TL;DR
Staking is the process of delegating your SOL to a validator to help secure the Solana network, earning rewards (currently ~7-8% APY) in return.
Solana uses Proof of Stake, where validators secure the network by staking SOL. As a SOL holder, you can delegate your tokens to a validator without giving up custody — your SOL stays in your wallet’s stake account. The validator includes your stake in their total, increasing their voting power, and shares the staking rewards with you (minus their commission, typically 5-10%).
Native staking locks your SOL with a chosen validator. You earn rewards directly but can’t use the SOL until you unstake (2-3 epoch cooldown, about 4-6 days). Liquid staking gives you a tradeable LST that earns rewards while remaining usable. Most users prefer liquid staking for flexibility, but native staking gives you direct control over validator choice and avoids smart contract risk.
Look at commission rate (lower means you keep more rewards), uptime (high uptime means consistent rewards), total stake (avoid over-concentrated validators to support decentralization), and whether they run Jito-Solana (for additional MEV rewards). You can change validators at any time by deactivating your stake account and re-delegating.