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XRP Ledger and Ethereum are distinct blockchain networks with different consensus models, fee systems and smart-contract capabilities. XRPL mainnet documents a standard reference transaction cost of 10 drops before load scaling; Ethereum fees depend on gas used and the changing price of gas. Ethereum mainnet supports general-purpose smart contracts, while XRPL’s smart-contract and EVM examples refer to separate sidechains—not XRPL mainnet.
At a glance: XRP Ledger vs. Ethereum
| Difference | XRP Ledger mainnet | Ethereum mainnet |
|---|---|---|
| Consensus | Participants choose validators they trust. Servers compare proposals and validate ledgers through iterative agreement. XRPL consensus documentation | Proof-of-stake: validators stake ETH and attest to blocks. Gasper combines a fork-choice rule with checkpoint finality. Ethereum proof-of-stake documentation |
| Fee unit and driver | XRP, measured in drops; the standard reference cost can rise with network load, and some transaction types require more. XRPL transaction-cost documentation | Gas measures computation. Fees depend on gas used and the dynamic gas price, including a base fee and potentially a priority fee. Ethereum gas documentation |
| Fee destination | The XRP charged as transaction cost is destroyed. | The base fee is burned; a priority tip may be paid to the validator. |
| Smart contracts | XRPL mainnet has protocol-specific transaction types. Smart-contract and EVM-compatible examples are separate sidechains. | General-purpose smart contracts run on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM); deployment and state-changing interactions require gas. Ethereum smart-contract documentation |
| Confirmation and finality | XRPL documentation describes new ledger versions every several seconds. Applications should rely on validated ledger results, not provisional responses. | Transactions are included in blocks before they reach explicit checkpoint finality. Ethereum.org describes finality as taking about 15 minutes. Ethereum single-slot finality roadmap |
How fees differ
XRP Ledger: a small reference cost that can vary
XRPL documentation lists 10 drops as the standard minimum cost for a reference transaction before load scaling. A drop is a unit of XRP. This is not a guaranteed all-in cost for every transaction or network condition: some transaction types require more, and the network can increase required costs under load. Transaction costs specified in a signed transaction are destroyed when included in a validated ledger, including in certain cases where the transaction fails. See the XRPL transaction-cost rules.
Ethereum: gas-priced computation
Ethereum charges for computational work in gas. A standard ETH transfer has a 21,000-gas reference amount in ethereum.org’s documentation; that is a quantity of gas, not a fixed price in ETH or dollars. Contract interactions generally require more gas than a simple transfer because they perform more computation. The total fee depends on gas used and the price per gas, which includes a base fee and may include a priority tip. The base fee is burned, while the tip may go to the validator. See Ethereum’s gas documentation.
These reference figures cannot establish which network is cheaper for a particular payment: 10 drops and 21,000 gas are unlike units, and neither gives a live dollar cost. A fair comparison would need the same kind of transaction on both networks, plus the relevant fee and load conditions at a stated time.
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Consensus: trusted validators versus proof-of-stake
How XRPL reaches ledger agreement
On XRPL, each participant chooses validators it trusts, represented by a Unique Node List (UNL). Servers compare transaction proposals and validations; a ledger is accepted as validated when a supermajority of chosen peers signs and broadcasts the same validation hash. Until a transaction appears in a validated ledger, it remains a candidate rather than a settled ledger result. XRPL’s consensus documentation describes the model’s trust assumptions, including stated thresholds for faulty or colluding trusted validators. Those are protocol documentation’s assumptions, not independent measurements of security.
How Ethereum proof-of-stake works
Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake in 2022. Validators stake ETH, participate in validating blocks and attest to the chain. Ethereum’s Gasper system combines LMD-GHOST fork choice with Casper-FFG finality: the fork-choice rule helps determine the canonical chain, while checkpoint votes establish finality. Checkpoint finality requires votes representing at least two-thirds of staked ETH. A transaction’s inclusion in a block is therefore not identical to its later finalization. See Ethereum’s proof-of-stake documentation.
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Confirmation cadence is not the same as finality
XRPL consensus documentation says, “The XRP Ledger has a new ledger version every several seconds.” That describes ledger cadence, not a promise that every application should treat a transaction as final on that exact schedule. XRPL advises applications to rely on validated ledger results rather than provisional API responses; see its finality of results guidance.
Ethereum distinguishes block inclusion from checkpoint finality. Ethereum.org currently describes finality as taking about 15 minutes, while noting that protocol changes may alter this. The practical comparison depends on the milestone being discussed: a new ledger version, transaction inclusion, validated result or explicit finality are not interchangeable measures of speed.
Smart contracts: Ethereum mainnet and XRPL sidechains
Ethereum mainnet runs general-purpose contracts
An Ethereum smart contract is a program and associated data deployed at an address on Ethereum. Developers commonly use Solidity or Vyper, compile contracts for the EVM and deploy them to the network. Deployment and state-changing interactions consume gas. Public contracts can call one another, enabling composable applications. The details are in Ethereum’s smart-contract documentation.
XRPL mainnet is not the XRPL EVM Sidechain
XRPL mainnet provides protocol-specific transaction functionality; it is not itself EVM-compatible. XRPL documentation describes smart contracts and EVM compatibility as sidechain use cases. A sidechain is an independent ledger with its own validators, consensus, transaction types and rules, and mainchain and sidechain nodes do not know each other. Accordingly, a claim about “XRPL smart contracts” needs to specify whether it means XRPL mainnet, Xahau or the XRPL EVM Sidechain. XRPL’s sidechain documentation explains the distinction.
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Which network fits which need?
- For a simple transfer: compare the actual transaction type and current network conditions. XRPL’s documented reference cost is not a guaranteed price under load; Ethereum’s gas amount is not its fee in dollars.
- For applications built from general-purpose contracts on mainnet: Ethereum provides the EVM smart-contract environment. XRPL mainnet’s protocol-specific transactions should not be confused with sidechain contract platforms.
- For settlement confidence: identify the event you need to wait for—validated XRPL ledger result or Ethereum checkpoint finality—rather than comparing ledger cadence with finality time.
This comparison concerns XRP Ledger and Ethereum network mechanics, not Ripple the company or the investment merits of XRP or ETH.
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