A head-to-head comparison of Stargate Finance and Across Protocol — pricing, the features that actually differ, and which one fits which use case.
Unified liquidity bridge for native asset transfers across 15+ chains, powered by LayerZero
Intent-based cross-chain bridge with the fastest settlement and lowest fees on EVM routes
These are the 5 capabilities where the two tools genuinely diverge — the rest of their feature sets overlap.
| Capability | Stargate Finance | Across Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement Time | Instant (taxi) or 2–10 min (bus) | ~2 minutes |
| Bridge Model | Unified liquidity pools (LayerZero) | Intent-based (relayer network) |
| Fee Model | Transfer fee + gas | Dynamic LP fee only |
| Canonical Security | No | Yes |
| Arbitrary Messaging | Yes | No |
| Feature | Stargate Finance | Across Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Settlement Time | Instant (taxi) or 2–10 min (bus) | ~2 minutes |
| Bridge Model | Unified liquidity pools (LayerZero) | Intent-based (relayer network) |
| Fee Model | Transfer fee + gas | Dynamic LP fee only |
| Canonical Security | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cross Chain Messages | ✓ | ✓ |
| Governance Token | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi Chain | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self Custody | ✓ | ✓ |
| Arbitrary Messaging | ✓ | ✗ |
| Non Evm Support | ✗ | ✗ |
Both tools are free to use — costs come from network or usage fees.
Stargate Finance
Free
Across Protocol
Free
Watch out: LayerZero oracle/relayer trust assumptions — not canonical bridge security.
Watch out: EVM-only — no Solana, Bitcoin, or non-EVM chain support.
Across Protocol edges ahead on our editorial score (4.6/5), but these tools aren’t straight substitutes. Pick Stargate Finance when native asset delivery on destination — no wrapped token fragmentation matters most to your workflow; pick Across Protocol when fastest evm bridge — ~2 minutes vs hours for canonical bridges is the priority. The deciding factor is usually the trade-off you can least afford — Stargate Finance means accepting that layerzero oracle/relayer trust assumptions — not canonical bridge security, while Across Protocol means evm-only — no solana, bitcoin, or non-evm chain support.
Across Protocol carries the higher editorial rating (4.6/5 vs 4.3/5), but they solve different problems. Stargate Finance is the stronger pick when you need native asset delivery on destination — no wrapped token fragmentation. Across Protocol wins when fastest evm bridge — ~2 minutes vs hours for canonical bridges.
Both tools are free to use, with costs coming from network or usage fees rather than subscriptions.
Stargate Finance's main limitation is that layerzero oracle/relayer trust assumptions — not canonical bridge security. For Across Protocol, evm-only — no solana, bitcoin, or non-evm chain support. Weigh these against how you actually plan to use the tool.
In most cases yes — many teams run both, using each where it's strongest. Since Stargate Finance leads on native asset delivery on destination — no wrapped token fragmentation and Across Protocol on fastest evm bridge — ~2 minutes vs hours for canonical bridges, the two are often complementary rather than mutually exclusive.