The 90-second version

Adding Base to MetaMask used to mean digging up RPC URLs and copying numbers between tabs. You can still do it that way, but there's a one-click option that didn't exist when most of these tutorials were written. I'll show you both, then tell you the part every setup guide skips — how much ETH you need once you're actually connected.

I've set Base up on probably a dozen wallets for friends now. The setup never breaks. The part that trips everyone up is the transaction after.

Option A — one click with Chainlist

This is what I use every time now. Chainlist is a community-maintained list of EVM networks, and MetaMask lets it add networks directly.

Open chainlist.org and connect your wallet (the "Connect Wallet" button top-right).
Search for Base in the box.
Find the row labeled Base Mainnet — chain ID 8453 — and click Add to MetaMask.
MetaMask pops up asking you to approve the network. Click Approve, then "Switch to Base."

Done. You're on Base. If you ever see multiple Base rows, pick the one with the blue checkmark and the most connections — that's the canonical mainnet entry.

Option B — enter the RPC details by hand

If Chainlist is blocked or you don't want to connect your wallet to it, manual setup takes a couple minutes. In MetaMask: tap the network selector at the top, then Add a network → Add a network manually. Fill these in exactly:

Network name: Base
Default RPC URL: https://mainnet.base.org
Chain ID: 8453
Currency symbol: ETH
Block explorer: https://basescan.org

Save it, switch over, and the network selector should now read "Base." The Base team also hosts the canonical details in their docs if any of these numbers ever look off. Chain ID 8453 is the one value that never changes — if a tutorial shows a different chain ID, it's either wrong or talking about Base Sepolia testnet (84532), which you don't want for real money.

Same setup on your phone

Mobile works the same, just buried a little deeper. In the MetaMask app: tap the network picker at the top of the wallet view → "Select a network" → "Add network." You get the same five fields. I find typing the RPC URL on a phone keyboard is where most typos happen, so I usually just open Chainlist in the phone's browser with the MetaMask in-app browser — it handles the approval without you typing anything.

One mobile gotcha: after adding the network, make sure your wallet is actually showing ETH on Base and not still on Ethereum mainnet. The balance won't magically appear — which brings us to the part every setup guide forgets.

Why your balance shows zero (and how much ETH you need)

You've added Base. Your wallet says 0.0 ETH. Nothing is broken — you just don't have any ETH on Base yet. ETH doesn't automatically move across networks. The ETH sitting on Ethereum mainnet stays there until you bridge it or buy it directly on Base.

Here's the number nobody tells you upfront: keep about $5 to $10 worth of ETH on Base as gas money. That's roughly 0.002 to 0.005 ETH at recent prices, and it covers 30 to 50 transactions. A single swap costs about $0.002 to $0.005, an NFT mint maybe $0.01, so a little gas goes a very long way here. I break down the real numbers in my how much ETH you need for gas on L2 guide.

You can bridge ETH in from mainnet (costs mainnet gas, so do it when ETH gwei is calm — check the main tracker), or withdraw from an exchange like Coinbase directly to the Base network, which is by far the cheapest route for most people. Once you have even a few dollars of ETH on Base, you can do everything the chain offers.

The errors you'll probably hit

Three things happen to almost every new Base user:

"You don't have enough ETH for gas" — you hold USDC or another token but no native ETH. Gas on Base is paid in ETH, always. Move in a few dollars of ETH first.
Transaction stuck on pending forever — rare on Base since blocks are 2 seconds, but if the network picker slipped back to mainnet you'll be quoting a mainnet gas price. Double-check the network badge.
RPC not responding — the default mainnet.base.org endpoint occasionally rate-limits. Swap in a backup RPC like https://base.publicnode.com and it'll pick up immediately.

Before your first real swap or mint, take five seconds to glance at the Base gas calculator so you know what "normal" looks like — roughly $0.002 a transaction on an ordinary day. If the number the wallet quotes is wildly higher, you're either on the wrong network or caught in a congestion window. The full Base fee guide covers what causes the occasional spike. That's it — you're set up, funded, and ready.