Arbitrum vs ZKsync

Arbitrum4.2/5

VS

ZKsync3.7/5

Feature	ArbitrumVisit	ZKsyncVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.2/5	3.7/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Performance	4.5	4.0
Fees	4.5	4.0
Ecosystem	5.0	3.5
Decentralization	3.0	3.0
Developer experience	4.5	4.5
Specs
Layer	Layer 2	Layer 2
Consensus / design	Optimistic rollup	ZK rollup
Native token	ARB	ZK
EVM compatible	Yes	Yes
Smart contract languages	Solidity, Rust (Stylus)	Solidity, Vyper
Block time	~0.25 seconds	~1s
Typical transaction fee	Not disclosed	$0.05
Finality	~7 days (dispute window)	minutes to Ethereum
Mainnet since	2,021	2,023
Sequencer	Centralized	Not disclosed
Data availability	Ethereum L1 calldata / EIP-4844 blobs	Not disclosed
Gas paid in	ETH	ETH
Company
Founded	2021	2023
Headquarters	United States	—
Investors	Coinbase Ventures, IOSG Ventures, OKX Ventures, ParaFi Capital +1	Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly, Ethereum Foundation +5
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	Native protocol-level account abstraction eliminates the need for separate ERC-4337 infrastructure Median transaction fees are around $0.05 Over 700M transactions processed and $4B in network value secured by October 2026 EVM compatibility lets developers deploy existing Solidity and Vyper contracts directly
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	Layer 1 finality on Ethereum takes several minutes due to ZK proof batching Cross-chain transfers rely on rollup bridge contracts with smart contract risk
Best for	High-frequency DeFi traders, Rust and Solidity smart contract developers, Teams launching dedicated Orbit appchains	Developers deploying smart accounts with passkeys, Institutions building private, compliant rollups, Solidity teams seeking low-cost ZK scaling

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