Base scores 4 points above Arbitrum Nova, led by proof system and rollup stage. Base ranks #3 and Arbitrum Nova #6 of 15 published L2 blockchains. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Base77
vs
ANArbitrum Nova73
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #3 and #6 of 15
Base scores 4 points above Arbitrum Nova, led by proof system and rollup stage.
Base #3 of 1577
ANArbitrum Nova #6 of 1573
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termBase leads on 2 of 8 published criteria; Arbitrum Nova on 2. The terms sum to the gap.
TermBaseArbitrum NovaWeightPoints
Proof system10/106/104.3+4.5for Base+2.3 of 32
Track record6/108/102.4−1.2for Arbitrum Nova−0.6 of 32
Exit window0/102/102.4−1.2for Arbitrum Nova−0.6 of 32
Rollup stage7/103/101.9+2.0for Base+1.0 of 32
Net of the terms+4.0
Criteria roundingThe criteria block is rounded to whole points before it is spread+0.2
Reproduced gap+4.2
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below7773+4.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
BaseScore 77Coinbase-built OP Stack rollup, EVM-equivalent, no native tokenStrength: EVM equivalence — 10/10Watch-out: Younger than the 2021-era rollups, so a shorter production track recordArbitrum NovaScore 73Arbitrum's minimised Nitro chain: maintenance-only, with data on Ethereum since 31 August 2026Strength: EVM equivalence — 10/10Watch-out: Being wound down: the Arbitrum DAO's minimisation proposal moves Nova into "a minimized, maintenance-oriented state with reduced capacity and deprioritized support" and says "steps will be taken to help prevent additional user funds being bridged to Arbitrum Nova" (forum.arbitrum.foundation, posted 15 May 2026)
Quick facts
At a glance
2 of 3 rows read the same for both.
FactBaseArbitrum Nova
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotus, europe, globalus, europe, global
Security postureSnapshotOptimistic rollup; data availability: Ethereum L1 (EIP-4844 blobs).Optimistic rollup; data availability: Ethereum L1 (EIP-4844 blobs) since 31 August 2026; the AnyTrust committee is dormant.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
Base
77#3 of 15
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Base if proof system matters most — it scores 10/10 to Arbitrum Nova's 6/10 there (weight 18).
Strength
EVM equivalence — 10/10
Tradeoff
Younger than the 2021-era rollups, so a shorter production track record
AN
Arbitrum Nova
73#6 of 15
Pick it when
Pick Arbitrum Nova if track record matters most — it scores 8/10 to Base's 6/10 there (weight 10).
Strength
EVM equivalence — 10/10
Tradeoff
Being wound down: the Arbitrum DAO's minimisation proposal moves Nova into "a minimized, maintenance-oriented state with reduced capacity and deprioritized support" and says "steps will be taken to help prevent additional user funds being bridged to Arbitrum Nova" (forum.arbitrum.foundation, posted 15 May 2026)
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
BaseLeads
Choose Base if proof system matters most
Proof system: 10/10 against 6/10 for Arbitrum Nova (weight 18)
Rollup stage: 7/10 against 3/10 for Arbitrum Nova (weight 8)
BaseScore 77Coinbase-built OP Stack rollup, EVM-equivalent, no native tokenStrength: EVM equivalence — 10/10Watch-out: Younger than the 2021-era rollups, so a shorter production track record
ANArbitrum Nova
Choose Arbitrum Nova if track record matters most
Track record: 8/10 against 6/10 for Base (weight 10)
Exit window: 2/10 against 0/10 for Base (weight 10)
Arbitrum NovaScore 73Arbitrum's minimised Nitro chain: maintenance-only, with data on Ethereum since 31 August 2026Strength: EVM equivalence — 10/10Watch-out: Being wound down: the Arbitrum DAO's minimisation proposal moves Nova into "a minimized, maintenance-oriented state with reduced capacity and deprioritized support" and says "steps will be taken to help prevent additional user funds being bridged to Arbitrum Nova" (forum.arbitrum.foundation, posted 15 May 2026)
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 8616 of 16 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
EVM equivalence
weight 2.4 of 86Tie
Base10/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10/10 out of 10
Track record
by 2 of 10weight 2.4 of 86Arbitrum Nova leads
Base6/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova8/10 out of 10
Data on Ethereum
weight 3.4 of 86Tie
Base10/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10/10 out of 10
Rollup stage
by 4 of 10weight 1.9 of 86Base leads
Base7/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova3/10 out of 10
Proof system
by 4 of 10weight 4.3 of 86Base leads
Base10/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova6/10 out of 10
Exit window
by 2 of 10weight 2.4 of 86Arbitrum Nova leads
Base0/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova2/10 out of 10
Forced withdrawals
weight 4.3 of 86Tie
Base10/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10/10 out of 10
Censorship resistance
weight 2.9 of 86Tie
Base10/10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10/10 out of 10
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30. A weight marked “constant here” belongs to a dimension every ranked product in the category holds at the same value: it still counts in the total, and it orders nothing here.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86 · constant here
Base14/20Arbitrum Nova14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Base20.1/30Arbitrum Nova18.5/30
Base leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Base2.7/10Arbitrum Nova2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Base3.2/8Arbitrum Nova3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Base5.5/18Arbitrum Nova5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Base unless the term Arbitrum Nova leads on is the one you are buying.
Pick Arbitrum Nova if track record matters most — it scores 8/10 to Base's 6/10 there (weight 10).
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
Next best action
If this isn't your case
Other matchups worth comparing
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Control failure: a key or vote changes the rules, freezes or mints.
Scored by Exit window before an upgrade · 10% (Base 0/10, Arbitrum Nova 2/10)
Verification failure: an invalid state or transfer is accepted.
Scored by Ethereum data availability · 14% (Base 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 10/10)
Scored by Proof system · 18% (Base 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 6/10)
Liveness failure: the operator stops, censors you or loses data.
Scored by Withdrawals if the operator stops · 18% (Base 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 10/10)
Scored by Transactions if the sequencer censors you · 12% (Base 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 10/10)
Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: EVM equivalence (10%), Maturity & track record (10%), Rollup stage (8%).
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Base scores 4 points above Arbitrum Nova, led by proof system and rollup stage. Published scores, out of 100: Base 77 (rank 3 of 15 l2 blockchains), Arbitrum Nova 73 (rank 6 of 15).
Reviewed means both products compared here was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
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