An absolute fee is like paying a flat cover charge to enter a concert regardless of how many friends you bring along. Instead of charging you based on the data size (like satoshis per byte), some wallets or services might let you specify a lump sum fee. This means if you choose 10,000 satoshis as your fee, that’s exactly what you pay, no matter whether your transaction is 150 bytes or 300 bytes.

This approach can be convenient for users who prefer simplicity or have a tight fee budget. However, if your transaction size grows unexpectedly or the network becomes busier, that flat fee might not be sufficient to get your transaction confirmed quickly. It’s a bit like deciding you’ll pay a set taxi fare in advance, only to find out you’re stuck in rush-hour traffic and the driver wants more to skip the line. Yet, absolute fees can still be helpful in situations where you know your transaction size is small or you’re timing the network carefully.