Ethereum Testnets are an excellent way to play with free crypto and to test your web 3.0 projects. We can use Ethereum testnets with Metamask and test crypto usage or web 3.0 projects functionality. Ethereum and EVM compatible blockchains are the most popular blockchains for web 3.0 and crypto projects. But using Ethereum and other EVM-based blockchains costs money. So, having the free testnets to play around with is a big relief for Web 3.0 developers. In this post, we will see the list of Ethereum Testnets and how to connect to an Ethereum testnet with Metamask and make free transactions.
Table of Contents
What are the Best Ethereum Testnets?
The Ethereum testnets are a way to test the new functionality by Ethereum developers. So, a testnet may be added or deleted by the Ethereum developers without any prior notification. These are the best free Ethereum testnets available right now.
- Rinkeby
- Ropsten
- Kavan
- Gorerli
What is Metamask?
Metamask is a free crypto Wallet that you can utilize to connect with virtually all EVM based blockchains main nets as well as testnets. Metamask is the most popular crypto wallet due to its ease of use and functionality. Metamask is available for cross platforms including mobile, chrome and firefox.
Installing Metamask wallet
Installing Metamask is simple. Just search for the Metamask extension in chrome or firefox and install it. You can check our complete tutorial on Ethereum mining and installing the Metamask to configure the Metamask wallet if you need help.
How to connect Metamask to a test net?
First of all click on the Metamask extension in your browser and a new tab or a screen will appear. Select the option to show testnets.
Now you will see all available testnets. Now you can choose the testnet with which you want to connect. By default, Metamask is connected to the Ethereum Mainnet.
To connect to a testnet, just simply click the test net. We will be using Rinkeby testnet for the tutorial so just click it. Now you will be able to see the Rinkeby testnet account balance and address.
How to get free crypto for Ethereum testnets?
You can get free crypto for Ethereum testnets from faucets which initiate transactions to transfer crypto to your testnet wallet. To get the free crypto in our wallet, you can use free faucets. These two are the working faucets for Rinkeby for now.
- https://rinkebyfaucet.com/
- https://faucets.chain.link/
For other testnets you can use this link to get other testnet cryptos as well.
Getting free crypto for testnets
We have mentioned two different faucets for getting free cryptocurrency for Rinkeby. Now lets see one by one how to use these services.
1. Get free crypto from Rinkebey faucet (https://rinkebyfaucet.com/)
First copy the address from your Metamask wallet
Now go to the faucet website and paste your address and click send me ETH. The service provides 0.1 Rinkeby Eth per day.
After some time, you will see that free crypto will appear in your wallet.
You can go and check the details of the transaction on Rinkeby Etherscan by clicking the transaction ID.
Here you can see the details that some address has made a transaction to send you the ethers.
2. Get free crypto from Chainlink faucet (https://faucets.chain.link/)
To get free Rinkeby from our second facet, open the chainlink faucet, click on connect wallet and then choose your Rinkeby wallet.
Now a new window will appear. Paste your Rinkeby wallet address in the provided space and select the option for test ethers. Then click request.
The Transaction will be sent and you can see the transaction ID. You can verify this ID from the Rinkeby Ether scanner as we have discussed earlier in the post.
How to use Ethereum Testnets for making transactions
Now to test transactions we need another test account address. Just click on the profile picture in the Metamask wallet and click create an account.
Give it a name and we will have another account on the same Metamask wallet.
Now to send money to it copy the address and change the account to previous account
Now click on send and enter the account address. Give the amount of crypto to send and then click next and then confirm it. A transaction will be made and you can check the transaction ID as well. Now go to your second account and you can see the account balance.
How to deploy smart contract on testnet.
In this part, we are going to see how we can deploy a smart contract on a testnet. Just open remix IDE. We are going to deploy a sample contract that is already provided by the Remix IDE. Just click files and open storage.sol contract.
Now open the compile tab and click on compile.
Click on the “deploy and run” tab and Now, select the environment as injected provider – Metamask.
Metamask window will open. Now select the account with which you want to deploy the solidity contract and click connect.
Now your account address and balance will be visible in Remix
Click the deploy option
Metamask will pop up showing you the details for confirmation. Click on confirm and your contract will be deployed. It will show all transaction details including gas used and gas price.
You will see that your contract deployment details will appear in remix IDE
You can see the tx details on Etherescan by clicking the link “view on etherscan”.
In this manner, we can deploy the contract on a testnet and check its functionality before deploying it on the mainnet.
FAQ
Can be deploy a smart contract on a testnet?
Yes, a smart contract can be deployed easily on a testnet. You can deploy a smart contract directly from remix IDE with metamask. Just select the Rinkeby account and environment as injected metamask on Remix and click deploy.
How to get free crypto fro testnets?
You can get free crypto for testnet from faucets. These faucets initiate a transaction that transfer test crypto currency to your wallet. You can use chainlink faucets for any type of test cryptocurrency.
How to connect Metamask to a test net?
You need to enable viewing of testnets in Metamask setting. Just go to settings and click “show testnets”. This will show available testnets in your Metamask main window.
