Monero makes privacy the default, Zcash lets users choose between transparent and shielded transactions, and BEAM documents private-by-default transactions with some transaction-specific disclosures. Those design differences are documented; a comparable performance benchmark or sufficient evidence for ranking all three on auditability is not. The practical comparison is therefore about what each system conceals, what it reveals, and what its documentation does—and does not—establish.
How the three privacy models differ
| Network | Documented confidentiality model | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Monero | Ring signatures obscure the spender among decoys; stealth addresses conceal recipient addresses; RingCT conceals transaction amounts. | The Monero Project characterizes sender privacy as probabilistic or plausible deniability, while describing recipient and amount privacy as strong. Its technical specification, accessed in 2026, reports a 16-member ring containing 15 decoys; that is an obfuscation set, not a guarantee that a sender cannot be identified in every circumstance. |
| Zcash | Transparent transactions make public transaction details visible; shielded transactions protect address and value information. | Privacy depends on the transaction mode and path. Moving between transparent and shielded modes, or other user behavior, can create linkability. |
| BEAM | BEAM documentation describes transactions as private by default, using Mimblewimble and Lelantus; it also describes Dandelion++ routing. | Transaction type and wallet metadata matter. With a public offline address, the sender may learn when funds are spent, though not the later recipient or amount. Wallet history and metadata are stored locally. |
“Confidentiality” is not a single property. Concealing the sender, recipient, amount, transaction graph, or network metadata involves different mechanisms. A protocol’s on-chain privacy claims do not, by themselves, settle what a remote node, network observer, wallet, backup, or user disclosure might reveal.
What users can choose—and where information can leak
Monero
Monero’s documented transaction mechanisms apply by default, rather than requiring the user to select a shielded transaction mode. That does not automatically hide network-level information: the Monero documentation treats remote-node use and transaction propagation as separate privacy concerns.
Zcash
Zcash has transparent and shielded address modes, so users’ choices affect what is publicly visible. The project documentation recommends holding funds in shielded addresses and avoiding disclosure of transaction identifiers and counterparty information. A shielded transaction does not mean that every observer can see its contents: the documentation describes selective disclosure controlled by participants.
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BEAM
BEAM’s documentation distinguishes transaction types and describes local storage of wallet transaction history and metadata. The offline-address caveat is specific: the sender may learn when funds sent to a public offline address have been spent, but the documentation says this does not reveal the later recipient or amount. The reviewed BEAM documentation has inconsistent version references, so wallet features and current release support should be checked against the version in use.
What the evidence says about scalability
The official documentation reviewed does not support a head-to-head ranking of Monero, Zcash, and BEAM for transaction throughput, fees, storage growth, or performance under load. A design feature or roadmap intention is not a measured result, and a fair performance comparison would need the software versions, hardware, workload, date, and network conditions for each test.
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| Network | Documented scaling-related point | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Monero | Monero documentation describes a flexible block size that can respond to transaction demand. | It does not provide a directly comparable throughput, fee, or storage-growth result for this comparison. |
| Zcash | NU5 documentation describes Orchard as a shielded pool intended to support future scalability improvements. | This is a design statement, not a benchmark demonstrating comparative performance. |
| BEAM | The reviewed documentation describes protocol components and product features. | It does not provide directly comparable throughput, fee, or storage-growth measurements. |
Accordingly, these sources are useful for comparing design choices, not for concluding which network is fastest, cheapest, or most scalable in practice.
What “auditability” can—and cannot—mean here
Auditability needs to be separated into at least three questions: can the system validate that transactions follow protocol rules; can an observer verify monetary supply integrity; and can a participant authorize disclosure of particular information? Evidence about one does not automatically answer the others.
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- Proven security at scale: Over 9 years and millions of cards issued with no known remote hacks, while military‑grade EAL6+ security keeps your private keys locked inside the chip. Your cryptocurrencies stay strongly protected from online attackers.
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- Authorized disclosure: Zcash documentation explicitly describes participant-controlled selective disclosure. That gives a participant a way to share information; it does not make shielded transaction contents publicly visible to everyone.
- Supply information: Zcash documentation states a fixed total supply parameter of 21 million ZEC. The parameter alone does not establish what an outside auditor can verify about shielded activity or settle a broader comparison of supply-audit guarantees.
- Comparative verification: The Monero sources reviewed describe concealment mechanisms but do not establish a complete independent supply-audit comparison. The reviewed BEAM source likewise does not provide enough detail to rank independent auditability or supply-verification guarantees against the other systems.
The available documentation is therefore insufficient to declare one of the three more auditable overall. Privacy design, supply parameters, transaction validity, and participant disclosure are related but distinct considerations.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose based on the tradeoff that matters
- Consider Monero if you want transaction privacy built into the documented default model and understand that sender concealment is probabilistic and network metadata is a separate issue.
- Consider Zcash if having both transparent and shielded transaction modes, including participant-controlled selective disclosure, is important to you—and you are prepared to use shielded flows carefully to reduce linkability.
- Consider BEAM if its documented private-by-default model fits your needs and you are comfortable accounting for transaction-type differences and local wallet metadata.
These distinctions do not establish a winner for speed, fees, storage use, or independent auditability. The documentation reviewed supports comparing the privacy models and their stated caveats, not making those broader rankings.
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