Block Speed

Ethereum produces a new block approximately every 12 seconds.

Zcash produces a new block approximately every 75 seconds.

Blocks per Hour

Ethereum: ~300 blocks/hour

Zcash: ~48 blocks/hour

Technical Perspective

If you look at block speed alone, Ethereum is significantly faster than Zcash.

However, Zcash was not primarily designed for speed. Its main focus is privacy, using advanced cryptography such as zk-SNARKs to protect transaction details.

Ethereum, on the other hand, was designed as a platform for:

Smart Contracts

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Decentralized Applications (dApps)

Layer 2 Scaling Solutions

Simple Analogy

Ethereum (ETH) = A Blockchain Computer

Zcash (ZEC) = Private Digital Cash

Among blockchain enthusiasts and cryptography researchers, Zcash is well known for pioneering zk-SNARK technology, which later influenced many privacy and zero-knowledge projects within the Ethereum ecosystem. Ethereum remains the largest smart contract ecosystem, while Zcash specializes in private and confidential transactions.