Arbitrum vs Solana

Arbitrum4.2/5

VS

Solana3.8/5

Feature	ArbitrumVisit	SolanaVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.2/5	3.8/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Performance	4.5	4.5
Fees	4.5	4.0
Ecosystem	5.0	4.5
Decentralization	3.0	3.0
Developer experience	4.5	3.5
Specs
Layer	Layer 2	Layer 1
Consensus / design	Optimistic rollup	Proof of Stake
Native token	ARB	SOL
EVM compatible	Yes	No
Smart contract languages	Solidity, Rust (Stylus)	Rust
Block time	~0.25 seconds	~400 ms
Finality	~7 days (dispute window)	Not disclosed
Mainnet since	2,021	2,020
Throughput (TPS)	Not disclosed	1,790 transactions per second
Sequencer	Centralized	Not applicable
Data availability	Ethereum L1 calldata / EIP-4844 blobs	Not disclosed
Gas paid in	ETH	SOL
Company
Founded	2021	2020
Headquarters	United States	United States
Investors	Coinbase Ventures, IOSG Ventures, OKX Ventures, ParaFi Capital +1	Andreessen Horowitz, 1kx, Big Brain Holdings, Blockchange Ventures +6
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	14.2 billion transactions processed in Q3 2026 Single global state keeps applications on one Layer 1 Rust tooling and available developer documentation Supports trading, payments, DeFi and tokenized assets
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	Network outages occurred several times between September 2021 and October 2022 SOL is required for fees and staking, creating token exposure Not EVM compatible, limiting direct Ethereum tooling compatibility
Best for	High-frequency DeFi traders, Rust and Solidity smart contract developers, Teams launching dedicated Orbit appchains	High-volume trading applications, Stablecoin payment products, Tokenized asset platforms

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