Solana review
A free public network for building and deploying onchain applications.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Solana is a public blockchain network for building and running onchain applications, including payments, tokens, DeFi, NFTs, games, and social applications. Developers write programs—the network’s equivalent of smart contracts—and interact with them through transactions and RPC connections. Its public clusters and development tools make it relevant to solo developers through enterprise teams, particularly those building public applications rather than private networks.
The development path spans Devnet and Testnet for testing, followed by deployment to Mainnet. Programs run in the Solana Runtime and can be developed in Rust or C++, as well as other LLVM/BPF-targeting languages. Deployment is CLI-based, and program data and state are held in separate accounts. Consensus combines Proof of Stake, with stake-weighted validator voting, and Proof of History; validators process transactions and participate in consensus. Staking and validator participation are also available to network participants.
Public JSON-RPC endpoints provide cluster access, but they are rate-limited. Solana’s documentation advises dedicated or private RPC services for production infrastructure, so teams should account for that operational need rather than treating public endpoints as a production service. Solana is free as a public network, not a conventional paid software subscription, and the Solana Foundation does not provide a managed blockchain service or permissioned networks. Choose it for public application development, program deployment, and onchain token functionality; consider another option if managed operations or private-network support is essential.
Solana pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Public Devnet and Testnet clusters support testing before Mainnet deployment.
- Programs can be written in Rust, C++, and LLVM/BPF-targeting languages.
- Native and SPL programs support token creation and other onchain functions.
- Where it doesn't
- Public JSON-RPC endpoints are rate-limited.
- No managed blockchain service is provided by the Solana Foundation.
- Permissioned networks are not supported.
Solana fact sheet, pricing and score →
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