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The RealValidator Team Editorial team

Solana Compass and Helius both run the Jito client at 0% base commission at epoch 971 but diverge across stake, ASN, MEV policy, and Wiz Score: Helius carries 14,348,055 SOL on TeraSwitch AS20326 Frankfurt at 0% Jito MEV commission for a Wiz Score of 20.42, while Solana Compass carries 1,361,705 SOL on Vultr AS20473 Tokyo at 10% Jito MEV commission for a Wiz Score of 83.79 (per Stakewiz).

At a glance

Metric Solana Compass Helius
Active stake 1,361,705 SOL — 0.088% of network (Stakewiz, epoch 971) 14,348,055 SOL — 0.93% of network (Stakewiz, epoch 971)
Wiz Score 83.79 (Stakewiz, epoch 971) 20.42 (Stakewiz, epoch 971)
30-day trailing skip rate 0.00% — vs 0.14% network median (Stakewiz, epoch 971) 0.04% — vs 0.14% network median (Stakewiz, epoch 971)
Base commission 0% (Stakewiz, epoch 971) 0% (Stakewiz, epoch 971)
Jito MEV commission 10% (jito_commission_bps: 1000, epoch 971) 0% (jito_commission_bps: 0, epoch 971)
Total APY estimate 5.93% — 5.81% staking + 0.12% Jito MEV (Stakewiz, epoch 971) 6.02% — 5.89% staking + 0.13% Jito MEV (Stakewiz, epoch 971)
ASN + city AS20473 Vultr Holdings — Tokyo, Japan (Stakewiz, epoch 971) AS20326 TeraSwitch — Frankfurt, Germany (Stakewiz, epoch 971)
Software version 4.0.0-rc.1 — version_valid: true (Stakewiz, epoch 971) 4.0.0-beta.7 — version_valid: false (Stakewiz, epoch 971)
SFDP eligibility 1.36M SOL above the 1,000,000 SOL ceiling — Foundation residual and matching withdrawn (per solana.org/delegation-criteria) 14.35M SOL above the 1,000,000 SOL ceiling — Foundation residual and matching withdrawn (per solana.org/delegation-criteria)

Where they're similar

  • Both run the Jito client (is_jito: true at epoch 971 per Stakewiz) and route MEV through the Jito Block Engine.
  • Both charge 0% base commission at epoch 971 — commission_score of 20/20 on Stakewiz's composite for both validators.
  • Both post sub-network-median 30-day trailing skip rates (0.00% Solana Compass, 0.04% Helius) against a 0.14% Stakewiz network median.
  • Both sit above the 1,000,000 SOL SFDP external-stake ceiling — neither receives Foundation residual delegation or matching under current SFDP parameters.
  • Both report a 99.7% credit ratio under Timely Vote Credits at epoch 971 per Stakewiz — voter-side performance is near-identical.
  • Neither is delinquent at the epoch 971 snapshot; both report 100% Stakewiz uptime.

Where they diverge

Stake position. Helius carries 14,348,055 SOL versus Solana Compass's 1,361,705 SOL — a 10.5x gap. Helius sits above Stakewiz's above_halt_line marker (0 stake_weight_score and a -20 superminority penalty); Solana Compass sits below it (1.94/15 stake_weight_score, no superminority penalty). For stakers prioritizing diversification away from the largest stake-concentration validators, the stake gap is the most consequential single difference.

Operator positioning. Solana Compass is operated by the team behind solanacompass.com — a Solana staking-and-validator-comparison resource publishing profiles, guides, and protocol explainers since October 2021 per the operator's Stakewiz self-description. The validator is one product line of a content-and-tooling operation. Helius is operated by Helius Labs, an RPC/developer-infrastructure company. The two operate adjacent product types (research-and-tooling vs developer-API) with the validator as a single staking endpoint in each portfolio.

Jito MEV commission. Solana Compass retains 10% (jito_commission_bps: 1000) — at the upper SFDP Jito MEV cap. Helius retains 0%. On the Stakewiz jito_apy estimate (0.12% vs 0.13%), the absolute APY gap is 0.01 percentage points; structurally, Solana Compass stakers receive 90% of the Jito tip flow reaching the validator, Helius stakers 100%.

Wiz Score composition — why a 0%-commission validator can score 20.42 vs another 0%-commission validator's 83.79. Solana Compass's 83.79 reflects near-maximum positive components, a 1.94/15 stake_weight_score, a -2.12 Tokyo city drag (5.36% city share), and a -0.87 Vultr ASN drag (2.85% share). Helius's 20.42 reflects similar positive components but a 0 stake_weight_score, a -8.97 TeraSwitch ASN penalty (29.21% share), a -8.68 Frankfurt city penalty (22% share), a -6.61 ASN+city joint, a -20 software-version penalty (4.0.0-beta.7 outside Stakewiz's valid list), and a -20 superminority penalty (Stakewiz components, epoch 971). The 63-point gap is driven by decentralization signals, version status, and stake size — not by skip rate or commission.

ASN profile. Solana Compass is on AS20473 (Vultr Holdings), which carries 2.85% of network stake per Stakewiz — well within the 25% SFDP threshold. Helius is on AS20326 (TeraSwitch), which carries 29.21% — above the SFDP threshold. The ASN-concentration gap is the largest single decentralization-axis difference in this pairing.

City profile. Solana Compass is in Tokyo (5.36% city concentration). Helius is in Frankfurt (22%). Frankfurt is the directory's most concentrated city by Solana validator stake; Tokyo is moderately concentrated. The gap is roughly 4x.

Software version status. Solana Compass runs 4.0.0-rc.1 (version_valid: true, no penalty). Helius runs 4.0.0-beta.7 (version_valid: false, fixed -20 component). Version status alone accounts for 20 of the 63-point Wiz Score gap.

Infrastructure

Solana Compass is on AS20473 (Vultr Holdings) in Tokyo (35.71°N, 139.73°E) at TPU IP 45.77.28.184, running Jito client 4.0.0-rc.1. Vultr carries 2.85% of network stake; Tokyo carries 5.36%.

Helius is on AS20326 (TeraSwitch) in Frankfurt (50.11°N, 8.68°E) at TPU IP 64.130.57.215, running Jito client 4.0.0-beta.7. TeraSwitch hosts multiple other large validators in this directory; the 29.21% ASN concentration exceeds the 25% SFDP threshold effective May 1, 2026.

Neither validator runs Frankendancer at epoch 971. The version-status gap is the single largest Wiz Score component difference between the two.

Stake-pool inclusion and SFDP

Solana Compass's 1,361,705 SOL is just above the 1,000,000 SOL ceiling at which Foundation residual delegation and matching terminate — no Foundation stake. First epoch with stake: 242, spanning approximately 729 epochs at epoch 971 — roughly 4 years, consistent with the operator's October 2021 launch.

Helius's 14,348,055 SOL is well above the same ceiling — no Foundation stake. First epoch with stake: 595, spanning approximately 376 epochs at epoch 971.

Stake-pool inclusion across Marinade SAM, the Jito Stake Pool, and SolBlaze is governed by each pool's independent selection criteria — Stakewiz does not surface pool inclusion in the API fields used here.

Trade-offs for stakers

  • A staker prioritizing Wiz Score as a composite (83.79 vs 20.42, Stakewiz, epoch 971) → Solana Compass.
  • A staker prioritizing the highest Stakewiz total APY pass-through (6.02% vs 5.93%, epoch 971) → Helius.
  • A staker prioritizing 100% Jito MEV pass-through (0% vs 10% Jito MEV commission, epoch 971) → Helius.
  • A staker prioritizing ASN diversification away from the 29.21%-concentrated AS20326 TeraSwitch in favor of 2.85% on AS20473 Vultr → Solana Compass.
  • A staker prioritizing diversification away from the largest stake-concentration validators (0.088% vs 0.93% of network) → Solana Compass.
  • A staker prioritizing a version_valid: true software status (4.0.0-rc.1 vs 4.0.0-beta.7) → Solana Compass.
  • A staker prioritizing operator tenure (729 epochs vs 376 epochs, Stakewiz, epoch 971) → Solana Compass.
  • A staker prioritizing city diversification away from Frankfurt (22% city concentration) toward Tokyo (5.36%) → Solana Compass.

Metrics sourced from Stakewiz cache at epoch 971, snapshot 2026-05-15. Skip rate, commission, and APY values update at epoch boundaries; verify against the live Stakewiz profile when citing for current decisions.