How to compare Celestia with other blockchains
Celestia is a data-availability layer, not a general-purpose chain. Compare it by checking current data cost, users, security model and where execution happens.
Vahe HakobyanEditor-in-chief
Updated Oct 6, 20263 min readFact-checked
On this page
- Celestia is a data-availability layer, not a general-purpose chain.
- Compare cost, throughput, users and security.
- Rollups execute and settle elsewhere; Celestia stores data.
- Record each source and its date.
Celestia is a modular data-availability layer. Data availability means the transaction data behind each block is published and can be retrieved by anyone who asks for it.
What you need before comparing
Decide what each network does before you put Celestia next to it. A monolithic chain validates, executes and stores everything on one network. Celestia handles one of those jobs.
How to compare Celestia step by step
Explorers and official dashboards show the numbers you need, and those numbers change. Work through the four comparisons below.
- 1Open the official dashboardRead the current cost of posting data and the reported throughput, and note the date. Fees move with demand.
- 2Check who uses CelestiaRead Celestia's documentation and the rollups' pages to see which chains post data to it now. Many use other data-availability layers.
- 3Compare the security modelsOn a monolithic chain, many full nodes validate every block. Celestia's security rests on data availability sampling instead.
- 4Compare execution and settlementCelestia stores data only, while rollups execute transactions and settle on another chain.
What to do after comparing
Supported chains and metrics change, so your comparison is only as good as its date. Judge Celestia by its technical role and its traffic, not by token promotion.
- Save the explorer, dashboard and documentation pages you used.
- Note the date and time you checked each figure.
- List which rollups posted data to Celestia that day.
- Recheck after a rollup redesign or a Celestia upgrade.
Frequently asked questions
Celestia runs its own Layer 1 chain with its own consensus and validators. The rollups that publish data to it are usually called Layer 2.
A light node asks peers for small random pieces of a block instead of downloading all of it. Enough pieces give it strong confidence the full data was published.
No. You can read blocks and compare networks without holding anything. Rollups pay for data space in TIA, and the token also covers staking and governance.
