To swap ETH to POL, choose ETH on Ethereum, Arbitrum or Base as “from” and POL on Polygon as “to”, review the quote and confirm. A cross-chain route sells your ETH and pays out native POL on Polygon, usually within seconds, so you can start using Polygon apps without a separate bridge and swap.
Key Takeaways
- Route type: cross-chain, Ethereum or a layer 2 to Polygon (AcrossV4, LI.FI Intents, Relay and Symbiosis competed on our check).
- Time: 1-7 seconds of estimated execution after your transaction confirms.
- Cost: $2.50-3.07 of route fees per $1,000 and $0.00-0.14 of source gas, before the 0.7% service fee.
- Main catch: POL also exists on Ethereum as an ERC-20 token that cannot pay Polygon gas. Make sure the destination is Polygon.
What Is ETH?
ETH is the native coin of Ethereum and the gas token of its layer 2 networks, including Arbitrum and Base. Starting from a layer 2 is cheaper: source gas was under $0.01 on Base and $0.12 on Arbitrum versus $0.14 on Ethereum on this check.
What Is POL?
POL is the native gas and staking token of Polygon; it replaced MATIC in September 2024. On October 30, 2026, about 10,940 POL were worth $1,000, roughly $0.092 per POL. The token also has an ERC-20 contract on Ethereum (0x455e...C3F6), used for staking and exchange deposits, but it is not gas on Polygon.
Where Your ETH Is: Quotes for $1,000 (October 30, 2026)
| Send ETH on | Receive | You receive | Value | Route fees | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbitrum | POL on Polygon | 10,945.57 POL | $1,003.62 | $2.50 | ~7 s |
| Base | POL on Polygon | 10,942.34 POL | $1,003.32 | $3.07 | ~1 s |
| Ethereum | POL on Polygon | 10,934.31 POL | $1,002.59 | $2.65 | ~2 s |
| Ethereum | POL on Ethereum (ERC-20) | 10,827.27 POL | $987.81 | $2.50 | one block |
| Arbitrum | POL on Ethereum (ERC-20) | 10,843.30 POL | $989.27 | $4.35 | ~4 s |
All three routes to Polygon landed within $1.03 of each other. The ERC-20 POL on Ethereum came out about 1% lower in POL, so even if you want POL for staking, compare both before you choose. Quotes are LI.FI routes before the 0.7% Step Exchange service fee and change every minute.
Large Amounts
At $10,000 from Arbitrum the best route was Relay with 108,382.70 POL ($9,937.82) and $45.04 of route fees, about 0.45% of the amount, compared with 0.25% at $1,000. If you are buying POL for more than gas, split the order or compare a quote from Ethereum.
Step by Step
- Connect your wallet on the network where your ETH is.
- From: ETH on Ethereum, Arbitrum or Base. To: POL on Polygon.
- Check the destination address; it is your same 0x address on Polygon unless you change it.
- Review the quote, fees and time.
- Confirm; POL appears in your wallet once Polygon is added. Settings: Polygon network details.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Picking POL on Ethereum by accident: the token list shows POL on several networks. For gas on Polygon the destination chain must be Polygon.
- Bridging ETH when you wanted POL: a plain bridge gives you ETH on Polygon (WETH), which cannot pay gas. If you want ETH itself on Polygon, use bridge ETH to Polygon; for gas, swap to POL here.
- Swapping all your ETH: keep a little ETH on the source network for future transactions there.
Going back: POL to ETH. From stablecoins: USDT to POL. Costs on Polygon: Polygon gas fees.
