How long do Monero transactions take to confirm and unlock?

Last updated on January 12, 2026

Introduction

When people ask how long a Monero transaction takes, they usually mean two different things: (1) how long until the recipient can see the payment, and (2) how long until the recipient can spend it. In Monero, these are related but not the same.

This guide explains the typical timeline from “sent” to “spendable” and why wallets show a difference between balance and unlocked balance (see the Monero.How glossary entry for balance vs unlocked balance).

Core explanation

The 3 stages: broadcast, confirmed, unlocked

Diagram showing wallet, node, mempool, and blockchain confirmations relationship — A simple systems diagram: your wallet talks to a node, the node relays transactions to the network, miners confirm them into blocks, and wallets unlock funds after additional confirmations.

Broadcast (seen on the network)
After you send a transaction, your wallet shares it with the Monero peer-to-peer network. On a healthy connection, this propagation is typically fast (often seconds), but it is not a “confirmation.” A recipient wallet may still not show anything yet if it is not connected to a good node or is not refreshing frequently.
Confirmed (included in a block)
A confirmation means miners included your transaction in a block. Monero targets a ~2 minute block time, so the first confirmation is commonly a few minutes, but it can be longer when blocks are slower or the transaction waits in the mempool. The official user guide describes this “pending → confirmed” lifecycle in the Monero “make a payment” guide.
Unlocked (spendable in most wallets)
Most Monero wallets treat received outputs as locked until they are “deep enough” in the chain to be considered safe to spend. In practice, this is commonly implemented as waiting for multiple confirmations (often 10), after which funds move from “locked” to “unlocked.” Monero’s developer documentation describes this concept as unlocked_balance and exposes blocks_to_unlock / time_to_unlock in Wallet RPC documentation.

Typical timing (what to expect)

Because block discovery is probabilistic and network conditions vary, there is no single guaranteed number. Still, for everyday use, a reasonable mental model is:

Seen (broadcast): often seconds, but can be longer if either wallet is using a slow/out-of-sync node.
First confirmation: commonly a few minutes; sometimes longer if the transaction waits for inclusion.
Spendable (unlocked): often around 10 confirmations (roughly ~20 minutes at the ~2 minute target), depending on wallet policy.

If you are comparing “speed,” it’s important to compare the same stage. “1 confirmation” is not the same as “spendable.” Also note that wallet UI timing depends on refresh behavior and node quality, not only on the chain.

Why do wallets wait before funds are spendable?

The “unlock” delay is primarily a safety margin against rare chain reorganizations and against edge cases where a transaction could be observed but not end up in the most-work chain. Waiting for additional confirmations reduces the chance you spend outputs that later become invalid.

There is also a separate concept called a transaction unlock time, where the sender deliberately time-locks the transaction until a future block height/time. This is uncommon for normal payments, but it exists at the protocol level and can lock both the payment and any change. See Moneropedia: Transaction Unlock Time.

What can make confirmations or unlocking take longer?

Fees and speed are related, but not the same thing. Most Monero wallets choose a sensible default fee automatically, and transactions usually confirm without any manual changes. If the network is busier than usual, selecting a higher fee priority can make your transaction more competitive for inclusion in the next blocks—but it does not guarantee an instant confirmation. For a clear explanation of what Monero fees are based on (and why they sometimes vary), see Monero transaction fees explained.

Mempool competition and fees: If blocks are busy, a transaction paying a very low fee/priority may wait longer for inclusion.
Wallet connected to a slow or unsynced node: Your transaction might be confirmed on-chain, but your wallet may not show it yet if the node you’re using is behind.
Wallet refresh behavior: Some wallets poll or scan at intervals; you may see the first confirmation later than it actually happened.
Intentional time locks: If an unlock time was set, the output will remain locked even with many confirmations (see the Moneropedia link above).

Practical guidance

For recipients: what status should you rely on?

For “I just need to know it was sent”: treat a broadcast/pending indication as preliminary only.
For “I need reasonable assurance it landed”: rely on at least one confirmation.
For “I need to spend it from this wallet”: rely on the wallet’s unlocked/spendable status (often 10 confirmations).

For senders: how to resolve disputes about whether you paid

Because Monero is private, you usually can’t prove payment by pointing someone to a public block explorer that reveals sender/recipient/amount. Instead, you prove it using wallet data (for example, a tx key or other wallet-side proof material). Monero.How covers the practical approach in How to Prove a Monero Payment (Command Line Wallet).

FAQs

Why can the recipient sometimes see a payment quickly, but it still says “locked”?

Seeing a payment and being able to spend it are different stages. A wallet can learn about a transaction quickly once it is broadcast or once it has the first confirmation, but most wallets keep new outputs locked until they have enough confirmations to be considered safe to spend. The “why” is risk management: deeper confirmations reduce the already-low chance that a reorg or edge-case invalidation would affect your spend. Practical implication: if you need to spend immediately, plan around the wallet’s unlocked balance rather than the first “received” notification. Common misunderstanding: many users assume “confirmed once” means “spendable,” but in Monero most wallets intentionally separate these concepts.

Is “10 confirmations” a protocol rule, or a wallet policy?

The protocol supports locks (like explicit unlock times), but the common “wait about 10 blocks before spending” behavior is typically enforced at the wallet level as a safety policy. The “why” is that wallets are trying to avoid letting you spend outputs that are not yet deep enough to be robust against rare reorganizations or unusual conditions. Practical implication: different software (or services like custodians/exchanges) can choose stricter policies, so don’t assume every environment will treat “10 confirmations” the same way. Common misunderstanding: users sometimes think the network refuses to spend earlier; in most cases it’s the wallet UI/logic choosing to be conservative.

My wallet shows no incoming transaction, but the sender insists it’s confirmed. What’s the most common reason?

The most common cause is wallet synchronization or node issues rather than the transaction “not existing.” Because Monero wallets must scan blocks (using your view key) to detect outputs to you, a wallet connected to an out-of-date node or not fully refreshed may lag behind the chain. The “why” is Monero’s privacy model: your wallet does the detection locally instead of relying on a public ledger revealing recipients. Practical implication: first verify your wallet is connected to a well-synced node and is fully refreshed before assuming funds are missing. Common misunderstanding: users assume “the network would push the payment into my wallet,” but in Monero your wallet must scan to find it.

Does a higher fee make Monero confirmations faster?

Higher fees (or higher priority) can improve the chance your transaction is selected sooner when blocks are congested, because miners generally prefer transactions that pay more per byte. The “why” is simple resource allocation: when there is competition for block space, fee pressure influences ordering. Practical implication: if you are in a hurry and the mempool is busy, increasing priority can reduce waiting time to the first confirmation—but it will not eliminate the need for additional confirmations before most wallets unlock the funds. Common misunderstanding: users sometimes expect higher fees to reduce the unlock delay itself; typically it only affects inclusion time, not the wallet’s confirmation depth requirement.