Best Stellar Alternatives in 2026
The top Stellar alternatives are Kaleido, Hyperledger Fabric and Amazon Managed Blockchain: 15 blockchain platforms our editors would look at instead of Stellar, in our ranking order.
Stellar: An open-source public network for teams building payment and asset applications with Rust contracts. Where it falls short: smart contracts are written in rust, which narrows language choice.
Switching from Stellar? For most blockchain platforms buyers the best Stellar alternative is Kaleido, built for teams deploying and operating private consortium chains.
Why People Look for a Stellar Alternative
- Smart contracts are written in Rust, which narrows language choice
- The network is public, not a permissioned deployment
- Mainnet transactions require XLM fees and minimum balances
- No permissioned networks — 10 of the alternatives below have it
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallKaleido9.2
Teams deploying and operating private consortium chains
Visit Kaleido - Best free optionKaleido9.2
Has a free plan
Visit Kaleido - Best for permissioned networksKaleido9.2
Permissioned networks (Stellar: no)
Visit Kaleido
All 15 Stellar Alternatives, Ranked
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
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Best forTeams deploying and operating private consortium chains
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 9.2 vs 6.8
Kaleido brings consortium-chain operations, smart-contract tooling and hybrid deployment into one platform.
- Managed service
- Permissioned networks
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Kaleido -
Best forOrganizations building permissioned consortium networks
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 9.0 vs 6.8
Free, self-managed framework for permissioned consortium networks with configurable privacy and policies.
- Permissioned networks
9.0/10★★★★☆Explore Fabric -
Best forTeams needing managed public and private blockchains
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.9 vs 6.8
A managed AWS service for teams building applications on public chains or private Fabric networks.
- Managed service
- Permissioned networks
8.9/10★★★★☆Visit AWS -
Best forEnterprises wanting managed permissioned networks
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.8 vs 6.8
A managed Fabric platform with private channels, chaincode tools, and Besu support.
- Managed service
- Permissioned networks
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit Oracle -
Best forTeams building interoperable application-specific chains
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.7 vs 6.8
A self-hosted SDK for teams building interoperable, application-specific chains.
- Permissioned networks
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit Cosmos SDK -
Best forDevelopers customizing blockchain runtimes
- Better than Stellar:
- Editor score 8.6 vs 6.8
A self-hosted toolkit for developers who need control over blockchain runtimes.
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Substrate -
Best forTeams launching customizable Ethereum-compatible chains
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.5 vs 6.8
A modular, open-source route to customizable Ethereum-compatible rollup chains.
- Managed service
- Permissioned networks
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit OP Stack -
Best forEnterprises launching private EVM-compatible chains
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.4 vs 6.8
An enterprise chain-development kit for private EVM networks and cross-chain connectivity.
- Managed service
- Permissioned networks
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Polygon CDK -
Best forFinancial institutions managing tokenized instruments
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.3 vs 6.8
Enterprise lifecycle tooling for tokenized assets, with flexible deployment and sales-led pricing.
- Managed service
- Permissioned networks
8.3/10★★★★☆Visit SettleMint -
Best forEnterprises needing privacy across participant networks
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.2 vs 6.8
Privacy-focused infrastructure for synchronized, permissioned participant networks.
- Permissioned networks
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Canton Network -
Best forTeams needing sharding and cross-chain execution
- Better than Stellar:
- Permissioned networks
- Editor score 8.1 vs 6.8
NEAR pairs Nightshade sharding with multi-language contracts and cross-chain execution.
- Permissioned networks
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit NEAR Protocol -
Best forTeams building interconnected application-specific chains
- Better than Stellar:
- Editor score 8.0 vs 6.8
A modular Layer-0 for teams building connected, application-specific chains.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Polkadot -
Best forDevelopers prioritizing verification and throughput
- Better than Stellar:
- Editor score 7.9 vs 6.8
A public Move blockchain with formal verification tools and parallel transaction execution.
- Managed service
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Aptos -
Best forTeams deploying public EVM-compatible applications
- Better than Stellar:
- Editor score 7.8 vs 6.8
A public EVM chain for teams building applications with Ethereum compatibility.
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit Polygon -
Best forDevelopers building public high-throughput applications
- Better than Stellar:
- Editor score 7.7 vs 6.8
A free public network for building and deploying onchain applications.
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit Solana
Stellar Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Stellar?
Kaleido: #1 in our Blockchain Platforms ranking, with an editor score of 9.2 out of 10. Kaleido brings consortium-chain operations, smart-contract tooling and hybrid deployment into one platform.
Is there a free alternative to Stellar?
Yes. Kaleido, Hyperledger Fabric, Cosmos SDK, Substrate and Optimism OP Stack have a free plan or a free tier (11 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
Why do people look for Stellar alternatives?
Smart contracts are written in Rust, which narrows language choice; The network is public, not a permissioned deployment; Mainnet transactions require XLM fees and minimum balances.
How do I switch from Stellar?
Export your data from Stellar (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Stellar.
How to Switch from Stellar
- Export your data from Stellar (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Stellar.
Stellar vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | Contract languages | Consensus mechanisms | Managed service | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Stellar | Free | Public | Rust | Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), a federated Byzantine agreement (FBA) construction | 6.8 | ||
| 1 | Kaleido | Yes | $0.15/unit usage-based | Hybrid | Solidity, Golang, Node.js | Raft, PoA, IBFT | Yes | 9.2 |
| 2 | Hyperledger Fabric | Yes | Free | Private | Go, Java, Node.js | Raft (crash fault tolerant), SmartBFT (Byzantine fault tolerant) | 9.0 | |
| 3 | Amazon Managed Blockchain | No | Hybrid | Node.js, Java, Go | Proof of stake (Ethereum) | Yes | 8.9 | |
| 4 | Oracle Blockchain Platform | No | Hybrid | Go, Node.js, Java, Solidity, DAML | Raft | Yes | 8.8 | |
| 5 | Cosmos SDK | Yes | Free | Go, Rust, Solidity | CometBFT Byzantine-fault-tolerant consensus; pluggable consensus engines | 8.7 | ||
| 6 | Substrate | Yes | Free | ink! | Proof of Work (PoW), Aura, BABE, GRANDPA | 8.6 | ||
| 7 | Optimism OP Stack | Yes | Free | Hybrid | Solidity | Optimistic rollup | Yes | 8.5 |
| 8 | Polygon CDK | No | Hybrid | Solidity | Pessimistic proofs, zero-knowledge validity proofs | Yes | 8.4 | |
| 9 | SettleMint | Hybrid | Solidity, TypeScript, Go | QBFT, IBFT; Hyperledger Fabric has pluggable consensus | Yes | 8.3 | ||
| 10 | Canton Network | Yes | Free | Hybrid | Daml | Byzantine Fault Tolerant (decentralized sync domain); centralized sequencing and two-phase commit (private sync domain) | 8.2 | |
| 11 | NEAR Protocol | Free | Hybrid | Rust, JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Go | Proof of Stake | 8.1 | ||
| 12 | Polkadot | Free | Public | Solidity, Vyper, Rust, and languages compiling to RISC-V | Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS) | 8.0 | ||
| 13 | Aptos | Yes | Free | Public | Move | Proof of Stake; AptosBFT | Yes | 7.9 |
| 14 | Polygon PoS | Yes | Free | Public | Solidity | Proof of stake; CometBFT-based consensus | No | 7.8 |
| 15 | Solana | Yes | Free | Public | Rust, C++, Solidity (via EVM-compatible efforts), and other LLVM/BPF-targeting languages | Proof of Stake (stake-weighted validator voting); Proof of History | No | 7.7 |
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update