Lending protocols are the backbone of Solana DeFi. They let you earn yield on idle assets, borrow against your holdings without selling, and build leveraged positions through strategies like LST looping. With billions locked across multiple protocols, choosing the right one matters -- for your returns and for your risk exposure.
This guide breaks down the four major Solana lending protocols in 2026: Kamino Lend, MarginFi, Save (formerly Solend), and Jupiter Lend. We will cover what each does well, where they fall short, and which one fits your specific use case.
Why Lending Matters on Solana
If you are holding SOL, stablecoins, or LSTs without putting them to work, you are leaving yield on the table. Lending protocols give you three core capabilities:
- Earn yield on deposits. Supply USDC, SOL, or other tokens and earn interest from borrowers. Rates fluctuate based on utilization, but stablecoin yields on Solana consistently outperform most traditional savings options.
- Borrow without selling. Need liquidity but do not want to give up your SOL position? Deposit SOL as collateral and borrow stablecoins against it. You keep your upside exposure while accessing capital.
- Capital efficiency through leverage. Advanced users loop deposits and borrows to amplify yield -- for example, depositing JitoSOL, borrowing SOL, staking it for more JitoSOL, and repeating. This is where lending protocols really shine on Solana thanks to low transaction fees.
You can check current rates across all protocols on our lending yields page.
Protocol Overviews
Kamino Lend V2
Kamino started as a liquidity vault protocol and expanded into lending with Kamino Lend, which quickly became the dominant lending platform on Solana. With TVL consistently in the $2-3B range, it is the largest by a significant margin.
The V2 upgrade introduced two features that set it apart. eMode (efficiency mode) lets you borrow correlated assets at much higher loan-to-value ratios -- for example, borrowing SOL against JitoSOL at up to 92% LTV instead of the standard 75%. This makes LST looping strategies far more capital efficient. Isolated markets let Kamino list riskier or newer tokens without exposing the main pool to additional risk.
Kamino also has deep integrations across the Solana ecosystem. Most wallets and aggregators route lending through Kamino by default, and its SDK is well-documented for developers building on top of it.
Kamino is the go-to choice for most Solana lending activity today. For a full walkthrough of its lending, borrowing, and automated vault products, see our Kamino Finance guide.
MarginFi
MarginFi was one of the first protocols to bring serious lending infrastructure to Solana. It gained massive traction during the 2024 points meta, when its points program drove billions in deposits from users farming a potential airdrop.
The protocol takes a risk-tiered approach to collateral. Assets are classified into different risk tiers, and your borrowing power depends on which tier your collateral falls into. Blue-chip assets like SOL and USDC get the best rates and highest LTV, while newer tokens are restricted.
MarginFi had a turbulent period in mid-2024 when internal disputes led to leadership changes and a temporary dip in confidence. The protocol has since stabilized, and its lending markets remain active. However, it has not kept pace with Kamino in terms of TVL or feature development.
Learn more about MarginFi on MadeOnSol.
Save (formerly Solend)
Save holds the distinction of being the oldest lending protocol on Solana, originally launched as Solend in 2021. It survived the FTX collapse, multiple market crashes, and a controversial governance vote that temporarily gave the team control over a whale's position to prevent cascading liquidations.
The rebrand to Save came with a renewed focus on stability and simplicity. It supports a solid range of collateral types and has a long track record of functioning through extreme market conditions. The codebase has been audited multiple times, and the protocol's age means its smart contracts have been battle-tested more than any competitor.
That said, Save's TVL and development velocity have fallen behind the newer protocols. It is a reliable workhorse, but it lacks the advanced features of Kamino or the ecosystem backing of Jupiter Lend.
Check out Save for more details.
Jupiter Lend
When Jupiter launched its lending product in August 2025, it accumulated $1.65 billion in TVL within the first 24 hours. That is not a typo. The Jupiter ecosystem -- including the DEX aggregator, perpetuals platform, and JUP token community -- gave it an enormous built-in user base from day one.
Jupiter Lend benefits from tight integration with the rest of Jupiter's product suite. You can swap, lend, and trade perpetuals from a single interface. The protocol launched with competitive rates, and its supply caps have been gradually increasing as it builds a track record.
The main caveat is that Jupiter Lend is the youngest protocol on this list. It has not been through a full market cycle, and its smart contracts have less real-world testing than the alternatives. That said, Jupiter's team has a strong engineering reputation, and the protocol has been audited by multiple firms.
Jupiter is already one of the most-used tools in all of Solana DeFi.
