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Ethereum offers 12–30 TPS (L1) / 1,000–4,000 (L2), $1–$50 transaction costs, and the largest developer pool — ideal for DeFi and institutional applications. Solana offers 2,000–5,000 TPS, $0.00025 transaction costs, and ~400ms finality — ideal for gaming, high-frequency trading, and consumer apps.
Side-by-Side
| Factor | Ethereum | Solana |
|---|---|---|
Real-world TPS | 12–30 (L1) / 1,000–4,000 (L2) | 2,000–5,000 |
Transaction finality | 12s soft / 2–3min hard | ~400ms |
Average tx cost | $1–$50 (L1), $0.01–$0.50 (L2) | $0.00025 |
Programming language | Solidity | Rust (Anchor) |
Developer pool | Very large | Large but smaller |
Ecosystem maturity | Highest (most DeFi TVL, tools, auditors) | High (growing rapidly) |
Uptime history | 99.9%+ (no L1 outages) | Network outages occurred (2022–2023) |
Security model | PoS, $100B+ staked | PoSol, 400+ validators |
NFT ecosystem | OpenSea, Blur, major volume | Magic Eden, high velocity |
DeFi TVL | $25B+ | $5B+ |
EVM compatibility | Yes | No |
Choose Ethereum (L1 or L2) When
- Security and ecosystem maturity are the top priority
- Your application integrates with existing Ethereum DeFi protocols
- You need Solidity auditors (largest auditor pool)
- You are building institutional financial applications
- Your team already knows Solidity
- Your transaction volume is moderate and L2 covers your gas cost
Choose Solana When
- Transaction cost must be sub-cent (high-frequency gaming, NFT mints)
- Transaction throughput is critical (trading apps, real-time gaming)
- Your target users are already in the Solana/Magic Eden ecosystem
- ~400ms finality is required for your UX
- Your team has Rust expertise or can acquire it
The Migration Consideration
Migrating from Ethereum to Solana (or vice versa) requires complete smart contract rewrite — different languages, different account models, different ecosystems. Make the right choice at the architecture phase.