This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Wano sike
Okay, real talk. For most of us, Ethereum was our first love in Web3 dev. 
It’s the granddaddy, the blueprint, the “this is how we’ve always done it” chain. So when NEAR pops up, we’re not just asking “What’s this?”—we’re asking “How does it even compare?” 
And look, this isn’t about throwing shade at Ethereum. 
It’s about being a dev who actually cares about trade-offs. Ethereum went all-in on security and decentralization (which is why it’s a tank 
), while NEAR? It was built from scratch to balance security with usability and crazy-good scalability. Let’s break it down. 
Scaling: “Coming Soon” 
vs. “It’s Already Here” 
This is where things get real.
Ethereum: The Monolith with a To-Do List
Yeah, we all know Ethereum’s expensive and clogs up fast.
The big fix? Danksharding—someday. 
Until then, if you want scale, you’re stuck juggling L2s. Sure, you get Ethereum’s ironclad security 
, but now you’re dealing with a dozen different rollups, bridges 
, and their weird little quirks. Fun. 
NEAR: Sharding? Done.
NEAR’s Nightshade sharding isn’t some future promise—it’s live. No L2 band-aids, no ecosystem fragmentation. Just one smooth L1 that scales as you grow.
As a dev, that’s huge. No bridge headaches 
, no picking sides—just build and let the network handle the rest.
My take? Ethereum’s L2s are powerful but messy. If you want simplicity now, NEAR’s sharding is a breath of fresh air. 
Dev Life: Battle-Tested 
vs. Next-Gen 
Let’s talk tools. 
Ethereum: The Comfort Zone
EVM is everywhere. Solidity devs? Tons. Hardhat, Ethers.js, endless docs?
Yep. If you want a massive safety net and tools that’ve been through hell and back, Ethereum’s your home. 
NEAR: The New Hotness
Rust or AssemblyScript, fresh tooling, and a stack built for sharding. Yeah, there’s a learning curve (especially if Solidity’s your jam), but Rust’s speed 
and NEAR’s architecture? Chef’s kiss. 
And if you really need EVM, Aurora’s got your back.
My take? If you love the EVM comfort blanket 
, stick with Ethereum. But if you’re down to learn something faster and sleeker? NEAR’s worth the switch. 
UX: 0xNightmare 
vs. Human-Friendly 
This is where NEAR shines. 
Ethereum: “0x9a3b… Wait, Did I Copy That Right?”
Those wallet addresses? A UX disaster. No one likes them. No one understands them. And Ethereum’s never really fixed it.NEAR: “yourname.near” + Gas? Who Cares!
Human-readable names (you.near) make life so much easier.
Plus, meta-transactions mean users don’t even need NEAR tokens to use your dApp. Boom. 
Web3 onboarding just got smoother.
My take? Ethereum’s UX is stuck in 2017. NEAR actually gets it. 
Final Call: Legacy 
vs. Future-Proof
Both chains are building the future—just differently.
Pick Ethereum if…
You need max security
and don’t mind wrestling L2s. The ecosystem’s huge, the tools are solid, and you’re okay with some chaos. 
Pick NEAR if…
You care about UX
, predictable costs 
, and a single scalable L1. You’re cool with Rust 
and want a chain that actually thinks about users.
So… what’s your move? Legacy or next-gen?
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Wano sike