Anchor vs Solana Web3.js
Last updated: April 7, 2026
 | S | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | (0) | (0) |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Health | Healthy | Unknown |
| Chain | solana only | solana only |
| Open Source | ||
| Features | 8 features | 0 features |
| Upvotes | ▲ 0 | ▲ 0 |
| Twitter Followers | 8,012 | 20,649 |
| Categories | Developer Tools, SDKs & Libraries | SDKs & Libraries |
| Description | The standard framework for building Solana programs | Official JavaScript SDK for building Solana applications |
Pros & Cons
Anchor
- Industry standard — used by the vast majority of Solana programs
- Dramatically reduces Solana development complexity and boilerplate
- Strong security defaults catch common vulnerabilities automatically
- Excellent TypeScript SDK generation enables rapid frontend development
- Large community with extensive tutorials, examples, and documentation
- Abstraction adds overhead — programs are slightly larger than hand-written native code
- Framework updates can require code migration for existing programs
- Learning curve for Rust and Solana's account model still exists
- Debug tooling could be more robust for complex multi-program interactions
Solana Web3.js
No pros/cons data yet.
Anchor vs Solana Web3.js: Which Should You Choose?
Overview
Anchor Anchor is the standard development framework for building Solana programs (smart contracts), used by the vast majority of Solana developers. Created by Armani Ferrante, Anchor provides a Rust-based fr... Solana Web3.js Solana Web3.js (evolving into Solana Kit under Anza) is the official JavaScript/TypeScript SDK for interacting with the Solana blockchain. V2 is fully tree-shakable and up to 10x faster for cryptograp...
Community Ratings
Both Anchor and Solana Web3.js hold similar community ratings, suggesting users find comparable value in each. Your choice should come down to specific features, pricing, and ecosystem fit rather than overall score.
Pricing & Value
Anchor uses a free model — Free and open source., while Solana Web3.js is free. Both tools are free, so cost isn't a deciding factor — focus on features and reliability instead.
Key Features
Anchor offers 8 features including Declarative Rust macros for simplified Solana program development, Automatic account serialization and deserialization, Built-in account constraint validation and security checks, and 5 more. Solana Web3.js does not have detailed feature data yet.
Reliability & Health
We monitor both tools around the clock for uptime, SSL validity, and response times. Anchor currently has a healthy health status with 100.0% uptime over the last 30 days. Solana Web3.js is rated unknown. For tools you rely on daily — especially trading bots or wallets — uptime and speed are non-negotiable.
Strengths
Anchor's key strengths include industry standard — used by the vast majority of solana programs, dramatically reduces solana development complexity and boilerplate, strong security defaults catch common vulnerabilities automatically.
The Verdict
Both Anchor and Solana Web3.js operate in the sdks & libraries space, so this is a direct head-to-head. Neither has a clear community advantage, so your decision should be feature-driven. We recommend trying both — Anchor is free to start and Solana Web3.js is free to start. Read user reviews on each tool's page for real-world feedback from the Solana community.