Groth16 vs PLONK: SNARK Systems

Specific advantage: ~10-100x faster prover times for a single, fixed circuit. This matters for high-frequency, performance-critical applications like private payments (e.g., Zcash Sapling) where latency is paramount. The proof size is also minimal (~128 bytes).

Specific advantage: Relies on the well-studied dlog assumption and has been the production standard for years. This matters for high-value, conservative deployments where minimizing novel cryptographic risk is essential, as seen in early ZK rollups and identity protocols.

Specific advantage: Uses a single, universal trusted setup (e.g., Perpetual Powers of Tau) that can be reused for any circuit. This matters for protocols requiring frequent circuit updates (like evolving DeFi apps on zkSync Era or Aztec) without repeating complex ceremonies.

Specific advantage: Supports custom gates and recursion natively, enabling more efficient complex logic. This matters for developers building novel ZK applications (e.g., zkEVMs, gaming) who need to avoid the rigid, per-circuit compilation of Groth16.

Specific disadvantage: Requires a new, circuit-specific trusted setup for every logic change. This matters for agile development teams who cannot afford the overhead and security risk of repeated multi-party ceremonies for each update.

Specific disadvantage: Prover times are generally slower and proof verification is more expensive on-chain than Groth16. This matters for ultra-low-latency L1 applications or protocols where every byte of calldata and unit of gas is critically measured.

Smallest proof size: ~128 bytes. This results in the lowest on-chain verification gas costs, critical for high-frequency L1 applications like private transactions (Zcash) or on-chain voting. Verification is a fixed-cost pairing operation.

Requires a per-circuit trusted setup (MPC ceremony). This is a one-time, complex operational overhead for each new circuit logic. Used by major protocols like Zcash (Sapling) and Filecoin. The setup is a security-critical event.

Single, universal trusted setup (e.g., Perpetual Powers of Tau) supports any circuit up to a defined size. This enables rapid iteration—deploy new logic without new ceremonies. Adopted by zkSync Era, Aztec, and Mina Protocol for agility.

Larger proof size: ~400-600 bytes, leading to ~2-5x higher verification gas vs. Groth16. The trade-off for universality. Better suited for L2 rollups (Polygon zkEVM, Scroll) where batch amortization offsets cost and circuit complexity is high.

Specific advantage: Produces the smallest proofs (~200 bytes) and fastest verification of any SNARK. This matters for high-frequency on-chain applications like private payments (e.g., Tornado Cash) where gas costs are critical.

Specific advantage: Battle-tested since 2016 with billions in secured TVL. This matters for production systems requiring maximal security assurance, as seen in Zcash and early Ethereum L2s. The trusted setup, while a con, is a singular, well-audited event.

Specific advantage: Supports custom gates and easier integration of new primitives (e.g., lookups, recursion). This matters for complex dApps like zkEVMs (Polygon zkEVM) and privacy-focused DeFi (zk.money) that require more expressive logic than Groth16 allows.

Specific weakness: Requires a new, circuit-specific trusted setup for each application logic change. This creates operational overhead and security risks for evolving protocols, making rapid iteration impractical.

Specific weakness: Larger proofs (~400-800 bytes) and ~2-5x slower verification than Groth16. This matters for ultra-cost-sensitive L1 applications where every byte of calldata and gas unit directly impacts user cost.