Polygon vs Ethereum Confirmation Time

Polygon PoS produces a block every ~2 seconds. Ethereum mainnet produces a block every ~12 seconds since switching to Proof of Stake. This means Polygon produces roughly 6 times as many blocks per minute, giving users much faster initial transaction inclusion.

Ethereum considers a transaction final after 64 to 96 validator attestations, which takes approximately 12 to 15 minutes under its finality model. Polygon PoS considers a transaction secure after 128 blocks (~4–5 minutes) and additionally checkpoints to Ethereum every 10–30 minutes for long-term finality. For daily use, both networks are safe after a few minutes, but Polygon reaches that threshold faster.

On both networks, higher gas fees mean faster inclusion. Ethereum gas fees are significantly higher than Polygon's, sometimes by 100x or more during congestion periods. On Polygon, even the lowest reasonable gas price typically gets included within seconds. The difference in fee levels means Polygon is not only faster in absolute block time but also more consistently fast in practice.

Polygon PoS supports significantly higher transaction throughput than Ethereum mainnet, handling thousands of transactions per second compared to Ethereum's ~15–30 TPS. This means Polygon is far less likely to become congested, keeping confirmation times consistent.