Gas Cost Calculator: Compare Trade Fees Across Networks
Calculate the cost of your crypto trades across different networks. Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM offers gas costs as low as $0.015 per swap, compared to $10-$14 on Ethereum mainnet.
Most crypto traders think of exchanges as places to buy and sell - like Binance or Coinbase. But Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM isn’t that kind of exchange. It doesn’t hold your money. It doesn’t have order books. It’s a smart contract that lets you trade directly from your wallet, while also letting you earn fees by providing liquidity. And on Polygon zkEVM, it’s one of the cheapest ways to trade crypto today.
How Balancer v2 Works - No Middleman, Just Code
Balancer v2 is an automated market maker (AMM), meaning trades happen against pools of tokens, not other people. If you want to swap ETH for USDC, you’re not finding someone else to trade with. Instead, you’re trading against a pool that holds both tokens. The price adjusts automatically based on supply and demand inside the pool.
What makes Balancer different from Uniswap is flexibility. Uniswap uses simple 50/50 pools - two tokens, equal value. Balancer lets you create pools with up to eight tokens, each with custom weights. Want a pool that’s 60% USDC, 20% WETH, 10% MATIC, and 10% DAI? You can do that. It turns your liquidity pool into a self-rebalancing index fund. When one token rises in value, the pool automatically sells some of it to buy others, keeping your weights intact. You earn trading fees every time someone uses the pool.
And unlike older versions, Balancer v2 uses a Protocol Vault. This means when you trade, your tokens don’t get sent back and forth between contracts. They stay inside the vault. If you swap ETH for USDC and then swap back later, you don’t pay gas twice. The system tracks your balances internally. That’s a huge gas saver.
Why Polygon zkEVM Changes Everything
Running Balancer on Ethereum mainnet used to be expensive. During peak times, a single swap could cost $10-$14 in gas. That’s not feasible for small traders or frequent rebalancing.
Polygon zkEVM fixes that. It’s a Layer 2 solution that’s fully compatible with Ethereum smart contracts - meaning Balancer v2 didn’t need to be rewritten. It just works, but faster and cheaper.
Here’s what that means in real numbers:
- A typical swap on Balancer v2 (Polygon zkEVM) costs about $0.015
- On Ethereum mainnet, the same swap could cost $14+
- Transactions confirm in under 2.5 seconds
- Throughput improved by 37% after January 2025 upgrades
That’s an 85% drop in cost and 80% faster confirmation than Ethereum. For anyone doing regular trades, portfolio rebalancing, or liquidity provision, this isn’t a small improvement - it’s a game-changer.
What Pools Are Available? Liquidity Is Growing, But Still Limited
As of mid-2025, Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM supports around 87 trading pairs. The most popular include:
- WETH/USDC - $763K in liquidity
- MATIC/USDC - $504K in liquidity
- B-wstETH-STABLE/bb-o-USD - a stablecoin-optimized pool
That’s solid, but it’s not Uniswap. On Ethereum, Uniswap has thousands of pools. Balancer v2 on zkEVM has about 12-15 active pools right now. Many users complain about the lack of DAI/USDC or other common stablecoin pairs. That’s because liquidity is still being bootstrapped.
But here’s the catch: Polygon zkEVM is growing fast. Total TVL on CDK chains (including zkEVM) jumped from $108M to $420M in just six months. Balancer is one of the top three DEXs on the network, alongside Quickswap and Uniswap V3. Analysts at Delphi Digital predict Balancer’s share of Polygon DEX volume will grow from 12% to 23% by 2026 as more liquidity moves from the older Polygon PoS chain to zkEVM.
Who Is This For? The Right User, The Right Time
Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM isn’t for everyone. If you’re a beginner who just wants to buy BTC and hold, skip it. This isn’t a place to get started.
It’s perfect for:
- Active traders who do multiple swaps a week - saving $10 per trade adds up fast
- Liquidity providers who want to earn fees without paying $10 in gas to deposit
- Portfolio managers who use multi-asset pools to auto-rebalance holdings
- DeFi power users who already understand AMMs and impermanent loss
It’s not ideal if you:
- Need instant access to dozens of obscure tokens
- Don’t want to configure your wallet for a new network
- Expect the same UI as Coinbase or Binance
The interface is clean but technical. You need to understand pool weights, fee tiers, and how impermanent loss works across multi-token pools. CoinLaw’s 2025 review called it “a steeper learning curve than Uniswap.” That’s true - but it’s also why it’s more powerful.
How to Get Started - Step by Step
Here’s how to use Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM:
- Install MetaMask or another Web3 wallet
- Add the Polygon zkEVM network manually:
- Network Name: Polygon zkEVM
- New RPC URL: https://zkevm-rpc.com
- Chain ID: 1101
- Symbol: MATIC (or POL - see note below)
- Block Explorer: https://zkevm.polygonscan.com
- Get some POL (the new native token - MATIC was fully converted by September 2025)
- Go to app.balancer.fi and connect your wallet
- Use the Swap tab to trade, or go to Liquidity to add funds to a pool
Pro tip: If you’re adding liquidity, read the pool details. Some pools have higher fees but lower impermanent loss risk. Stable pools (like the B-wstETH-STABLE one) are designed for assets that track the same value - think USDC, DAI, USDT - and are less volatile.
Pros and Cons - The Real Picture
Let’s cut through the hype.
Pros
- Extremely low fees - $0.015 per trade is unmatched on EVM chains
- Self-rebalancing pools - set it and forget it for diversified exposure
- Protocol Vault - no repeated token transfers = less gas
- Backed by Polygon - $1 billion committed to zkEVM development
- Future-ready - integration with AggLayer (cross-chain liquidity) coming in Q4 2025
Cons
- Limited pool selection - only ~15 active pools as of mid-2025
- Not beginner-friendly - requires understanding of AMMs and gas
- Liquidity fragmented - Balancer exists on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and zkEVM; capital is spread thin
- Interface is functional, not polished - no mobile app, no guided onboarding
The biggest complaint on Reddit and Discord? “Where’s my DAI/USDC pool?” The answer: it’s coming. Polygon’s ecosystem is expanding rapidly, and Balancer is one of its flagship DeFi apps. Liquidity will follow.
How It Compares to Other DEXs
Here’s how Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM stacks up:
| Feature | Balancer v2 (zkEVM) | Uniswap V3 (zkEVM) | Quickswap (Polygon PoS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max tokens per pool | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Avg. trade fee | $0.015 | $0.018 | $0.02 |
| Confirmation time | <2.5s | <3s | ~2s |
| Pool customization | High (weights, fees, tokens) | Medium (concentrated liquidity) | Low (fixed 50/50) |
| Active trading pairs | ~87 | ~45 | ~300 |
| Best for | Multi-asset portfolios, gas efficiency | High-volume swaps, concentrated liquidity | Simple swaps, wide token selection |
Quickswap has more pairs because it’s been on the older Polygon PoS chain for years. But Balancer offers something Quickswap can’t: multi-token pools and deep customization. Uniswap is simpler but lacks Balancer’s portfolio tools. If you care about efficiency and flexibility, Balancer wins.
What’s Next? The Road Ahead
Balancer Labs and Polygon are pushing hard. The big updates coming:
- AggLayer integration (Q4 2025) - This will let Balancer pull liquidity from other chains (like Ethereum or Arbitrum) into zkEVM pools. No more fragmented liquidity.
- zkEVM v2 (2025) - Faster proof generation, lower gas, better EVM compatibility.
- More institutional backing - Deutsche Telekom now runs a Polygon zkEVM validator node. Enterprise-grade infrastructure is here.
By 2026, Balancer could be the go-to DEX for anyone managing diversified crypto portfolios on a low-cost chain. It’s not the biggest, but it’s the most intelligent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM safe?
Yes, but only if you understand what you’re doing. Balancer’s code has been audited by multiple firms, including CertiK and OpenZeppelin. The protocol vault and smart contract logic are battle-tested. However, like all DeFi, you’re responsible for your own funds. Never deposit more than you can afford to lose. Always double-check pool addresses and token symbols before trading.
Do I need POL or MATIC to use Balancer?
You need POL. As of September 2025, over 99% of MATIC tokens were converted to POL. POL is now the native token for gas, staking, and governance on Polygon’s PoS and zkEVM chains. You can swap MATIC for POL on most exchanges, or use Polygon’s official bridge.
Can I use Balancer on my phone?
There’s no official mobile app. But you can use Balancer through MetaMask’s built-in browser on iOS or Android. Just open the app, go to the website, and connect your wallet. The interface works fine on mobile, but it’s not optimized for touch. For heavy use, a desktop browser is still better.
What’s impermanent loss, and should I worry about it?
Impermanent loss happens when the price of tokens in your liquidity pool changes after you deposit them. If ETH rises 50% and USDC stays flat, your pool’s value may be lower than if you’d just held the tokens. This is normal in AMMs. Balancer’s multi-token pools can reduce this risk because price changes are spread across more assets. Stable pools (like USDC/DAI) have very low impermanent loss. Always read the pool’s risk level before depositing.
Why is there so little trading volume on CoinMarketCap?
CoinMarketCap doesn’t always track newer or fragmented liquidity chains accurately. Balancer v2 on zkEVM is still in a liquidity bootstrapping phase. The real volume is visible on the Balancer app itself and Polygon zkEVM explorers. As more users migrate from PoS to zkEVM, volume will rise. Delphi Digital estimates it will double by end of 2025.
Final Thoughts - Worth It?
If you’re tired of paying $10 to swap ETH for USDC, Balancer v2 on Polygon zkEVM is the most practical solution right now. It’s not flashy. It doesn’t have a mobile app. It won’t hold your hand. But if you’re serious about trading, managing portfolios, or earning DeFi yields - it’s one of the smartest tools in crypto.
Low fees. Fast speeds. Powerful pools. Backed by Polygon’s $1 billion investment. The pieces are all here. The only thing missing is more liquidity - and that’s coming.
Don’t wait for it to be perfect. If you’re ready to trade smarter, not harder - start here.
3 Comments
Sierra Myers
Balancer v2 on zkEVM is the real deal if you’re tired of getting robbed by gas fees. I’ve been swapping ETH for USDC every other day and it’s literally 100x cheaper than mainnet. No more waiting for transactions to confirm for hours either. This is DeFi finally making sense for regular people.
Komal Choudhary
Wait, so you’re telling me I can now trade without paying $14 just to swap two tokens? I’ve been holding off because I thought this was still a luxury for whales. Guess I’m finally ready to jump in. Anyone got a quick guide on how to add liquidity without getting rekt?
Wilma Inmenzo
Oh wow, another ‘game-changer’ from the same people who told us DeFi was ‘the future’ in 2017. Let me guess - next they’ll say zkEVM is ‘unhackable’? Right after the audit firm gets subpoenaed? Remember when ‘decentralized’ meant something? Now it’s just a marketing buzzword for centralized VC-backed labs.