TRON Bandwidth Cost: What Happens When Free Bandwidth Runs Out
TRON bandwidth costs 1,000 SUN per unit once the 600 free units are used: 0.345 TRX per USDT transfer. Real sizes, extra fees and burn vs stake math.
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When your free bandwidth runs out, TRON burns TRX at 1,000 SUN (0.001 TRX) per unit of bandwidth, and one unit is one byte of the transaction. A USDT transfer takes 345 units, so it costs 0.345 TRX; a plain TRX transfer usually takes 265 to 268 units and costs 0.265 to 0.268 TRX. Every address gets 600 free units per rolling 24 hours, enough for about 1.7 USDT transfers a day.
All figures below are as of Oct 13, 2026, taken from the TRON chain parameters (TronScan) and real mainnet receipts.
How bandwidth is priced
Bandwidth pays for the space a transaction takes in a block: the size of the signed transaction plus a fixed 64 units for its result (TRON docs). The network pays for it in this order:
- bandwidth you got by staking TRX, or that another address delegated to you;
- the free allowance, 600 units per address (
getFreeNetLimit); - a TRX burn at the
getTransactionFeerate, 1,000 SUN per unit.
The formula for the burn is simple:
Bandwidth cost in TRX = transaction size in units × 1,000 SUN / 1,000,000
One detail changes the math: each step must cover the whole transaction on its own. If you have 200 free units left and need 345, the network does not use the 200 and burn for 145. It burns for all 345. The docs say it directly: the network “does not combine payment methods or burn TRX only for the portion that a quota does not cover” (paying for resources). Energy works differently, as explained in TRON energy vs bandwidth.
What common transactions cost
We read the receipts of ten mainnet blocks from Oct 12-13, 2026: 656 USDT transfers and 1,509 TRX transfers. Here is what bandwidth costs when it is burned:
| Transaction | Bandwidth used | Burn for bandwidth | Other fixed fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRX transfer | 257 to 275, usually 265 | 0.257 to 0.275 TRX | none |
| USDT transfer (613 of 656 in our sample) | 345 | 0.345 TRX | none; energy is charged separately |
| USDT transfer, other sizes seen | 338 to 479 | 0.338 to 0.479 TRX | depends on the transaction |
| USDT transfer signed by 3 keys (multi-signature) | 479 | 0.479 TRX | +1 TRX |
| TRX or token transfer with a memo note | more bytes than without | depends on memo length | +1 TRX (getMemoFee) |
| TRX transfer to a never-used address | normal size | 0.1 TRX unless staked or delegated bandwidth covers it | +1 TRX account creation |
Two of these lines are worth a closer look.
Multi-signature. This USDT transfer carries three signatures. It used 479 bandwidth instead of 345, and its total fee was 7,428,500 SUN: 6,428,500 for energy plus exactly 1,000,000, which matches the network’s multi-signature fee parameter (1 TRX).
Account creation. Sending TRX to an address that has never been used creates an account. That costs 1 TRX, and the bandwidth for it cannot come from the free allowance: if your staked or delegated bandwidth does not cover it, the network burns another 0.1 TRX (paying for resources).
How far 600 free units go
The free allowance recovers over a rolling 24-hour window, so on average you get 600 units a day:
- USDT transfers: 600 / 345 = about 1.7 a day;
- TRX transfers of 265 to 268 units: about 2.2 a day (600 / 268 = 2.24).
In practice, timing decides whether you pay. Say you send two USDT transfers ten minutes apart with a full allowance:
- first transfer: 345 of 600 used, nothing burned;
- second transfer: about 255 left, which does not cover 345, so the network burns 0.345 TRX.
Space the same two transfers half a day apart, and part of the first 345 has already recovered, so the second one may go through for free.
In our sample, 283 of 656 USDT transfers (43.1%) burned TRX for bandwidth, while only 72 (11%) burned anything for energy. For TRX transfers the share was 188 of 1,509 (12.5%). Ten blocks are not the whole network, but the pattern is clear: senders plan energy and forget bandwidth.
How the price has changed
Both bandwidth parameters are set by votes of Super Representatives. From the list of approved proposals on the TRON mainnet:
| Proposal | Approved | Change |
|---|---|---|
| #48 | Nov 2020 | Burn price set to 40 SUN per unit |
| #51 | Feb 2021 | Burn price raised to 140 SUN |
| #67 | Jul 2021 | Burn price raised to 1,000 SUN |
| #69 | Sep 2021 | Free allowance set to 1,500 units a day |
| #87 | Jul 2023 | Free allowance cut to 600 units a day |
The burn price has stayed at 1,000 SUN for more than five years, while the energy price was cut twice since 2024 (see What is TRON energy). The free allowance has shrunk, so before July 2023 the free 1,500 units covered about four USDT transfers of today’s size a day; now it is one, sometimes two.
Burn or stake for bandwidth: a model calculation
Model calculation, network figures as of Oct 13, 2026. Staking yield for bandwidth is 43,200,000,000 units a day shared among 26,685,858,067 staked TRX, that is 1.62 units per staked TRX per day. The free allowance is left out for simplicity.
| USDT transfers a day | Bandwidth a day | Burned per day | Burned per 30 days | TRX to stake instead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 345 | 0.345 TRX | 10.35 TRX | about 213 TRX |
| 10 | 3,450 | 3.45 TRX | 103.5 TRX | about 2,131 TRX |
| 100 | 34,500 | 34.5 TRX | 1,035 TRX | about 21,312 TRX |
How to read it: staking 213 TRX saves 10.35 TRX a month for one daily transfer. Over a year that is 125.9 TRX, more than half of the staked amount, and you keep the 213 TRX. The trade-offs are that staked TRX is locked and comes back only 14 days after unstaking, and that the staking yield changes as others stake or unstake.
For comparison, energy for the same single daily transfer takes about 6,689 TRX staked. Bandwidth is the cheap resource to stake; energy is the expensive one. Energy options are compared on the pricing page and in the USDT TRC-20 fee guide.
How to stop paying for bandwidth
- Check your allowance before sending. Your address page in TronScan shows free and staked bandwidth. You need at least 345 for a USDT transfer.
- Space out transfers if you send one or two a day: the allowance recovers gradually.
- Stake TRX for bandwidth if you send several transfers every day. Use the table above to size the stake.
- Skip the memo unless the recipient requires one: it adds 1 TRX to the transaction.
- Keep about 0.35 TRX on the address for the days when the allowance runs short. Without TRX, a transaction that needs a burn cannot go through.
FAQ
Is bandwidth free on TRON? Partly. Each address gets 600 units per rolling 24 hours. Beyond that, the network burns 0.001 TRX per unit.
Why was I charged 0.345 TRX when I still had free bandwidth? The free units you had left were fewer than 345. The allowance must cover the whole transaction, otherwise the network burns TRX for all of it.
Does renting energy cover bandwidth? No. Energy pays for the contract call only. Bandwidth comes from staking, delegation, the free allowance or a burn.
Can bandwidth be delegated like energy? Yes. An address can delegate staked bandwidth to another address with the same operation used for energy. More answers are in the FAQ.