Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL): a comparison
Cardano and Solana set side by side: how the quotes moved, how the protocols are built and what tasks each one was made for.
Specifications of ADA and SOL
| Cardano (ADA) | Solana (SOL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.179252 | $86.10 |
| Ticker | ADA | SOL |
| Type | coin of its own network | coin of its own network |
| Launched | 2017 | 2020 |
| Built by | Charles Hoskinson | Anatoly Yakovenko |
| Consensus | Proof of Stake (Ouroboros) | Proof of Stake + Proof of History |
| Block | ~20 sec | — |
| Supply cap | 45 B ADA | no cap |
| Privacy | transfers are public | transfers are public |
| In circulation | 37.58 B ADA | 591.15 M SOL |
| Market cap | $6.74 B | $50.9 B |
| Rank by cap | #18 | #7 |
Source: CoinGecko, Nov 10, 2026 12:57. How these numbers are counted
Price movement: ADA and SOL
The start of the period is taken as 100 for both prices: the chart shows the difference in movement, not the quotes themselves.
| Period | ADA | SOL |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | −6.23% | −5.92% |
| 30 days | −29.02% | −21.45% |
| 90 days | −5.46% | +13.37% |
The link between their daily moves over the quarter is 0.82 (they travel together).
The tasks ADA and SOL were made for
- Contracts and applicationsCardano and Solana
How Cardano and Solana are built
How Cardano works
The consensus is called Ouroboros, a block appears roughly every 20 seconds, and accounting follows an extended UTXO model. ADA is delegated to stake pools, and the coins are not locked while it is. The supply cap is 45 billion ADA.
What Cardano is for
ADA pays fees, is staked to protect the network and is used in Cardano DeFi and NFT applications.
How Solana works
On top of Proof of Stake it runs Proof of History — a cryptographic clock that sets the order of transactions. A slot lasts about 400 milliseconds, and processing runs in parallel. The SPL standard is used for tokens.
What Solana is for
Network fees are paid in SOL, and the same coin is staked to secure the blockchain. Solana hosts decentralised exchanges, payment services, NFT marketplaces and dozens of well-known tokens.