Stellar review
An open-source public network for teams building payment and asset applications with Rust contracts.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Stellar is an open-source public blockchain network for payments, asset issuance and financial applications. Its Soroban platform adds smart contracts written in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly. That combination makes Stellar a fit for teams whose work centers on payment flows or issuing assets, rather than teams seeking a permissioned blockchain or a broad choice of contract languages. The network uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol, a federated Byzantine agreement construction, and permissioned assets can be created on the public network.
Developer tooling is a practical part of the platform. Stellar provides command-line tools for compiling, testing, inspecting, versioning and deploying contracts, along with local testing and debugging. Developers can work across Mainnet, Testnet and Futurenet, giving teams distinct environments for development and public-network deployment. Documentation and community are the listed support channels. The available platforms include web, API, Linux, macOS and Windows, while deployment options include cloud and self-hosted use. These tools and environments support development around Stellar, but the contract language remains Rust.
Stellar is open source rather than a conventional subscription software product, and the network does not publish a subscription pricing plan. Mainnet transactions require lumens (XLM) for fees and minimum balances, so operating on the network has transaction-related costs. The public deployment model is also a meaningful boundary: asset permissions do not make the underlying network permissioned. Teams prioritizing public payments, native asset operations or financial applications can consider Stellar; those needing permissioned networks or another smart-contract language should look elsewhere.
Stellar pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Supports payments, native asset issuance and transaction operations
- Soroban contracts use Rust and compile to WebAssembly
- CLI tools support local testing plus Mainnet, Testnet and Futurenet
- Where it doesn't
- 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
Stellar fact sheet, pricing and score →
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