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NEAR vs. Solana: A Developer’s Perspective on Choosing the Right Blockchain

#devjournal #ai #softwareengineering #webdev

By Thompson Iszynero, Web3 Developer

August 10, 2025

Introduction

Choosing the right blockchain to build on can feel overwhelming—especially when protocols like NEAR and Solana both promise high throughput, low fees, and developer-friendly environments. But as someone who’s shipped dApps on both, I’ve learned that the devil is in the details.

This post isn’t about shilling one chain over the other. Instead, I’ll break down the key technical differences, tooling, and developer experiences to help you decide which fits your project’s needs.

(Disclosure: I’ve contributed to open-source projects on both chains, and yes, I’ve rage-quit both at least once.)

1. Tooling and Developer Experience

NEAR Protocol

  • SDKs & Languages:

    • Primary SDK: NEAR SDK (Rust, AssemblyScript, JavaScript)
    • Tooling: NEAR CLI, NEAR Wallet Integration, NEAR Explorer
    • Testing: Sandbox environments for local testing, testnet faucets
    • Unique perk: Human-readable account names (e.g., iznerox.near instead of 0x3F...).

  • Debugging:

    • NEAR’s transaction receipts make debugging cross-contract calls easier than on some chains.
    • NearBlocks explorer is solid, but I’ve had moments where tracing async calls felt like untangling headphone wires.

Solana

  • SDKs & Languages:

    • Primary SDK: Solana SDK (Rust, C, C++)
    • Tooling: Anchor Framework (a lifesaver for Rust devs), Solana CLI, Phantom Wallet Integration
    • Testing: Local validator for fast iteration, Solana Playground for browser-based dev

  • Debugging:

    • Solana’s logging is decent, but good luck debugging failed transactions without Solscan or Explorer.
    • The BPF (Berkeley Packet Filter) virtual machine is fast but has quirks—like needing to pre-calculate account sizes.

Verdict:

  • If you love Rust, Solana’s Anchor framework is a joy.
  • If you prefer flexibility (or hate fighting the borrow checker), NEAR’s multi-language support wins.

2. Protocol-Level Differences

A. Consensus & Performance

  • NEAR:

    • Nightshade sharding (horizontal scaling)
    • 1-2 second finality
    • Async cross-contract calls (powerful but can get complex)

  • Solana:

    • Single-threaded PoH (Proof of History) + Turbine for block propagation
    • Sub-second finality (when the network isn’t congested)
    • No sharding (yet)—high hardware requirements for validators

Impact on Developers:

  • NEAR’s sharding means no gas wars during peak times.
  • Solana’s speed is insane—until a meme coin launch clogs the network.

B. Account Model & Storage

  • NEAR:

    • Multi-key accounts (multiple keys per account, great for security)
    • Paid storage (you pay for storage used, not just compute)

  • Solana:

    • Program-derived addresses (PDAs) (no native multi-sig at the protocol level)
    • Storage costs baked into rent-exempt balances (confusing at first)

Gotcha Moment:

On NEAR, I once burned $NEAR on storage for an NFT contract I messed up. On Solana, I lost SOL because I misconfigured rent exemption. Both hurt.

C. Meta-Transactions & Signatures

  • NEAR:

    • Meta-transactions (users can pay fees in tokens other than $NEAR)
    • Chain Signatures (sign transactions for other chains)

  • Solana:

    • No native meta-transactions (requires third-party solutions)
    • SPL Token approvals work but feel less flexible than NEAR’s approach.

3. Which One Should You Choose?

Build on NEAR if…

✅ You want sharding + predictable fees

✅ Your app needs human-readable accounts

✅ You prefer async contract calls over strict atomicity

Build on Solana if…

✅ You need raw speed (and can handle occasional congestion)

✅ You’re comfortable with Rust + Anchor

✅ Your project benefits from Solana’s DeFi ecosystem

Final Thoughts

Both chains have trade-offs. NEAR’s developer docs are friendlier for beginners, but Solana’s speed is unmatched when it works.

If I were building a social dApp, I’d pick NEAR for the account abstraction. For a high-frequency trading bot, I’d grit my teeth and fight Solana’s quirks.

What’s your take? Let me know in the comments—I’ll reply between debugging sessions.

(P.S. If you spot any mistakes, blame my sleep-deprived coding brain, not AI.)

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