Any transaction on Polygon requires MATIC to cover the gas fees. In general, transaction costs on Polygon are very cheap ( on average, 0.02 MATIC each), so 1–2 MATIC should be a solid starting amount.
Skill Labs has prepared a list of three methods you can use to get MATIC on Polygon.
Method 1: Swap For Gas
For this method, you will need a token with a monetary value stored in your MetaMask Wallet on Polygon. The best part about this approach is that you don’t need to have any MATIC on hand to make a swap.
- Switch to the “Polygon” network in MetaMask (read how to do that here)
- Go to https://wallet.polygon.technology/gas-swap/
- Choose how much MATIC you want (click a preset amount or type in your own custom amount), for example, 1–2 MATIC.
- Select a token with value in your wallet that you want to convert into MATIC under “Swap from.”
- In MetaMask, click “Approve” to sign the gasless transaction.
- In MetaMask, click “Swap” to sign the gasless transaction.
Within 30 seconds, your MATIC balance in MetaMask should have increased by the specified amount.
Method 2: Bridge from a different chain
Alternatively, you can bridge your tokens from a non-Polygon chain onto Polygon using Connext. Supported chains include Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Fantom, and more.
- Transfer tokens from your chosen network to Polygon using Connext
- Convert newly-transferred tokens into MATIC using the first method described in the guide.
Method 3: Withdraw MATIC from a centralized exchange
Eventually, you also have an opportunity to withdraw MATIC directly to your MetaMask Wallet, an exchange that supports withdrawals to the Polygon chain (e.g Binance and other major CEXs).