Polygon vs Starknet

Polygon4.1/5

VS

Starknet3.4/5

Feature	PolygonVisit	StarknetVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.1/5	3.4/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Performance	4.5	4.0
Fees	4.5	4.0
Ecosystem	4.5	3.5
Decentralization	3.5	2.5
Developer experience	4.0	3.5
Specs
Layer	Sidechain	Layer 2
Consensus / design	Proof of Stake	ZK rollup
Native token	POL	STRK
EVM compatible	Yes	No
Smart contract languages	Solidity	Cairo
Typical transaction fee	$0.002	Not disclosed
Finality	~1.8 seconds	Not disclosed
Mainnet since	2,020	2,021
Throughput (TPS)	5,000	Not disclosed
Sequencer	Not applicable	Not disclosed
Data availability	Not disclosed	Ethereum
Gas paid in	POL	ETH, STRK
Company
Founded	2020	2021
Headquarters	Cayman Islands	Israel
Investors	Peak XV Partners, Galaxy Digital, Republic Capital, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 +4	Coatue Management
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	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	Native account abstraction makes every wallet a programmable smart account STARK proofs provide mathematical validity without relying on trusted setup ceremonies STRK20 enables confidential balances and unlinked DeFi interactions via Shadow Accounts StarkWare raised a $100M funding round led by Coatue Management
Cons	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	Lacks native EVM compatibility, requiring developers to build dApps in Cairo Paused block sequencing for over four hours during a January 2026 Blockifier bug Ecosystem protocols have experienced exploits, including a $3.5M attack on Nostra Decentralization roadmap remains ongoing, with sequenced block production still transitioning
Best for	High-frequency stablecoin payment providers, Fintech developers seeking EVM compatibility, DeFi apps requiring sub-cent fees	Cairo smart contract developers, Users needing native account abstraction, Traders using private DeFi positions

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