Aztec vs Polygon

Aztec3.8/5

VS

Polygon4.1/5

Feature	AztecVisit	PolygonVisit
Ratings
Our score	3.8/5	4.1/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Performance	3.5	4.5
Fees	4.0	4.5
Ecosystem	3.5	4.5
Decentralization	4.5	3.5
Developer experience	3.0	4.0
Specs
Layer	Layer 2	Sidechain
Consensus / design	ZK rollup	Proof of Stake
Native token	AZTEC	POL
EVM compatible	No	Yes
Smart contract languages	Noir	Solidity
Typical transaction fee	Not disclosed	$0.002
Finality	Not disclosed	~1.8 seconds
Validators / sequencer	3,400+ active sequencers across 185+ operators	Not disclosed
Mainnet since	2,025	2,020
Throughput (TPS)	Not disclosed	5,000
Sequencer	Decentralized	Not applicable
Data availability	Ethereum	Not disclosed
Gas paid in	Not disclosed	POL
Company
Founded	2017	2020
Headquarters	United Kingdom	Cayman Islands
Investors	Paradigm, Ethereal Ventures, Libertus Capital, a_capital	Peak XV Partners, Galaxy Digital, Republic Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 +4
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	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	Typical transaction fees average approximately $0.002 per transfer Settlement finality completes in roughly 1.8 seconds Full EVM execution environment supports standard Solidity tooling and libraries Processed over 8 billion transactions across more than $3.0 trillion in cumulative volume
Cons	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	Relies on sidechain checkpoints rather than native Layer 2 zero-knowledge rollups Bridge smart contracts on Ethereum introduce third-party settlement and locking risks Past smart contract vulnerability resulted in the loss of 801,601 tokens in 2021 Separate Polygon zkEVM sequencer suffered an operational halt in July 2026
Best for	Developers building confidential smart contracts, Traders requiring shielded execution from mempools, DeFi teams needing client-side data privacy	High-frequency stablecoin payment providers, Fintech developers seeking EVM compatibility, DeFi apps requiring sub-cent fees

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