Fees
Salt is designed to charge for usage, not access.
The SDK testnet release does not charge or collect fees. Fees are not implemented for the current testnet environment.
This page describes the intended fee model for future production releases.
Fee model
Salt is designed around action-based fees. This means fees are charged when specific paid actions are successfully completed, rather than through monthly subscriptions, seat-based pricing, or minimum spend requirements.
Fees will be charged as follows:
| Action | Fee |
|---|---|
| Account creation — 3-signer (2 proposers, 1 guardian) | $5 USDC |
| Account creation — 5-signer (3 proposers, 2 guardians) | $10 USDC |
| Account creation — 7-signer (4 proposers, 3 guardians) | $15 USDC |
| Transaction signing | $0.10 USDC per signed blockchain transaction |
The account-creation fee is a one-off charge, paid once when the account is created. A single account works across all supported chains — the one-time fee covers them all, with no separate per-chain setup or activation fee.
In the future, Salt fees are expected to be charged in USDC using signed payment authorisations.
The fee flow is designed so that payment is attached to a paid action, checked by Salt, and only claimed if the paid action successfully produces the expected output.
Fee-free Early Testnet
Fees are not charged during the early phase of the newest SDK testnet release. You do not need to attach payment authorisations, fund a fee wallet, or pay Salt fees to use the current testnet-only SDK release.
Any fee-related SDK methods, fields, or documentation should be treated as future-facing unless otherwise stated.
This page is included to explain the intended production model and to help developers understand how fees may work in future releases.
Sponsored fees
Salt is designed to support different payment models.
A paid action may be paid by:
- the user directly
- a fintech or application sponsoring the user
- a Salt Account, where the relevant policy permits it
Sponsored fees allow fintechs and applications to abstract Salt fees from their end users where appropriate.
Free allowance
Salt may support a free allowance for new accounts or users.
A free allowance lets users complete a small number of paid actions before payment is required. The details of any free allowance may vary by release.
Fee settlement
Salt fees are intended to be settled on-chain.
For EVM production releases, Salt expects to use USDC payment authorisations on supported networks. The exact supported networks, USDC contracts, and payment requirements will be documented before fees are enabled.