Answer
How much does it cost to launch a memecoin?
Launching a memecoin on pump.fun costs about 0.01495 SOL — roughly $1.45 — which is 0.01444 SOL of refundable account deposits plus 0.00051 SOL of network fee; there is no platform fee to create a coin.
The two numbers people confuse
A launch transaction pays two different things. The first is rent: a deposit the network holds while an account exists. The second is a fee, which is burned and paid to a validator and never comes back.
In the launch we measured, rent was 0.0144428 SOL across the mint account, the bonding-curve accounts and the token accounts, and the fee was 0.00051 SOL. Rent is only returned if the accounts are closed — which, for a coin people hold, they never are.
What it does not include
Everything else in a launch is either optional or proportional to what you trade.
- Your own first buy — any amount, and the cheapest price you will ever get on the curve.
- The 1.25% trading fee on every buy and sell, 0.30% of which goes to the creator.
- 0.015 SOL when the coin graduates to PumpSwap, if it ever does.
- Art, a website and promotion, which are not chain costs at all.
Why guides quote $100 or more
Because they are pricing a launch with a bundle of buyer wallets, a Jito tip, a volume bot and a paid call attached. Those are separate purchases, and several of them are the reason a launch looks manipulated to anyone reading the chain.
The transaction itself is about a dollar and a half. Anyone charging more than that for the transaction is selling you something else, which may be fine — but it should be named.
What it costs after the launch
The launch is a one-off; the running costs are proportional. Every buy and sell pays 1.25%, of which 0.30% is credited to the creator and 0.95% to the protocol. That is charged on your own trades too, including the first one.
If the coin ever completes the curve, migration costs 0.015 SOL and is not optional. Until then, the only recurring cost is whatever you choose to spend on reaching people — which is where launches actually get expensive.
- 1.25% per trade, both directions, for the life of the coin.
- 0.015 SOL at graduation, if it happens.
- Creator fees are not paid automatically; they accumulate and must be collected.
- Hosting, art and promotion are off-chain costs and are yours to decide.
Related questions
Can I launch a memecoin for free?
Effectively yes: there is no platform fee, so the only unavoidable cost is about 0.015 SOL of network deposits and fees. What is not free is the art, the site and the audience.
Do I need to buy SOL before launching?
Yes — a wallet needs roughly 0.03 SOL to cover the launch and a first buy. Exchanges sell SOL in larger amounts, so most people start with 0.05 SOL and keep the change.
Are there monthly fees?
No. pump.fun charges per trade (1.25%), not a subscription, and your site hosting is the only recurring cost if you pay for one.
Where to go next
- What is the pump.fun creator fee?
- How much SOL do I need in my wallet to launch a coin?
- The full launch guide: costs, socials, 21-day runway
- Every question we have answered
If the brand and the page are what is stopping you
Mint a Brand draws the icon, banner and stickers, builds the token site on its own subdomain and prepares the launch for your wallet to sign, for $30. Your wallet pays the network fee and is the creator of record.
Sources
- pump.fun fee schedule (page dated 17 October 2026)
- Launch cost measured over mainnet RPC, 30 October 2026
Checked 2026-10-31 · nothing here is financial advice, and most meme coins go to zero.