I see this comparison come up a lot, so I want to break it down in plain terms and put @arbitrum where it belongs, front and centre.

#Ethereum Layer 1 processes around 14 transactions per second. When demand spikes, queues grow. Fees rise. You feel the slowdown fast. I’ve felt it myself during busy periods.

Arbitrum works differently. Transactions batch off chain using optimistic rollups, then settle back to Ethereum.

Throughput reaches into the thousands of transactions per second, with a theoretical ceiling near 40,000. That gap changes the day to day experience.

Here’s how the contrast looks in practice.

- Transaction speed
Ethereum Layer 1 stays near 14 TPS.
Arbitrum processes thousands of TPS through batching.

- Fees
Ethereum fees spike during congestion.
Arbitrum fees stay lower on average.

- Mechanism
Ethereum runs Proof of Stake on mainnet.
Arbitrum uses optimistic rollups for execution.

TPS means transactions per second. Higher TPS means more room for users and apps.

When Ethereum gets crowded, waiting times stretch. Arbitrum routes around much of that congestion while keeping Ethereum as the settlement layer.

If you care about speed, cost, and consistency, Arbitrum stands out. Try it for your next transaction and see how it feels.