Ether can be divided into smaller units. The smallest is the wei. A gwei (short for giga-wei) equals one billion wei, which is 10⁻⁹ ether, or 0.000000001 ETH. Because gas prices are tiny fractions of an ether, quoting them in gwei is far more readable: saying a base fee is “10 gwei” is clearer than writing it out as a long decimal in ether.
Why it matters
When you review a transaction, the per-unit gas price is usually shown in gwei, while the total fee is shown in ether or your local currency. Understanding the denomination helps you sanity-check a fee: multiply the gas used by the gwei price, then convert to ether, and you can tell whether a quoted fee is reasonable rather than relying on the interface alone.
Common misunderstanding
The main confusion is treating gwei as a separate coin. It is not; it is simply a denomination of ether, in the same way that a cent is a denomination of a dollar. Another mix-up is between the gwei gas price and the total fee. The gwei figure is a per-unit rate; the total you pay depends on how much gas the transaction consumes. Keeping the units straight makes fee estimates far easier to interpret. For everyday use you rarely need to convert manually, but knowing that gwei is only a slice of an ether removes much of the mystery from fee displays and helps you spot a figure that looks wrong.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is gwei a different cryptocurrency?
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