Starknet vs Polygon zkEVM Starknet leads by 22 points.
Starknet scores 22 points above Polygon zkEVM, which no longer operates (since 2026-07-01) and scores zero on the criteria block. Starknet ranks #8 and Polygon zkEVM #15 of 15 published L2 blockchains. Every term of the gap is on the ledger below; the inputs are on the audit receipt.
Starknet63
vs
Polygon zkEVM41
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #8 and #15 of 15
Starknet scores 22 points above Polygon zkEVM, which no longer operates (since 2026-07-01) and scores zero on the criteria block.
Starknet #8 of 1563
Polygon zkEVM #15 of 1541
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termStarknet leads on 7 of 8 published criteria; Polygon zkEVM on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermStarknetPolygon zkEVMWeightPoints
Proof system10/100/104.3+11.2for Starknet+5.8 of 32
Forced withdrawals5/100/104.3+5.6for Starknet+2.9 of 32
Data on Ethereum9/100/103.4+7.9for Starknet+4.0 of 32
Censorship resistance5/100/102.9+3.7for Starknet+1.9 of 32
Track record8/100/102.4+5.0for Starknet+2.6 of 32
Exit window2/100/102.4+1.2for Starknet+0.6 of 32
Rollup stage7/100/101.9+3.5for Starknet+1.8 of 32
No longer operatingEligibilityoperatingsunset 2026-07-01—0.0
Net of the terms+38.2
Reproduced gap+38.2
Published gapAfter score rounding and bounds — see the note below6341+22.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
Polygon zkEVM no longer operates (since 2026-07-01) and is kept for reference: the engine zeroes its criteria block, whatever its cells say.
A floor bound on one row means the criterion arithmetic does not reproduce the displayed gap exactly.
StarknetScore 63ZK rollup on the Cairo VM (non-EVM), with STARK validity proofsStrength: Proof system — 10/10Watch-out: Non-EVM (Cairo) — existing Solidity contracts do not run unchangedPolygon zkEVMScore 41SUNSET — sequencer stopped 1 July 2026; claim your funds before 31 December 2027Strength: Nothing — this chain is sunset and cannot be built onWatch-out: DO NOT DEPLOY OR BRIDGE HERE. The sequencer was sunset on 1 July 2026 and the network stopped producing blocks; withdrawals can no longer be processed through the bridge.
Quick facts
At a glance
2 of 3 rows read the same for both.
FactStarknetPolygon zkEVM
Asset coverageEditorial——
Region fitSnapshotus, europe, globalus, europe, global
Security postureSnapshotZK rollup; data availability: Ethereum L1 (blobs).No proof system; data availability: External (L2BEAT, read 13 September 2026 and 2026-10-21: custom DA, state validation none); Ethereum L1 before the sunset.
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
Starknet
63#8 of 15
Leads
Pick it when
Pick Starknet if proof system matters most — it scores 10/10 to Polygon zkEVM's 0/10 there (weight 18).
Strength
Proof system — 10/10
Tradeoff
Non-EVM (Cairo) — existing Solidity contracts do not run unchanged
Polygon zkEVM
41#15 of 15
Pick it when
Polygon zkEVM leads Starknet on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Strength
Nothing — this chain is sunset and cannot be built on
Tradeoff
DO NOT DEPLOY OR BRIDGE HERE. The sequencer was sunset on 1 July 2026 and the network stopped producing blocks; withdrawals can no longer be processed through the bridge.
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
StarknetLeads
Choose Starknet if proof system matters most
Proof system: 10/10 against 0/10 for Polygon zkEVM (weight 18)
Forced withdrawals: 5/10 against 0/10 for Polygon zkEVM (weight 18)
Data on Ethereum: 9/10 against 0/10 for Polygon zkEVM (weight 14)
StarknetScore 63ZK rollup on the Cairo VM (non-EVM), with STARK validity proofsStrength: Proof system — 10/10Watch-out: Non-EVM (Cairo) — existing Solidity contracts do not run unchanged
Polygon zkEVM
Polygon zkEVM leads Starknet on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
Polygon zkEVMScore 41SUNSET — sequencer stopped 1 July 2026; claim your funds before 31 December 2027Strength: Nothing — this chain is sunset and cannot be built onWatch-out: DO NOT DEPLOY OR BRIDGE HERE. The sequencer was sunset on 1 July 2026 and the network stopped producing blocks; withdrawals can no longer be processed through the bridge.
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
Starknet0/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 out of 10
Track record
by 8 of 10weight 2.4 of 86Starknet leads
Starknet8/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 out of 10
Data on Ethereum
by 9 of 10weight 3.4 of 86Starknet leads
Starknet9/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 out of 10
Rollup stage
by 7 of 10weight 1.9 of 86Starknet leads
Starknet7/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 out of 10
Proof system
by 10 of 10weight 4.3 of 86Starknet leads
Starknet10/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 out of 10
Exit window
by 2 of 10weight 2.4 of 86Starknet leads
Starknet2/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 out of 10
Forced withdrawals
by 5 of 10weight 4.3 of 86Starknet leads
Starknet5/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 out of 10
Censorship resistance
by 5 of 10weight 2.9 of 86Starknet leads
Starknet5/10 out of 10
Polygon zkEVM0/10 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
Starknet14/20Polygon zkEVM14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Starknet14.7/30Polygon zkEVM0/30
Starknet leads
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Starknet2.7/10Polygon zkEVM2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Starknet3.2/8Polygon zkEVM3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Starknet5.5/18Polygon zkEVM5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Choose Starknet unless the term Polygon zkEVM leads on is the one you are buying.
Polygon zkEVM leads Starknet on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
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% (Starknet 2/10, Polygon zkEVM 0/10)
Verification failure: an invalid state or transfer is accepted.
Scored by Ethereum data availability · 14% (Starknet 9/10, Polygon zkEVM 0/10)
Scored by Proof system · 18% (Starknet 10/10, Polygon zkEVM 0/10)
Liveness failure: the operator stops, censors you or loses data.
Scored by Withdrawals if the operator stops · 18% (Starknet 5/10, Polygon zkEVM 0/10)
Scored by Transactions if the sequencer censors you · 12% (Starknet 5/10, Polygon zkEVM 0/10)
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
Starknet scores 22 points above Polygon zkEVM, which no longer operates (since 2026-07-01) and scores zero on the criteria block. Published scores, out of 100: Starknet 63 (rank 8 of 15 l2 blockchains), Polygon zkEVM 41 (rank 15 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.
Answer a few quick questions and get one clear recommendation based on how you actually plan to use crypto — with rationale, tradeoffs, and a path to monitor the decision.
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