How to use a block explorer to check a Bitcoin transaction
A block explorer is a search engine for the blockchain. Paste a transaction ID or address and it shows what the network recorded. Here is how to read each part of the page.
Photo: “Creditor's Ledger, Holmes McDougall” by edinburghcityofprint, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr (edited: cropped and resized).
Copy the transaction ID (txid) from your wallet, paste it into a block explorer's search box and open the result. Check the inputs and outputs, the fee and the confirmation count. A confirmed transaction has a confirmation score of one or higher [1].
Key points
- 1A txid is the identifier of one transaction; it is the most useful thing to paste into an explorer.
- 2Inputs show which earlier outputs were spent; outputs show where the value went, often including change back to the sender.
- 3The fee is not listed as a separate payment: it is total inputs minus total outputs.
- 4Confirmations count how many blocks would have to be changed to remove the transaction.
- 5An explorer shows public data only; it cannot say who owns an address or reverse a payment.
On this page
- What is a block explorer, and what can it show?
- How do you find and check a transaction step by step?
- How do you read inputs, outputs and change?
- How is the fee worked out, and what is sat/vB?
- What do confirmations mean, and how many are enough?
- What can't a block explorer tell you?
- What mistakes do beginners make here?
- Frequently asked questions
- The bottom line
- Sources
What is a block explorer, and what can it show?#
A block explorer is a website that reads the blockchain from a node and displays it in a searchable form. Because all Bitcoin transactions are public and anyone can see the balance and all transactions of any address [2], an explorer can show you any transaction, address or block — not just your own. It is read-only: it displays what the network has recorded and cannot change or reverse anything.
Three kinds of identifier work in the search box. A txid is an identifier used to uniquely identify a particular transaction, specifically the double SHA-256 hash of the transaction [1]. An address shows every transaction that paid to or spent from it. A block height is the number of blocks preceding a particular block, so the genesis block has a height of zero [1]. For how transactions are built, see how bitcoin transactions work.
How do you find and check a transaction step by step?#
- Copy the txid from your wallet
Open the payment in your wallet's history and copy the transaction ID (sometimes called hash).
- Paste it into the explorer
Use the search box of a block explorer and open the transaction page.
- Check the status
Unconfirmed means it is still waiting in the mempool; confirmed shows the block it was included in.
- Read inputs and outputs
Match the output that went to the recipient's address and amount; the other output is usually change.
- Check the fee and fee rate
Compare the fee per virtual byte with what recent blocks have been paying.
- Count confirmations
Each new block on top adds one confirmation.
How do you read inputs, outputs and change?#
On the transaction page, inputs are listed on one side and outputs on the other. An input uses a txid and an output index number (often called vout) to identify the earlier output being spent [4]. Because a wallet usually cannot spend exactly the amount it wants to pay, most transactions include a change output that sends the surplus back to the spender [4].
So a typical payment shows one or more inputs and two outputs: one to the recipient and one back to the sender as change. Explorers cannot tell for certain which output is change; they show addresses and amounts, and you match them with what you expected. If the recipient's address and amount are there and the transaction is confirmed, the payment has been made on-chain. The UTXO model explains why coins move in these discrete pieces.
How is the fee worked out, and what is sat/vB?#
There is no separate fee output. The transaction fee is the amount remaining when the value of all outputs in a transaction is subtracted from all inputs, and it is paid to the miner who includes the transaction in a block [1]. Explorers usually also show a fee rate in satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB). BIP141 defines virtual transaction size as transaction weight divided by 4, rounded up to the next integer [5].
| Step | Value |
|---|---|
| Input: one earlier output | 0.05000000 BTC (5,000,000 sats) |
| Output 1: to the recipient | 0.03000000 BTC (3,000,000 sats) |
| Output 2: change back to sender | 0.01997180 BTC (1,997,180 sats) |
| Fee = inputs − outputs | 2,820 sats |
| Weight 561 WU → vsize ⌈561 ÷ 4⌉ | 141 vB |
| Fee rate = 2,820 ÷ 141 | 20.0 sat/vB |
If the recipient expected 0.03 BTC and sees it in output 1, the payment is correct; the change output is the sender's own money coming back.
| Field | What it tells you | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Txid | The unique identifier of this transaction | Who sent it |
| Inputs | Which earlier outputs were spent | Whether the inputs belong to one person (an inference) |
| Outputs | Addresses and amounts paid | Which output is change, for certain |
| Fee and fee rate | What was paid to the miner, per vbyte | Whether the fee was 'fair' at the time |
| Status / block | Whether and where it was confirmed | Whether the recipient has credited it |
| Confirmations | How deep the transaction is buried | That a service's own rules are met |
What do confirmations mean, and how many are enough?#
The Bitcoin developer glossary defines the confirmation score as the number of blocks on the best block chain that would need to be modified to remove or modify a particular transaction [1]. The block containing the transaction counts as the first confirmation, and each later block adds one. How many a recipient waits for is their own policy; blocks and confirmations explains the trade-off.
| Step | Value |
|---|---|
| Block containing the transaction | 971,712 |
| Latest block (tip) at time of check | 971,882 |
| Confirmations = tip − block + 1 | 171 |
Confirmations keep rising as new blocks are added, so an explorer's number is always 'as of now'.
What can't a block explorer tell you?#
It shows addresses, not owners. The Bitcoin white paper describes privacy as keeping public keys anonymous, so the public can see that someone is sending an amount to someone else, but without information linking the transaction to anyone [8]. Labels you see on some explorers, such as an exchange name, are added by the explorer or data provider and can be wrong. For what tracers can and cannot infer, read is crypto traceable?.
An explorer also cannot reverse a payment, recover lost coins or speed up a stuck transaction by itself. If a payment is unconfirmed for a long time, the reasons are explained in what is the mempool and transaction fees explained.
What mistakes do beginners make here?#
- Pasting the address instead of the txid
An address page shows every payment that address ever received; the txid takes you straight to the one you care about.
- Mistaking change for a second payment
Most transactions include a change output back to the sender. Two outputs do not mean you paid twice.
- Treating 'unconfirmed' as 'failed'
Unconfirmed means waiting for a block. Check the fee rate against recent blocks before worrying.
- Trusting a link someone sends you
Scammers can send fake explorer pages. Type the explorer's address yourself and paste the txid.
Frequently asked questions#
Where do I find my transaction ID?
In your wallet's transaction history, usually labelled transaction ID, txid or hash. A txid uniquely identifies one transaction [1].
Can a block explorer show who owns an address?
No. The ledger shows addresses and amounts without information linking them to anyone [8]; any names are labels added by the explorer.
Why does my transaction show two outputs?
One usually pays the recipient and the other returns change to you; most transactions include a change output [4].
Why is the fee shown in sat/vB?
Fees are compared per virtual byte; BIP141 defines virtual size as weight divided by 4, rounded up [5].
Is it safe to look up my own address?
Looking it up reveals nothing new on-chain, but anyone who knows an address can see its balance and history [2], so be careful where you share it.
The bottom line#
A block explorer turns the public ledger into pages you can read: paste a txid, confirm the recipient's output and amount, check the fee and count the confirmations. Fees are inputs minus outputs, and confirmation counts grow with every block.
What an explorer cannot do is tell you who owns an address or undo a payment. Use it to verify facts, keep the txid for your records, and treat any labels as someone else's estimate.
Sources#
Grade A = primary source (regulator, protocol specification, client code, original author). Grade B = expert secondary source used for explanation only.
- ABitcoin Developer Documentation. Glossary (Developer Documentation), 2026.
- ABitcoin.org. Protect your privacy, 2026.
- AFBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. FBI Guidance for Cryptocurrency Scam Victims (I-082423-PSA), 2023.
- ABitcoin Developer Documentation. Transactions (Developer Guide), 2026.
- ABitcoin Improvement Proposals. BIP 141: Segregated Witness (Consensus layer), 2015.
- Bmempool.space. Block 971,712, 2026.
- Bmempool.space. Mining reward stats, last 144 blocks (API), 2026.
- ASatoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, 2008.
Keep reading
How Bitcoin transactions work, from your wallet to a block
A Bitcoin payment is not a balance moving between accounts. It spends earlier outputs and creates new ones. Here is the anatomy of a transaction, a worked example with change, and the checks every node runs.
How many confirmations does a Bitcoin payment need?
A confirmation is a block stacked on top of your transaction. Here is what bitcoin.org recommends, the probability maths from the whitepaper behind the famous “six confirmations”, and why the right number depends on the amount at stake.
Crypto transaction fees explained: what you pay and why
Every on-chain transaction pays for space in a block. Bitcoin charges by size, Ethereum by computation. Here is how each fee is calculated, with worked examples, and what makes fees jump.