Arbitrum vs Aztec

Arbitrum4.2/5

VS

Aztec3.8/5

Feature	ArbitrumVisit	AztecVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.2/5	3.8/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Performance	4.5	3.5
Fees	4.5	4.0
Ecosystem	5.0	3.5
Decentralization	3.0	4.5
Developer experience	4.5	3.0
Specs
Layer	Layer 2	Layer 2
Consensus / design	Optimistic rollup	ZK rollup
Native token	ARB	AZTEC
EVM compatible	Yes	No
Smart contract languages	Solidity, Rust (Stylus)	Noir
Block time	~0.25 seconds	Not disclosed
Finality	~7 days (dispute window)	Not disclosed
Validators / sequencer	Not disclosed	3,400+ active sequencers across 185+ operators
Mainnet since	2,021	2,025
Sequencer	Centralized	Decentralized
Data availability	Ethereum L1 calldata / EIP-4844 blobs	Ethereum
Gas paid in	ETH	Not disclosed
Company
Founded	2021	2017
Headquarters	United States	United Kingdom
Investors	Coinbase Ventures, IOSG Ventures, OKX Ventures, ParaFi Capital +1	Paradigm, Ethereal Ventures, Libertus Capital, a_capital
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	Secured over $12.3B in value with 2.7 billion lifetime transactions by mid-2026 Supports smart contracts in Rust, C, and C++ alongside standard EVM Solidity Fast sub-second block times around 0.25 seconds with gas settled in ETH	Protects transaction data by generating zero-knowledge proofs directly on the user device Decentralized sequencing model launched with over 3,400 active sequencers Composes private UTXO states with public account balances within single transactions Settles cryptographic validity proofs on Ethereum Layer 1
Cons	Sequencer remains centralized, creating liveness and transaction ordering dependencies ARB staking through the DAO does not distribute protocol fee revenue to holders Substantial non-circulating ARB supply remains subject to scheduled token unlocks	Not EVM compatible, requiring developers to learn the Noir programming language Proving system vulnerability identified in V5 Alpha exposed contract state to risk Native protocol staking demands a high threshold of 200,000 AZTEC tokens Relies on bridge infrastructure to transfer assets from Ethereum Layer 1
Best for	High-frequency DeFi traders, Rust and Solidity smart contract developers, Teams launching dedicated Orbit appchains	Developers building confidential smart contracts, Traders requiring shielded execution from mempools, DeFi teams needing client-side data privacy

Highlighted cells show the stronger value in each row. Data comes from each provider's site and public sources; check details before you sign up.

More comparisons