Save (fka Solend) vs Sphere
Last updated: April 3, 2026
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|---|---|---|
| Rating | (0) | (0) |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| Health | Healthy | Healthy |
| Chain | solana only | solana only |
| Open Source | ||
| Features | 8 features | 8 features |
| Upvotes | ▲ 0 | ▲ 1 |
| Twitter Followers | 84,221 | 26,978 |
| Categories | DeFi & Yield | Payment Tools |
| Description | Decentralized lending and borrowing protocol — formerly Solend | Next-generation payments infrastructure for the internet |
Pros & Cons
Save (fka Solend)
- One of the longest-running Solana lending protocols — battle-tested through multiple market cycles
- Wide asset support including liquid staking tokens enables diverse lending strategies
- Strong risk management track record — survived major market crashes without protocol insolvency
- Deep liquidity in main pools ensures competitive rates for both depositors and borrowers
- Fully decentralized governance through SAVE token and DAO
- Controversial governance incident in 2022 (attempted whale account takeover) damaged trust
- Rebrand from Solend to Save created some confusion and fragmented brand recognition
- Interest rates can spike dramatically during high-utilization periods making borrowing expensive
- Competition from newer protocols like Marginfi and Kamino has reduced market share
Sphere
- Developer-first API design enables deep integration into any application
Save (fka Solend) vs Sphere: Which Should You Choose?
Overview
Save (fka Solend) Save, formerly known as Solend, is one of the original and largest decentralized lending and borrowing protocols on Solana. Rebranded from Solend in late 2024, Save allows users to deposit crypto asse... Sphere Sphere is a next-generation crypto payments infrastructure platform built on Solana, providing APIs and tools for businesses to accept and process cryptocurrency payments at scale. It targets enterpri...
Community Ratings
Both Save (fka Solend) and Sphere 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
Save (fka Solend) uses a free model — Free to use. Interest rates are algorithmically determined by supply and demand. Small protocol fee on interest earned by depositors., while Sphere is freemium — Free to start. Transaction-based pricing. Enterprise plans available.. Save (fka Solend) has the edge for users who want a no-cost solution, though Sphere's paid features may justify the investment for power users.
Key Features
Save (fka Solend) offers 8 features including Algorithmic lending and borrowing with dynamic interest rates based on utilization, Multi-pool architecture — main pool for blue-chips, isolated pools for newer assets, Real-time oracle pricing with dynamic liquidation thresholds for risk management, and 5 more. Sphere counters with 8 features including Comprehensive REST APIs for programmatic payment processing, Hosted checkout pages for no-code payment acceptance, Subscription and recurring billing management, and 5 more. The right choice depends on which specific features matter for your use case — check the individual review pages for full breakdowns.
Reliability & Health
We monitor both tools around the clock for uptime, SSL validity, and response times. Save (fka Solend) currently has a healthy health status with 100.0% uptime over the last 30 days. Sphere is rated healthy with 100.0% uptime. For tools you rely on daily — especially trading bots or wallets — uptime and speed are non-negotiable.
Strengths
Save (fka Solend)'s key strengths include one of the longest-running solana lending protocols — battle-tested through multiple market cycles, wide asset support including liquid staking tokens enables diverse lending strategies, strong risk management track record — survived major market crashes without protocol insolvency. Sphere stands out for developer-first api design enables deep integration into any application, compliance features make it suitable for regulated business use cases, automatic stablecoin conversion protects merchants from crypto volatility.