TL;DR
Gas optimization on Solana means minimizing transaction costs by configuring compute unit budgets, priority fees, and Jito tips appropriately for each transaction’s urgency level.
Solana transaction cost = base fee (~0.000005 SOL) + priority fee (compute units × price per CU) + Jito tip (optional, for bundle inclusion). For a casual swap, total cost is $0.001-0.01. For a competitive snipe, it can be $1-50+. The key is matching your fee level to the transaction’s urgency — overpaying on non-urgent trades wastes money.
Use transaction simulation to determine exact CU needs (don’t over-request). Set dynamic priority fees based on recent network congestion (most bots do this automatically). Only use Jito tips for time-sensitive trades (snipes, sandwiches). Batch operations when possible — closing 10 empty token accounts in one transaction costs less than 10 separate transactions. Choose trade routes that use fewer CU even if the price is marginally worse.
Most trading bots let you configure priority fee levels: low (casual trades), medium (standard execution), high (important trades), turbo (sniping). Start with medium and adjust based on your experience. Track your total fees spent vs trading PnL — if fees are eating a significant percentage of your profits, lower your default priority level. The bot comparison tool on MadeOnSol shows fee structures across all major bots.