The scalability problems with the Ethereum community are not any secret, and so they have continued over the previous few years. This, together with the rising demand for Ethereum-based decentralized purposes (dapps), clearly highlights the necessity for scalable and cost-efficient options. Polygon – a distinguished Ethereum scaling resolution – supplies two distinct approaches to deal with the related challenges: Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM. However what are these two options? And what units them aside? For the solutions to those two questions, be a part of us on this article as we evaluate and discover the variations between Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM!
Overview
In at the moment’s article, we’ll kick issues off by exploring the intricacies of each Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM. From there, we’ll evaluate Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM to spotlight the principle similarities and variations between these two scaling options. In doing so, we’ll look at their architectures, consensus mechanisms, information availability, and so forth. We’ll additionally discover some distinguished use circumstances for Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM, respectively. Lastly, to high issues off, we’ll introduce you to Moralis’ Web3 API suite – the final word software for constructing Polygon-compatible dapps!
In Moralis’ suite of industry-leading APIs, you’ll discover instruments equivalent to our free NFT API, the perfect API for crypto costs, and lots of others. With these APIs, you possibly can effortlessly leverage the scalability capabilities of the Polygon ecosystem and construct dapps sooner and smarter.

If that is your ambition, then enroll with Moralis instantly. You’ll be able to create an account at no cost, and also you’ll achieve fast entry to all our industry-leading instruments in a heartbeat!
However, with out additional delay, let’s kick issues off by exploring the ins and outs of Polygon PoS!
What’s Polygon PoS?
Polygon proof-of-stake (PoS) initially launched as Matic Community in 2017, and it’s a layer-2 (L2) scaling resolution for the Ethereum blockchain. Moreover, this community leverages a PoS consensus mechanism and a “Plasma” framework to create a sidechain working parallel to the Ethereum mainnet. In doing so, Polygon PoS can tackle the scalability problems with the Ethereum community, reducing transaction charges and rising throughput considerably!

Polygon PoS is among the most well-established protocols throughout the Web3 house. The community hosts 1000’s and 1000’s of decentralized purposes (dapps), processes a median of greater than three million every day transactions, and {industry} leaders are constructing on the chain.
So, what are a few of the key advantages of constructing on Polygon PoS?
Low Value: Polygon PoS is ready to provide a lot decrease transaction charges in comparison with the Ethereum mainnet, with the common price per transaction being roughly $0.015.Group Assist: The community contains a extremely lively and engaged group of builders. What’s extra, Polygon PoS gives 24/7 improvement help. EVM Appropriate: Polygon PoS is EVM-compatible, that means you possibly can effortlessly deploy dapps from Ethereum to the community and leverage developer instruments you’re accustomed to when constructing tasks, together with MetaMask, Truffle, and so forth. Properly-Established: Polygon PoS is trusted by a few of the most important manufacturers in Web2 and Web3. Furthermore, with an already-established consumer base, onboarding new customers to your tasks is straightforward.
What’s Polygon zkEVM?
Polygon zkEVM is – very similar to Polygon PoS – additionally a decentralized Ethereum L2 scaling resolution. This L2 scaling resolution leverages cryptographic zero-knowledge (zk) proofs to supply validity and quick finality to off-chain transaction computations – a technique often known as zk-rollup!

Zk-rollups can execute good contracts transparently by publishing zero-knowledge validity proofs, all whereas sustaining opcode compatibility with EVM. Because of this, Polygon zkEVM is totally equal to EVM, that means that the overwhelming majority of current Ethereum instruments, good contracts, and wallets work seamlessly with the community.
Listed below are a few of the primary advantages of Polygon zkEVM:
Low Value: Polygon zkEVM leverages zero-knowledge proofs to attenuate transaction prices. This ends in decrease whole utilization prices for the tip customers, offering a extra compelling consumer expertise. Excessive Efficiency: Polygon zkEVM options quick community finality by way of frequent validity proofs. Furthermore, with excessive efficiency, you possibly can create many several types of dapps for quite a lot of use circumstances. EVM Equivalence: With full EVM equivalence, you should use any EVM good contracts, wallets, and improvement instruments instantly on Polygon zkEVM. Because of this, most current Ethereum dapps work seamlessly on the community. Safety: Expertise the safety of Ethereum along with the scalability capabilities of an L2 resolution when working with Polygon zkEVM.
Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM
Now, with an outline of each Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM, let’s discover some key variations between these two L2 options. In doing so, we’ll evaluate their respective consensus mechanisms, architectures, safety, information availability, and extra.
For a fast overview, right here’s a desk summarizing the important thing similarities and variations between Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM:
However, with out additional ado, let’s begin our Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM comparability by intently inspecting their respective structure!
Structure
Polygon PoS makes use of a Plasma framework and capabilities as a PoS sidechain working parallel to the Ethereum blockchain. Consequently, it supplies a separate community that will increase bandwidth for transactions, reducing charges and rising throughput in comparison with Ethereum.

Polygon zkEVM leverages a zk-rollup structure that makes use of zero-knowledge proofs to supply an L2 resolution working on high of the Ethereum community. The zk-rollup know-how permits advanced computations to happen off-chain whereas cryptographic proofs are generated and submitted on-chain.
Consensus Mechanism
Polygon PoS makes use of a PoS consensus mechanism and depends on a set of validators to verify and validate transactions on the sidechain. Additionally, the community options round 100 validators who have to stake MATIC tokens to develop into eligible to take part. What’s extra, block producers are chosen based mostly on the dimensions of their staked quantity.
Polygon zkEVM, however, leverages a consensus contract supporting the permissionless participation of a number of coordinators – together with sequencers and aggregators – to provide and validate off-chain transactions in batches which can be later submitted on-chain. Furthermore, staking or particular roles usually are not required to take part on this system.
Good Contract Compatibility
Polygon PoS gives EVM compatibility, that means you possibly can deploy and execute Ethereum good contracts on the sidechain. Nonetheless, it’s price noting that EVM compatibility additionally implies that there could also be some slight variations within the execution surroundings between the sidechain and the Ethereum mainnet. Consequently, on events when coping with low-level code or advanced dapps, you may have to make sure alterations to your good contracts when porting them from Ethereum to Polygon PoS.

Alternatively, Polygon zkEVM focuses on reaching EVM equivalence, which means a good larger degree of compatibility with the Ethereum community. Because of this, Polygon zkEVM lets you deploy and run current Ethereum good contracts on the community seamlessly with none modifications.
All in all, the crucial distinction is that Polygon zkEVM goals to duplicate the Ethereum execution surroundings totally, whereas Polygon PoS focuses on providing compatibility with Ethereum good contracts. As such, Polygon zkEVM lets you keep the identical workflow on the L2 resolution as you’d on the Ethereum mainnet.
Safety
Polygon PoS extremely is dependent upon its validators to safe the sidechain, and it operates independently from the Ethereum mainnet. Alternatively, Polygon zkEVM is secured by Ethereum as validity proofs are revealed on-chain, guaranteeing that each one off-chain computations are right and safe.
Knowledge Availability
On Polygon PoS, the state and all transaction information can be found instantly on the sidechain. This permits for quick information retrieval and cross-referencing; nevertheless, it comes at a price of additional storage.
Polygon zkEVM contains a hybrid resolution providing two choices for information availability:
Validium: Knowledge is saved off-chain, the place solely proofs are saved on the Ethereum mainnet. This methodology gives improved storage effectivity.Volition: This can be a hybrid choice the place essential information can optionally be saved on-chain whereas the remaining stays off-chain. This supplies a steadiness between storage effectivity and quick entry.
Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM Use Instances
Each Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM have their very own set of advantages and benefits. And since they’ve totally different capabilities, they’re considerably suited to totally different use circumstances. So, let’s take this part to have a look at some distinguished use circumstances for Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM, respectively!

Polygon PoS options excessive throughput and intensely low charges. Consequently, this makes Polygon PoS the proper surroundings for dapps required to deal with excessive transaction volumes. Some examples embrace Web3 video games, social media dapps, buying and selling platforms, and so forth.
Polygon zkEVM options excessive safety, which the L2 resolution leverages from the Ethereum mainnet. This makes this community excellent to be used circumstances like yield farming, high-value DeFi purposes, and so forth., the place safety is prioritized over low transaction charges.
With that mentioned, regardless of some slight variations between them, each Polygon PoS and Polygon zkEVM nonetheless provide low charges and excessive safety. Consequently, nothing stops you from constructing excessive transaction quantity dapps on Polygon zkEVM and safe platforms on Polygon PoS.
So, how do you construct tasks for the Polygon ecosystem?
If you’d like the reply to this question, be a part of us within the subsequent part as we introduce you to Moralis’ Web3 APIs – the final word instruments for constructing Polygon dapps!
Construct Seamlessly on Polygon with Moralis
Moralis is an industry-leading Web3 API supplier, and our enterprise-grade interfaces make Web3 improvement as seamless as Web2. Consequently, when working with Moralis, you possibly can effortlessly construct on Polygon each sooner and smarter!

In our suite of premier APIs, you’ll discover a number of interfaces for numerous use circumstances. Moreover, all of them help all main blockchain networks, together with Polygon, Ethereum, BNB Good Chain, Arbitrum, and so forth. Therefore, it doesn’t matter when you’re trying to construct an NFT market or a Web3 pockets; we’ve received you lined!
To offer you just a few examples, listed below are a few of our most distinguished APIs:
NFT API: Moralis’ NFT API is the {industry}’s premier interface for NFT information. The interface helps greater than three million NFT collections and tokens throughout all main EVM chains, together with Polygon. With single strains of code, you may get all the things from real-time NFT transactions to enriched metadata. Pockets API: The Pockets API is the final word software when you’re trying to construct a Web3 pockets or combine pockets performance into your dapps. Additionally, this software helps 500+ million wallets and boasts an array of options, unparalleled scalability, and excessive flexibility. Streams API: Moralis’ Streams API is the final word software for mechanically getting notified about real-time Web3 occasions. With this premier interface, you possibly can effortlessly arrange streams to get real-time, customizable updates despatched instantly to your challenge’s backend through Web3 webhooks each time one thing necessary happens on-chain.
Nonetheless, the APIs above are only some examples of distinguished Moralis interfaces. If you wish to discover all of them, try our Web3 API web page!
Additionally, do you know you possibly can entry all of our APIs at no cost? Merely enroll with Moralis, and also you’ll have the ability to leverage the complete energy of blockchain know-how in a heartbeat!
Abstract: Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM
In at the moment’s article, we in contrast Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM to spotlight the similarities and variations between the 2. In doing so, we examined their architectures, consensus mechanisms, information availability, and so forth. You’ll discover a temporary abstract of the comparability within the desk beneath:
In case you favored this Polygon PoS vs Polygon zkEVM tutorial, contemplate studying extra content material right here on Moralis. As an illustration, try our crypto pockets historical past API information, discover ways to construct a real-time pockets tracker, or discover the highest block explorer API! Additionally, if you wish to construct Polygon tasks your self, don’t neglect to enroll with Moralis. You’ll be able to register solely at no cost, and also you’ll achieve fast entry to all our industry-leading APIs!