Ethereum: 15 TPS. Solana: 65,000 TPS.
The numbers alone are staggering. While Ethereum handles 15 transactions per second, Solana handles 65,000. Transaction fees are also a fraction of Ethereum's.
Does that make Solana simply better? If so, why isn't everyone switching?
Why Solana Is Fast: Proof of History
When Ethereum and Bitcoin create a block, they determine "what time is it right now" through consensus — every node has to agree the block is valid before moving on. That agreement takes time.
Solana works differently. It uses a unique time-keeping mechanism called Proof of History (PoH).
The concept: if you run a hash function in a continuous chain — hash(hash(hash(...))) — the sequence of outputs is a record of elapsed time. Computing billions of hashes proves that real time passed. Nodes no longer need to ask each other "what time is it?" They can verify order independently.
This dramatically reduces the time validators spend on consensus.
Parallel Execution: Sealevel
The second key innovation is Sealevel. Ethereum's EVM processes transactions sequentially — one must finish before the next begins.
Solana identifies which transactions touch different state (accounts, smart contracts) and processes them simultaneously. Alice sending to Bob and Carol sending to Dave are completely independent — they can run at the same time.
More CPU cores means more parallel execution. Solana is designed from the ground up to exploit multi-core hardware.
Gulf Stream: No Mempool
Bitcoin and Ethereum hold pending transactions in a mempool (memory pool) before processing. When demand spikes, the mempool backs up and fees jump as users bid to get included faster.
Solana's Gulf Stream protocol forwards transactions not just to the current block producer but to upcoming validators in advance. By the time it's their turn, they already have the transactions ready to process. No queue, no fee auction.
So Why Does Solana Sometimes Go Down?
In 2021 and 2022, Solana suffered multiple complete network outages — no transactions processed for hours at a time.
The cause is, ironically, the speed. To keep up with the throughput, validators need high-end hardware. Ordinary computers can't participate. The result: far fewer validators than Ethereum, and vulnerability under certain conditions.
This is the blockchain trilemma in action. When you choose speed and low cost, decentralization is what you sacrifice.
Ethereum: slow and expensive, but hundreds of thousands of validators and zero network outages. Solana: fast and cheap, but thousands of validators and occasional failures.
Solana's Ecosystem
Speed and cheap fees make Solana dominant in a few specific areas.
NFTs: Solana's NFT market grew explosively post-2021. Minting an NFT on Ethereum costs dollars in gas; on Solana it costs fractions of a cent.
Retail DeFi: Smaller investors can actually use DeFi profitably. Jupiter and Raydium are among the most active DEXes in all of crypto.
Mobile: The Solana team built "Saga," a blockchain-native smartphone — a mobile-first strategy.
Memecoins: In 2024, Solana became the home of the memecoin boom. The Pump.fun platform launched hundreds of thousands of tokens.
The Role of SOL
SOL is Solana's native currency.
- Fees: Every transaction consumes a small amount of SOL
- Staking: Stake SOL to become a validator (or delegate to one) and earn rewards
- Network security: More staked SOL makes a 51% attack more expensive
Ethereum vs Solana: Which to Choose
The two are competitors, but they occupy different positions.
Ethereum makes more sense when:
- Security is the top priority (high-value DeFi)
- Long-term asset storage
- You need battle-tested, deeply audited smart contracts
Solana makes more sense when:
- Speed matters (gaming, social apps, real-time interactions)
- Small-scale DeFi and NFT trading
- You need high transaction volume without prohibitive fees
Want to understand Ethereum's consensus mechanism in comparison? Try the Consensus module. For a deep dive into the blockchain trilemma, the Decentralization module lets you simulate it hands-on.