XRP vs. Stellar
A neutral side-by-side look at XRP (XRP) and Stellar (XLM): live market data, how each one works and what it's for.
XRP and Stellar (XLM) are both payment networks built for fast, cheap transfers between currencies, and they share a co-founder, Jed McCaleb. XRP's ledger is closely associated with the company Ripple, which focuses on banks and payment firms; Stellar is run by a nonprofit foundation and is used heavily for stablecoins and remittances.
Live comparison
| Measure | XRP XRP | Stellar XLM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | — | — |
| Market cap | — | — |
| Market cap rank | — | — |
| 24h trading volume | — | — |
| 24h change | — | — |
| 7-day change | — | — |
| Circulating supply | — | — |
| Maximum supply (CoinGecko) | — | — |
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Key facts side by side
| Measure | XRP XRP | Stellar XLM |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2012 | 2014 |
| Created by | David Schwartz, Jed McCaleb and Arthur Britto; the company Ripple was co-founded with Chris Larsen | Jed McCaleb and Joyce Kim; run by the nonprofit Stellar Development Foundation |
| How it's secured | XRP Ledger consensus among validators (no mining or staking) | Stellar Consensus Protocol (no mining or staking) |
| What it's for | Fast, low-cost payments and moving value between currencies | Payments, cross-border transfers and issuing tokens such as stablecoins |
| Maximum supply | 100 billion XRP, all created at launch (tiny amounts are destroyed as fees) | About 50 billion XLM; no new XLM has been created since inflation ended in 2019 |
How they differ
- Who's behind it: XRP is backed by Ripple, a for-profit company that holds a large amount of XRP. Stellar is supported by the nonprofit Stellar Development Foundation.
- Consensus: both reach agreement among validators without mining, using different protocols (XRP Ledger consensus vs. the Stellar Consensus Protocol).
- Supply: 100 billion XRP were created in 2012. Stellar cut its supply to about 50 billion XLM in 2019 and stopped creating new XLM.
- Shared history: Jed McCaleb co-founded Ripple, then left and co-founded Stellar in 2014.
This page compares how two cryptocurrencies work. It doesn't say which to buy, and nobody can reliably predict their prices. Both can fall sharply. Read how to research a cryptocurrency before deciding anything.
Questions
Is XRP better than Stellar?
Neither is better in general. They aim at similar problems with different backers and approaches, and both carry the usual crypto risks. Comparing the price of one coin with the other tells you little because their supplies differ; compare market caps instead. This isn't advice to buy either.
Is Stellar a fork of Ripple?
Stellar started in 2014 from a fork of Ripple's original code, but in 2015 it switched to its own Stellar Consensus Protocol and relaunched. Today they're separate networks.
Why is one coin's price so much higher than the other's?
The price of a single coin mostly reflects how many coins exist. XRP and Stellar have very different supplies, so comparing prices per coin is misleading. Market cap (price × coins in circulation) is a better measure of size; see market cap explained.
Where does the live data come from?
From CoinGecko's public API, averaged across many exchanges and refreshed about once a minute. The facts table comes from each project's own documentation and the references listed under Sources.
Where to next
Sources
- XRP Ledger history (xrpl.org)
- What is XRP? (xrpl.org)
- Lumens (XLM) (Stellar developer docs)
- Stellar (Wikipedia)
- Stellar Foundation burns over 50% of XLM supply (The Block, 2019)
- CoinGecko API (live market data)
Facts checked against the sources listed, as of October 29, 2026. Live data by CoinGecko, for information only and possibly delayed. Educational only; not financial advice. How we write and check pages.