People talk about airdrops like they're free pizza. But claiming one takes time, and it often costs gas — the small fee a blockchain charges to process a transaction. So before you chase a drop, run the math. The formula is simple:
Net value = (tokens you receive × expected price) − gas costs. Then divide by the hours you spent to get your effective hourly rate. That last number is the honest one. If a drop pays you $40 for 20 hours of clicking, you earned $2 an hour. A paper route beats that.
Try the calculator
Net value: $1185.00
Effective hourly rate: $237.00 per hour
What the numbers mean
The net value tells you what the drop is worth after costs, at the price you guessed. And it is a guess — nobody knows what a new token will trade at. Try the calculator three times: once with a hopeful price, once with a middling one, and once with a price near zero. If the drop only makes sense in the hopeful case, that's worth knowing before you spend a weekend on it.
The hourly rate keeps you honest about time. Airdrop hunting can eat evenings: bridging funds, doing testnet tasks, filling forms. Some famous drops paid the equivalent of hundreds of dollars an hour. Most pay far less, and plenty pay nothing at all.
Famous drops, for scale
Here's roughly what one typical recipient got from a few well-known airdrops at launch. These are approximate, point-in-time figures — prices moved a lot afterward, in both directions.
Before you chase any drop
Remember what this calculator can't measure: risk. A fake airdrop can cost you everything in your wallet, which turns any hourly rate deeply negative. Learn how airdrops actually work, check our guide to spotting traps before connecting your wallet anywhere, and read our risk disclaimer. This tool is for education, not a promise of profit.