category.mev_protection.label

category.mev_protection.promise

Starting path

A private relay that can protect you can also censor you

MEV Protection evaluated across order-flow privacy (does it actually withhold your transaction?), rebate published and reaching the end user's address, inclusion breadth and what happens when your transaction is dropped, and independence and quality of the protection evidence.

category.mev_protection.promise Reviewed on order-flow privacy (does it actually withhold your transaction?), rebate published and reaching the end user's address, inclusion breadth and what happens when your transaction is dropped, and independence and quality of the protection evidence.

Start with the smart category assistant or jump straight into quick questions. Both paths narrow to the same recommendation standard.

How we review

Recommendation first, comparison only if needed.

Reviewed and rechecked on the current cycle.

Commercial relationships disclosed before clickout.

Audit

Infrastructure

Methodology

2026.04.0

published 2026-04-27

Providers tracked

450+

across 46 categories

Last verified

2026-08-04

editorial freshness

Editorial board

4

audit-log live

Decision guide

What matters most before choosing in this category

The best MEV protection depends on whether you need the transaction genuinely withheld until inclusion, and on where any rebate actually lands. Those two carry 60% of the weight between them, because they are the mechanism and the payout — an endpoint that leaks calldata to builders before inclusion has not protected anything, and a published rebate rate that settles anywhere other than your own address is not a rebate to you. Inclusion breadth and the independence of the protection evidence follow.

Key question

Do you need the transaction genuinely withheld until inclusion, or is a faster public route acceptable?

Key question

Which chain are you swapping on — most protection services are EVM-only, while Jupiter is the default on Solana?

Key question

Would you accept slower inclusion in exchange for a genuinely private route?

Current editor lead

MEV Blocker

Ethereum RPC endpoint running a backrun-only order flow auction

Data checked Aug 2026

Ethereum RPC endpoint running a backrun-only order flow auction. Strongest on rebate published and reaching the end user's address (9/10): 90% of the backrun profit is "paid to the user that sent the transaction (tx.origin), immediately in the same block" (mevblocker.io FAQ). Self-published cumulative totals: "5.5K+ ETH rebated to users", "$26 USD value of median rebate" across "62M+ transactions" and "$219B+ volume protected". Coverage of the January… Weakest on independence and quality of the protection evidence (5/10): Ranked best on every metric by arXiv:2505.19708 — a paper authored by Paul Janicot and Alex Vinyas of CoW DAO Research, i.e. MEV Blocker's own co-creator, not an independent party. Its own documentation also contradicts itself on the same page: "MEV Blocker processes around 10% of daily Ethereum transactions" appears… Published price: Free to users. "MEV Blocker shares transactions with searchers via backrun bundles, returning 90% to the user." Revenue comes from the other side: "Builders must pay MEV Blocker fees to access MEV Blocker transaction flow" and "MEV Blocker shares 50% of…

Best for

Rebate published AND reaching the end user's address — 9/10Order-flow privacy (does it actually withhold your transaction?) — 8/10Inclusion breadth and what happens when your transaction is dropped — 8/10

Main tradeoff

It is no longer a CoW DAO product. Special Mechanisms Group, a Consensys subsidiary, acquired MEV Blocker RPC (announced January 2026) and now operates it — so the same corporate parent controls both MEV Blocker (90% to the user) and MetaMask Smart Transactions (no user rebate documented). Separately, the 90% rebate and maximum privacy are mutually exclusive: /fullprivacy pays "No rebate".

Verify before signup

Free to users. "MEV Blocker shares transactions with searchers via backrun bundles, returning 90% to the user." Revenue comes from the other side: "Builders must pay MEV Blocker fees to access MEV Blocker transaction flow" and "MEV Blocker shares 50% of builder fees with wallet flow originators."

Weighted criteria

Order-flow privacy (does it actually withhold your transaction?)30%

Rebate published AND reaching the end user's address30%

Inclusion breadth and what happens when your transaction is dropped20%

Independence and quality of the protection evidence20%

Leading options

Shared shortlist for this category

These providers are pulled from the same category comparison catalog used in validation, so the category page, comparison page, and provider reviews stay aligned.

Browse this network

Methodology

How this category is reviewed

Reviewed on order-flow privacy (does it actually withhold your transaction?), rebate published and reaching the end user's address, inclusion breadth and what happens when your transaction is dropped, and independence and quality of the protection evidence.

Reviewed on: Order-flow privacy (does it actually withhold your transaction?), Rebate published AND reaching the end user's address, Inclusion breadth and what happens when your transaction is dropped, Independence and quality of the protection evidence.

This page is a maintained category surface, not a static marketing block. Review freshness, provider positioning, and recommendation logic should stay consistent with quiz and provider pages.

Frequently asked

Questions people ask before choosing mev protection

What is the safest MEV protection service?

Protection comes from whether the endpoint actually withholds your transaction. An endpoint that leaks calldata or hints to builders before inclusion has not protected anything, whatever block rate it advertises.

Do rebates actually reach me?

That is exactly what is scored, at 30% of the weight. A published rebate percentage that settles anywhere other than the trader's own address is not a rebate to the trader, so the criterion asks for evidence of arrival rather than an advertised rate.

What happens if my transaction is dropped?

It depends on the builder set behind the endpoint, which is why inclusion breadth and documented drop behaviour are scored together. A private relay that can protect you can also censor you, so the centralisation of that set is treated as a fact about your exposure.

Why are vendor-published protection rates not scored?

Because almost none of them can be independently reconstructed. A protection rate computed and published by the party selling the protection is shown here for context, and what is scored instead is whether the claim rests on data anyone outside the vendor could verify.

REVIEWEDApr 2026METHOD4 criteriaCATEGORYmev_protection

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