Solidity (EVM) vs. Rust (Solana / Anchor)
Solidity vs. Rust · where should your smart contract live?
This is really a chain choice. Solidity means EVM (Ethereum + L2s + sidechains). Rust is primarily Solana · plus NEAR and Cosmos variants. Pick the chain, the language follows.
option ASolidity (EVM)option BRust (Solana / Anchor)serviceBlockchain & smart contracts
→ Verdict
Need maximum composability, ecosystem depth, and L2 cost efficiency → Solidity on an L2. Need high throughput + low latency + a single-chain audience → Rust on Solana. We write both.
Pick a topic
When to pick which
A · Pick this when…
Solidity (EVM)
- 01You need to integrate with existing DeFi primitives
- 02Your users expect MetaMask / wallet-connect
- 03You want Chainlink / oracles / bridges out of the box
- 04L2 gas (~1¢) fits your unit economics
B · Pick that when…
Rust (Solana / Anchor)
- 01You need sub-second finality + high throughput (consumer apps)
- 02You're targeting Solana's growing consumer userbase
- 03You prefer Rust's type system and safety
- 04You're fine with a smaller ecosystem in exchange for perf
Factors to weigh
Factor-by-factor
| Factors to weigh | Solidity (EVM) | Rust (Solana / Anchor) |
|---|---|---|
| Chain | Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, OP, Polygon, zkSync… | Solana, NEAR, Cosmos |
| Tooling | Foundry, Hardhat, Slither, Mythril, Echidna | Anchor, Solana Playground, honggfuzz-rs |
| Gas / fees | L1 expensive; L2 ~1¢ per tx | Low (Solana ~0.0001$) |
| Throughput | Limited on L1, much higher on L2 | High (Solana 1k+ TPS realistic) |
| Ecosystem | Deepest DeFi + NFT + tooling | Growing fast, consumer-focused |
| Our recommendation | Default for B2B / compound DeFi | For consumer apps needing speed |
Let's get started.
Send an email or book a 30-minute call.