vs
Ethereum vs Solana for NFTs
| Feature | Ethereum | Solana |
|---|---|---|
| NFT standard | ERC-721 and ERC-1155 | Metaplex token metadata; compressed NFTs |
| Base fee model | Base fee per gas, burned (EIP-1559), plus tip | 5,000 lamports (0.000005 SOL) per signature, plus optional priority fee |
| Block or slot time | 12 seconds | About 400 ms |
| Cheap minting option | Layer 2 networks (Base, Arbitrum, Optimism) | State compression for millions of NFTs |
| Major outages | No full mainnet halt since launch in our timeline | Several, 2021 to 2024 |
| Biggest NFT era | 2021 to 2022 (CryptoPunks, Bored Apes) | 2021 onward; boosted after 2023 |
| Latest close in our data | $2,474 Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily close, 2026-10-14 | $105.30 Coinbase Exchange SOL/USD daily close, 2026-10-14 |
The trade-offs
For NFTs the practical difference is cost per mint and transfer. On Ethereum mainnet, fees rise with demand: during the 2021 NFT boom, popular mints could cost tens or hundreds of dollars in gas. Solana's base fee is a fixed 5,000 lamports per signature, a fraction of a cent at most prices, and its compressed NFTs let projects mint huge collections cheaply.
Ethereum's answer is layer 2 networks, which became much cheaper after the Dencun upgrade in March 2024. The trade-off is that mainnet Ethereum has the deepest NFT history and has never fully halted in our timeline, while Solana is cheaper and faster but has had several network outages. We do not show live fee numbers because they change by the minute.
Neither column is a recommendation. Each network makes different choices, and the history pages show how those choices played out.
Source: Coinbase Exchange ETH/USD daily closes 2016-05-18 to 2026-10-14. Fetched Oct 14, 2026 from free public APIs. Click a dot for the event and its price on that day.
Source: Binance SOL/USDT daily closes 2020-08-11 to 2021-06-16; Coinbase Exchange SOL/USD daily closes 2021-06-17 to 2026-10-14. Fetched Oct 14, 2026 from free public APIs. Click a dot for the event and its price on that day.
Related events and hubs
Updated
Sources
Facts written in our own words. Last checked Oct 14, 2026.