What fees apply when using the Lightning Pay Wallet?
By Lightning Pay
Using the Lightning Pay Wallet involves a small number of fees, depending on how you move bitcoin.
The wallet is designed to minimise fees for everyday use, while still giving you access to Bitcoin’s on-chain security when you need it. Most day-to-day payments are very low cost, and many internal wallet actions are free.
This article explains what fees apply in different situations, and why.
How fees work in Lightning Pay Wallet
The Lightning Pay Wallet uses Spark as its payments layer. Spark is designed to make bitcoin usable for everyday payments without the high fees and delays of pure on-chain transactions, or the complexity of managing Lightning channels yourself.
In normal use, Spark transactions are fast and inexpensive. You’ll typically only see higher fees when interacting directly with the Bitcoin blockchain.
Common transactions and fees
| Transaction type | What this means for you |
|---|---|
| On-chain to Wallet | You pay a standard Bitcoin network (on-chain) fee |
| Spark to Spark (internal transfers) | Currently free. A small flat fee may be introduced in the future |
| Wallet to Lightning | 0.25% plus a small Lightning routing fee |
| Lightning to Wallet | 0.15% |
| Wallet to On-chain | Bitcoin network fee (typically higher than Lightning) |
| Unilateral exit | Bitcoin network fee paid by you |
On-chain fees: slower, but final
When you move bitcoin on-chain — either into or out of the wallet — you’re interacting directly with the Bitcoin network.
These transactions include a network fee paid to Bitcoin miners. Fees vary depending on network activity and are outside Lightning Pay’s control.
On-chain fees are higher than Lightning fees, but they come with maximum settlement security and finality.
Unilateral exit fees (rare, but important)
The Lightning Pay Wallet includes a unilateral exit option. This allows you to recover your bitcoin directly on-chain without relying on Lightning Pay, Spark operators, or any third party.
Because unilateral exits involve an on-chain transaction designed for recovery and safety, they are typically more expensive than normal on-chain transfers.
This option exists for resilience and peace of mind. In normal use, most people will never need it.
The takeaway
Most everyday activity in the Lightning Pay Wallet is low-fee or free.
You’ll generally only encounter higher fees when interacting directly with the Bitcoin blockchain, where fees reflect the cost of security and final settlement.
The wallet is designed so you don’t have to think about fees most of the time — but when you do, they’re clear, predictable, and tied to how Bitcoin itself works.