*Solana's theoretical max; real-world performance varies. Network has experienced outages.
Key Differences
Philosophy: XRP is laser-focused on payments and banking. Solana is a general-purpose "Ethereum killer" targeting all use cases with raw speed.
Decentralization: Both face criticism - XRP for Ripple's large holdings, Solana for validator concentration and network halts.
Track record: XRP/XRPL has operated since 2012 with near-perfect uptime. Solana (2020) has had multiple network outages but continues improving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is XRP faster than Solana?
Solana is technically faster (400ms vs 3-5 seconds) but both are effectively instant for users. XRP's speed is optimized for payment finality; Solana's for high-frequency applications.
Which has lower fees?
Nearly identical - XRP ~$0.0002, Solana ~$0.00025. Both are negligible compared to Ethereum. For most users, fees are a non-factor between these two.
Is XRP or Solana a better investment?
Different bets. XRP = banking adoption and payments. Solana = DeFi/NFT ecosystem growth. XRP has regulatory clarity; Solana has network reliability concerns. Both have strong communities. DYOR.
Why does Solana have outages?
Solana's aggressive performance targets (65K TPS) create complexity. Network congestion, bugs, and validator issues have caused multiple outages. The team continues hardening the network.