Best NEAR Protocol Alternatives ranked by AI · updated Aug 2026

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NEAR Protocol is a proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain for decentralized applications, accounts, and smart contracts. It emphasizes sharding-based scalability, human-readable accounts, and lower-friction application development.

Developer: NEAR Foundation Price: Free to use; transaction fees paid in NEAR 🎯 near.org

Top 6 NEAR Protocol alternatives

6 Zilliqa (ZIL) logo

Zilliqa (ZIL)

Zilliqa Research

Zilliqa is a public layer-1 blockchain for decentralized applications, digital assets, and smart contracts. It uses sharding technology and supports smart-contract development...

Pros

  • Sharding architecture targets higher throughput than many early layer-1 networks
  • Supports Ethereum tooling through EVM compatibility
  • Scilla provides a contract language designed with explicit safety properties

Cons

  • Smaller developer and application ecosystem than Ethereum and Solana
  • Lower liquidity and market adoption than leading layer-1 networks
  • Using both Scilla and Solidity can complicate development choices

Free to use; variable network fees paid in ZIL

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