The gasless transaction path: 9 account abstraction tools to evaluate

Gasless UX is not a button that says “sponsor gas.” It is a transaction system. A user signs an action. A smart account validates it. A paymaster may cover the fee. A bundler packages the user operation for the EntryPoint. The product needs to show a clear status, recover from failures, and retain sensible controls after the first transaction succeeds.

ERC-4337 provides a common vocabulary for much of that flow. It introduces UserOperation objects, bundlers that package them for an EntryPoint contract, and paymasters that can cover transaction fees. That architecture gives product teams more room to design onboarding, batching, signing, and fee handling, but it also creates more decisions than a normal EOA transaction.

This guide compares nine tools from the Chainstack Marketplace by the role they can play in that path. It is a product and architecture guide, not a claim that every application needs all nine.

Map the transaction before choosing a provider

Transaction stage	Decision to make	Tools to compare
Account creation and signing	What account model, signer, and recovery method should users have?	ZeroDev, Particle Network, Rhinestone, Safe Core
User operation infrastructure	Who provides the bundler, paymaster, and developer interfaces?	Pimlico, Etherspot, Gelato
Product-level gasless flows	Do you need batching, sponsorship, token gas, or delegated execution?	Biconomy, ZeroDev, Particle Network, Gelato
Account security and organizational operations	Does the account need multisig, role controls, or treasury workflows?	Safe, Safe Core

1. Biconomy

Biconomy offers full-stack infrastructure for Web3 user experiences. Its current documentation covers smart accounts, gas sponsorship, payments in ERC-20 tokens, batching, cross-chain orchestration, and delegated execution through Smart Sessions.

Biconomy is a good starting point when the product team wants a broad UX layer rather than a narrow bundler or paymaster integration. Its Supertransaction API is positioned for fast integrations, while AbstractJS provides a TypeScript path for teams that want more control over smart account management and execution.

Choose Biconomy if: you want an integrated approach to smart accounts, sponsored transactions, batching, and automation.

Think twice if: your architecture already has a chosen smart account implementation and only needs a composable ERC-4337 infrastructure provider.

2. Pimlico

Pimlico is ERC-4337 account abstraction infrastructure for smart accounts on Ethereum and EVM-compatible chains. Its developer documentation covers a bundler, paymaster, and the permissionless.js library.

Pimlico is a strong fit when you want to assemble the transaction path from clear infrastructure components. For example, a product can use its own smart account implementation, connect it to a Pimlico bundler, then define sponsorship or ERC-20 gas-payment policies through a paymaster.

Choose Pimlico if: you need production infrastructure for ERC-4337 user operations, gas sponsorship, batching, and a modular developer stack.

Think twice if: you want an opinionated onboarding or wallet experience with minimal integration design. Compare a more full-stack account provider as well.

3. ZeroDev

ZeroDev is built around Kernel, a modular smart account. Its SDK supports smart account creation and connects the account client to bundler and paymaster infrastructure. Kernel can use different validators, including ECDSA, passkeys, and multisig.

ZeroDev is particularly compelling for teams that want the smart account itself to be a central product primitive. Its documentation also covers gas sponsorship, batching, session keys, recovery, and EIP-7702 support, so it belongs in the evaluation when the wallet experience is part of the application rather than an external dependency.

Choose ZeroDev if: you want modular smart accounts and SDKs for embedded or application-integrated wallet experiences.

Think twice if: the product only needs a simple relayed transaction from an existing wallet. A smart account stack can introduce more design and operational decisions than that use case warrants.

4. Etherspot

Etherspot provides account and chain abstraction infrastructure. Its current developer stack includes the Modular SDK for ERC-7579 smart accounts, Skandha as an ERC-4337 bundler, Arka as an ERC-4337 paymaster, and Transaction Kit for React integrations.

Etherspot is a useful option for teams that want to evaluate smart account modules alongside the infrastructure that submits and sponsors user operations. The distinct SDK, bundler, paymaster, and React layers make it easier to decide how much of the stack you want to adopt.

Choose Etherspot if: you need modular smart account tooling, a bundler, a paymaster, or React-oriented account abstraction integration.

Think twice if: you want a no-code wallet product or only a single transaction relay. Its value is in a developer-controlled account abstraction stack.

5. Particle Network

Particle Network combines chain abstraction, Universal Accounts, account abstraction, and social logins. Its documentation describes account abstraction as ERC-4337 smart accounts that can sponsor fees, batch transactions, customize gas payments, and use session keys.

Particle is especially relevant when a team sees login, wallet creation, and cross-chain interaction as one user journey. Its Universal Accounts are designed to give users one account and balance across chains, while its account abstraction tools handle the EVM smart-account layer.

Choose Particle Network if: you want to combine embedded onboarding, social logins, sponsored transactions, and a chain-agnostic product experience.

Think twice if: you need only a standard ERC-4337 bundler or paymaster. Use a narrower component when that is all the architecture needs.

6. Rhinestone

Rhinestone describes itself as a smart wallet SDK and cross-chain intent API. The SDK covers self-custodial smart account deployment, passkeys, session keys, fee sponsorship, and cross-chain transactions. It also supports ERC-7579 modular accounts.

Rhinestone should be in the shortlist when the desired end state is a smart wallet with sophisticated permissions or a cross-chain experience, rather than a single gasless action. Its session-key model can be useful for one-click experiences and constrained automated transactions.

Choose Rhinestone if: you need embedded smart wallets, session keys, modular accounts, or a path toward cross-chain intent execution.

Think twice if: you only need a conventional transaction relayer. The smart wallet model should be a deliberate product choice.

7. Safe Core

Safe Core is the Marketplace entry for Safe’s developer infrastructure. Safe describes this stack as open-source, modular tooling for integrating Safe Smart Accounts, including an SDK, APIs, and a modular smart account.

Safe Core is a good match when the project needs the account model and security properties of Safe, but also needs a developer path to create accounts, run transactions, integrate signers, or connect to account abstraction services. The Safe SDK includes kits for account interactions, transaction APIs, and relaying, including ERC-4337 and sponsored transaction integrations.

Choose Safe Core if: you want to build on Safe Smart Accounts and need SDKs, APIs, transaction flows, or account abstraction integrations around them.

Think twice if: the product has no need for Safe’s account model or operational controls. A different smart account may provide a more direct fit.

8. Gelato

Gelato offers gasless transaction infrastructure across multiple products. Its current developer documentation covers Gasless ERC-4337, a paymaster and bundler, a Gasless SDK, and a relayer API. The Gasless SDK supports EIP-7702 and ERC-4337 smart wallets, sponsored transactions, and batch calls.

Gelato is worth comparing when the user-facing objective is clear: let people transact without holding the chain’s native token. It can fit as an account abstraction provider, a relayer for gasless transactions, or an operational execution layer depending on the product design.

Choose Gelato if: you need sponsored transactions, a relayer API, ERC-4337 infrastructure, or gasless flows across EVM, TRON, or Solana.

Think twice if: the product needs a complete embedded wallet and account lifecycle. Pair it with an account provider or choose a more integrated stack.

9. Safe

Safe is the user-facing Safe{Wallet} application and smart account infrastructure for self-custody, multisig security, treasury management, and organizational transactions. It is not a typical consumer gas-sponsorship SDK, but it belongs in an account abstraction evaluation when the account needs threshold approvals, role controls, transaction simulation, or shared ownership.

For protocol teams, DAOs, foundations, and organizations, the best transaction UX is often not “one click.” It can be a transparent approval flow with the right owners, threshold, spending limits, and operational controls. Safe makes that use case concrete.

Choose Safe if: the account manages a treasury, protocol administration, upgrades, or shared assets that need multisig and clear operational controls.

Think twice if: you are building an individual consumer wallet flow. Use Safe Core only where the Safe smart account model fits the product.

Three stack patterns that are actually different

Consumer DApp with sponsored first actions

Use this pattern when the first transaction should feel familiar to a user who may not hold native gas tokens.

1. Pick an account model, such as ZeroDev, Particle Network, Rhinestone, or Biconomy.
2. Define exactly which actions the product will sponsor, for whom, and under what limits.
3. Connect the account to bundler and paymaster infrastructure, either through the same provider or a composable provider such as Pimlico, Etherspot, or Gelato.
4. Build transaction states for signature, submission, confirmation, retry, and failure.

Existing EVM application adding account abstraction

Use this pattern when a DApp already has wallet connectivity and wants to add batching, sponsorship, or better signing flows without rebuilding every product surface.

1. Identify the few flows where account abstraction produces real user value, such as first deposit, approval plus swap, or recurring interaction.
2. Test a smart account and provider on those flows before changing the rest of the application.
3. Keep the current wallet path available while the team measures completion, error rates, sponsorship cost, and support burden.
4. Do not treat account abstraction as invisible. Users still need accurate status and recovery when a user operation fails.

Protocol or treasury operations

Use this pattern when a group of people, rather than a single consumer, controls assets or protocol actions.

1. Start with Safe and define owners, threshold, policies, and emergency procedures.
2. Use Safe Core when the team needs to automate account creation, transaction preparation, or integrations with internal systems.
3. Add relaying or account abstraction only after the approval and control model is understood.
4. Test upgrade, pause, incident, and signer-recovery paths with the people who will actually operate them.

What to test before production

Account abstraction changes the transaction path, not the need for rigorous testing. Before launching, test:

• First account creation and deployment behavior.
• Every sponsored action and the policy that authorizes it.
• Paymaster limits, rejected requests, and depleted balances.
• Bundler timeouts, dropped user operations, and receipt handling.
• Batch behavior when one call fails.
• Login, signer change, recovery, and session-key revocation.
• Chain-specific fee behavior and contract addresses.
• User-visible status from signature to final confirmation.
• Support and incident ownership across your team and third-party providers.

How Chainstack fits into the stack

Account abstraction providers handle the specialized user operation, bundler, and paymaster path. Your application still needs normal blockchain access around that path.

Use Chainstack endpoints for the EVM reads, contract state, logs, transaction monitoring, and application services that surround the user experience. Keep the responsibilities clear: the account abstraction provider handles user operations and sponsorship, while your application needs reliable chain data to render balances, validate application state, and follow confirmed execution.