Fees and spendable balance
Read the payment review before approving. The displayed amount, fee, and destination describe the payment you are about to make. A total balance can be larger than the amount currently available to spend because funds may be unconfirmed or reserved for an unfinished operation.
The release status page records which payment flows are available. This page explains how their costs differ; it does not promise a fixed fee or confirmation time.
Bitcoin network fees
An on-chain Bitcoin payment pays miners to include the transaction in a block. The fee depends on transaction size and the selected fee rate. Sending more BTC does not automatically mean a larger miner fee; spending many separate Bitcoin outputs can make a transaction larger.
VOUT shows the network fee in sats and the rate in sat/vB, or satoshis per virtual byte. Where available, Economy, Fast, and Custom let you choose a rate before approving the payment. A target such as “Within 1 block” is an estimate. Miners decide which transactions to include, and network demand changes.
Changing the fee may change the amount you can send. Use the updated review as the source for the final payment details. If VOUT cannot obtain a safe fee estimate or prepare the transaction, wait for the problem to clear instead of trying to force the payment through another flow.
RGB still uses Bitcoin
An RGB transfer uses a Bitcoin transaction to close its ownership seal. Its Bitcoin network fee is paid in BTC, even when the asset being sent has another name or unit. Holding the RGB asset alone may therefore be insufficient to send it.
Receiving also requires suitable Bitcoin output state. BTC assigned to a receiving output is still wallet-controlled BTC. That amount is distinct from a miner fee, which is spent. A preparation transaction can incur a miner fee even though the remaining BTC stays in your wallet.
An RGB review may show a Recipient output and Change. The recipient output accompanies the asset; change returns to your wallet. Read these separately from the network fee. The RGB transfer lifecycle explains why the transfer needs both Bitcoin confirmation and proof validation.
Lightning costs
VOUT’s Lightning balance is held by its service and is separate from the on-chain wallet. Funding it from your wallet uses an on-chain transfer, with its own network fee.
For an external Lightning payment, VOUT may reserve a maximum routing fee while the payment is in progress. The completed result records the actual fee and releases any unused reserve. A reserved amount is not necessarily the final amount charged.
A payment to another VOUT user is free. It settles inside VOUT’s account ledger, so it needs no route and no Bitcoin transaction. This applies to BTC and to supported RGB assets. It does not apply to an external invoice, which may need a routing fee.
Withdrawals have a separate fee shown before submission. For an RGB withdrawal where supported, the fee is charged to your BTC balance in VOUT Lightning. See Add funds and withdraw for the custody change and the withdrawal flow.
When the numbers do not match your expectation
Check the account, network, and On-chain or Lightning view first. Then inspect pending activity and the proposed fee. If a previous payment is unresolved, return to that saved payment. Making a second payment does not release the first payment’s reserved funds.