Axelar vs Relay

Axelar3.9/5

VS

Relay4.3/5

Feature	AxelarVisit	RelayVisit
Ratings
Our score	3.9/5	4.3/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Security	4.0	3.5
Speed	3.5	5.0
Fees	3.5	4.5
Chain coverage	4.5	4.5
Ease of use	4.0	4.5
Specs
KYC required	No	No
Design	Messaging protocol	Intent-based
Chains	Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Polygon, Avalanche, Cosmos, Other	Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, BNB Chain, Solana, Bitcoin, Sui, Tron, Other
Chains supported	80	85
Typical fee	Not disclosed	Under $0.01 average cost plus dynamic execution fees
Typical transfer time	Not disclosed	1 second
Security model	Proof-of-stake validator set	Non-custodial depository with authorized signer oracle Hub and relayer settlement
Audited	Yes	Yes
Token	AXL	Not disclosed
Intent-based	Not disclosed	Yes
Native token transfers (no wrapped tokens)	Yes	Yes
Company
Founded	2020	2023
Headquarters	—	United States
Investors	Polychain Capital, Arrington Capital, C Squared, Distributed Global +33	Archetype, Union Square Ventures
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	Connects more than 80 blockchains across EVM, Cosmos, and Solana ecosystems Secured by a decentralized set of over 75 proof-of-stake validators No recorded validator-set or bridge consensus security exploits Supports generic cross-chain contract messaging alongside token transfers	Average execution speed of one second across supported networks No wrapped tokens used, settling directly in native destination assets Average transaction fee sits below $0.01 plus network gas Connects over 85 networks without pooled treasury lock-in
Cons	Security depends on the economic bonding and validator quorum of the AXL chain Outages on connected external chains can delay or pause transfer execution	Verification hub depends on an authorized oracle signer architecture Solver capacity limits maximum transfer size during volatile market conditions Relay Vaults retired in late 2026, requiring manual user balance withdrawals
Best for	Developers deploying multichain smart contracts, Users bridging between EVM and Cosmos, Institutions routing liquidity to onchain venues	Fast native multi-chain transfers, Cross-chain stablecoin settlements, Developers building cross-chain checkout

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