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Head-to-head · L2 Blockchains

OP Mainnet vs Arbitrum Nova OP Mainnet leads by 7 points.

OP Mainnet scores 7 points above Arbitrum Nova, led by proof system, track record, and rollup stage. OP Mainnet ranks #2 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.

OP Mainnet80
Arbitrum Nova73
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #2 and #6 of 15
Methodology v2026.10.18Ranking snapshot Evidence verified through 8 published criteria5 score dimensions Receipt #cc-VS-OP-MAINNET-VS-ARBITRUM-NOVA-ca442d58
Published verdictRanking snapshot 3 November 2026

OP Mainnet leads by 7 points

OP Mainnet scores 7 points above Arbitrum Nova, led by proof system, track record, and rollup stage.

OP Mainnet #2 of 1580
Arbitrum 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 termOP Mainnet leads on 3 of 8 published criteria; Arbitrum Nova on 1. The terms sum to the gap.
TermOP MainnetArbitrum NovaWeightPoints
Proof system10/106/104.3+4.5for OP Mainnet+2.3 of 32
Exit window0/102/102.4−1.2for Arbitrum Nova−0.6 of 32
Track record10/108/102.4+1.2for OP Mainnet+0.6 of 32
Rollup stage7/103/101.9+2.0for OP Mainnet+1.0 of 32
Net of the terms+6.5
Reproduced gap+6.5
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below8073+7.0

Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.

Quick facts

At a glance

2 of 3 rows read the same for both.
FactOP MainnetArbitrum 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?

OP Mainnet

80#2 of 15
Leads
Pick it when
Pick OP Mainnet if proof system matters most — it scores 10/10 to Arbitrum Nova's 6/10 there (weight 18).
Strength
EVM equivalence — 10/10
Tradeoff
Optimistic challenge/withdrawal window applies to native withdrawals

Arbitrum Nova

73#6 of 15
Pick it when
Pick Arbitrum Nova if exit window matters most — it scores 2/10 to OP Mainnet's 0/10 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?

OP MainnetLeads

Choose OP Mainnet if proof system matters most

  • Proof system: 10/10 against 6/10 for Arbitrum Nova (weight 18)
  • Track record: 10/10 against 8/10 for Arbitrum Nova (weight 10)
  • Rollup stage: 7/10 against 3/10 for Arbitrum Nova (weight 8)
Arbitrum Nova

Choose Arbitrum Nova if exit window matters most

  • Exit window: 2/10 against 0/10 for OP Mainnet (weight 10)
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
OP Mainnet10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10 out of 10

Track record

by 2 of 10weight 2.4 of 86OP Mainnet leads
OP Mainnet10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova8 out of 10

Data on Ethereum

weight 3.4 of 86Tie
OP Mainnet10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10 out of 10

Rollup stage

by 4 of 10weight 1.9 of 86OP Mainnet leads
OP Mainnet7 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova3 out of 10

Proof system

by 4 of 10weight 4.3 of 86OP Mainnet leads
OP Mainnet10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova6 out of 10

Exit window

by 2 of 10weight 2.4 of 86Arbitrum Nova leads
OP Mainnet0 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova2 out of 10

Forced withdrawals

weight 4.3 of 86Tie
OP Mainnet10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10 out of 10

Censorship resistance

weight 2.9 of 86Tie
OP Mainnet10 out of 10
Arbitrum Nova10 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
OP Mainnet14/20Arbitrum Nova14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
OP Mainnet21/30Arbitrum Nova18.5/30
OP Mainnet leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
OP Mainnet2.7/10Arbitrum Nova2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
OP Mainnet3.2/8Arbitrum Nova3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
OP Mainnet5.5/18Arbitrum Nova5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order

Choose OP Mainnet unless the term Arbitrum Nova leads on is the one you are buying.

Pick Arbitrum Nova if exit window matters most — it scores 2/10 to OP Mainnet's 0/10 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% (OP Mainnet 0/10, Arbitrum Nova 2/10)
  • Verification failure: an invalid state or transfer is accepted.
    Scored by Ethereum data availability · 14% (OP Mainnet 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 10/10)
    Scored by Proof system · 18% (OP Mainnet 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 6/10)
  • Liveness failure: the operator stops, censors you or loses data.
    Scored by Withdrawals if the operator stops · 18% (OP Mainnet 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 10/10)
    Scored by Transactions if the sequencer censors you · 12% (OP Mainnet 10/10, Arbitrum Nova 10/10)
Not assessed by this ranking: Contract failure, Execution failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means.
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

OP Mainnet scores 7 points above Arbitrum Nova, led by proof system, track record, and rollup stage. Published scores, out of 100: OP Mainnet 80 (rank 2 of 15 l2 blockchains), Arbitrum Nova 73 (rank 6 of 15).

Related pages

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Written and reviewed by Founder
Reviewed Next review by Methodology v2026.10.18
How this page is reviewed

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.

Accountable for this review: Mathias Siemonsmeier, Founder.

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