3 Reasons to Buy Solana Instead of Ethereum and 1 Reason Not To

If Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is the eight‑lane interstate of smart‑contract blockchains, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) feels more like a bullet train. Both chains reach the same destinations, but one arrives faster, cheaper, and with fewer inconveniences along the way. That's why many longtime crypto investors are wondering whether now is the moment to swap some Ether for Solana, assuming they haven't already.

Solana enjoys three durable edges that even Ethereum's recent Pectra upgrade hasn't erased. Let's take a peek at each and understand why it might be worth hopping onboard with Solana.

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1. Solana's speed keeps up with AI and DePIN

Solana's chain regularly posts real‑world throughput above 1,000 transactions per second (TPS) and transaction times near 0.4 seconds.

In contrast, Ethereum's base layer still crawls at roughly 15 to 30 TPS, and its transactions are trapped within the chain's 12‑second blocks. For users who want snappier performance with Ethereum, it's necessary to bridge capital to one of its layer‑2 (L2) subchains, which is an additional step, plus sometimes it requires different tooling, thereby adding a lot of friction.

Image source: Getty Images.

The raw numbers matter most for latency‑sensitive segments like on‑chain artificial intelligence (AI) and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). One Solana‑based DePIN project called Roam crossed 2.5 million registered users in March 2025. A spike in usage of that magnitude would swamp most Ethereum L2s before breakfast, not to mention completely clogging up the main chain.

The takeaway here is that Solana is already handling traffic that would immediately break Ethereum's highest‑throughput pipes for everyone.

Higher speeds also simplify developer life. Building a real‑time AI data marketplace or a global mapping protocol is easier when a chain's transaction confirmations arrive in under a second, and finality is nearly instantaneous. Ethereum could close the speed gap over time, but Solana owns it today.

2. Solana's fee schedule is measured in crumbs

A typical Solana transaction costs between $0.0001 and $0.0025. Ethereum's layer‑1 average gas fee for a token swap was about $5.55 on the morning of June 25, and it often spikes above $15 when traffic is high.

The days of gas fees in the $60 range are probably over, but compared with fees that are nearly free, even a few dollars feels like a lot.

For investors, that difference between the two chains compounds quickly. Automated trading bots or decentralized finance (DeFi) strategies that make sense at Solana's fee levels can be dead on arrival on Ethereum. Cheap fees also help to onboard new users -- a demographic every network ultimately needs to thrive.

3. Reputations count among top cryptocurrencies

Solana‑based coins captured a lot of attention in 2024 and early 2025; Ethereum's ecosystem, in large part, did not.

Part of that gap is technical. Ethereum's 140‑plus alternative layers create liquidity silos, reliance on a plethora of bridges for capital, and an endless pile of unique tooling for basic tasks like wallet access or scanning certificates to verify asset provenance.

Solana's monolithic design avoids those headaches. Furthermore, the chain's publicly posted development roadmap emphasizes focusing on throughput bumps, institutional onboarding, and smoother tooling throughout 2025. These narratives matter in crypto. When people believe a chain feels intuitive, the flywheel of builders, users, and capital spins faster.

And right now, that reputational tailwind is blowing harder for Solana than for Ethereum.

1 reason not to sell Ethereum: Solana isn't a moonshot anymore

Don't confuse Solana's edge with having explosive upside.

At roughly a $77.5 billion market cap versus Ethereum's $290.4 billion, Solana already trades like a blue chip. It isn't a smart move to sell your Ethereum in hopes of investing in Solana and then having that coin subsequently go to the moon.

Could it one day overtake Ethereum? Probably. In fact, I'd bet on it happening eventually, at least as of right now.

But that would still be "only" a 4X return, not the 100‑bagger fantasy that some holders whisper about. Don't fall for that kind of thinking even if you're optimistic here.

Long‑term investors should see Solana as a calculated bet on speed, cost efficiency, and execution, not a ticket to instant riches.

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Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.