10 Solana tools for building Web3 apps

Solana app development has its own stack. EVM frontend patterns do not map cleanly to Solana because programs, accounts, wallets, token standards, price feeds, transaction landing, and RPC usage work differently.

That means a Solana app usually needs several layers: a program framework, a client library, wallet connection, wallet support, token or NFT tooling, oracle data, and reliable RPC access. Some apps also need specialized infrastructure for high-priority transactions, low-latency data, liquid staking, or DeFi integrations.

This list covers 10 tools from the Chainstack Marketplace that help teams build Solana applications. The ranking favors broad usefulness for app teams, production relevance, and how naturally each tool fits into a Solana development workflow.

For the RPC layer, Solana is one of the Chainstack-supported protocols. You can connect your app, scripts, backend workers, and wallet tooling to a Chainstack Solana endpoint instead of relying on shared public RPC infrastructure.

Rank	Tool	Best for	Main role in the stack
1	Anchor	Building Solana programs	Program framework and testing workflow
2	Solana Wallet Adapter	Wallet connection in Solana frontends	Wallet adapters and UI components
3	Metaplex	Tokens, NFTs, and digital assets	Digital asset programs, SDKs, and APIs
4	Pyth Network	Price feeds and market data	Oracle data for DeFi and trading apps
5	Phantom	User wallet access and app onboarding	Wallet, SDKs, and user-facing wallet flows
6	Solana Web3.js	Existing JavaScript Solana integrations	JavaScript RPC client for Solana
7	Switchboard	Custom data feeds and randomness	Oracle and verifiable randomness layer
8	Solflare	Solana wallet support and deeplinks	Wallet connection and mobile flows
9	Backpack	Solana-native wallet experience	Wallet, asset management, and ecosystem access
10	Jito	Transaction execution and Solana DeFi infrastructure	Block engine, bundles, and staking-adjacent tooling

1. Anchor

Anchor is the most important tool in this list if your app includes custom Solana programs. The official docs describe Anchor as a development framework for building secure Solana programs, with tooling for writing, testing, deploying, and interacting with Solana programs.

Anchor gives teams a more structured way to build on Solana. Instead of wiring every account constraint, interface definition, client interaction, and test setup manually, teams can use Anchor conventions to move faster and reduce common program-development mistakes.

Use Anchor when:

• You are building custom Solana programs.
• You need a structured workflow for program development and testing.
• You want generated client interfaces through interface definition language (IDL) files.
• Your team needs a common framework across Rust programs and TypeScript clients.

Watch out for:

Anchor is not a shortcut around Solana fundamentals. Teams still need to understand accounts, program-derived addresses, cross-program invocations, account constraints, and security patterns. Treat Anchor as the framework, not as a substitute for reviewing program logic carefully.

2. Solana Wallet Adapter

Solana Wallet Adapter is the practical default for wallet connection in many Solana frontends. The docs describe it as modular TypeScript wallet adapters and components for Solana applications.

For app teams, this matters because wallet support can become messy quickly. Users may arrive with Phantom, Solflare, Backpack, hardware wallets, mobile wallets, or wallet-standard-compatible embedded wallets. Solana Wallet Adapter gives teams a standard way to connect wallets and build wallet UI without hand-writing separate integrations for every wallet.

Use Solana Wallet Adapter when:

• You are building a Solana web frontend.
• You need wallet connection support across multiple wallets.
• You use React and want wallet contexts, hooks, and UI components.
• You want to avoid one-off wallet integrations.

Watch out for:

Wallet Adapter solves the app-side integration layer. It does not replace wallet-specific testing. You should still test the wallets your users actually use, especially on mobile and in-wallet browser flows.

3. Metaplex

Metaplex is a core part of the Solana digital asset stack. Its developer hub covers tokens, NFTs, smart contracts, and developer tools for creating and managing digital assets on Solana.

Metaplex is especially relevant if your product touches NFTs, token metadata, compressed NFTs, asset indexing, mints, collections, or other digital asset workflows. Even if you are not building an NFT marketplace, many Solana apps still need token metadata and asset management primitives.

Use Metaplex when:

• You are creating or managing tokens or NFTs on Solana.
• You need token metadata, NFT standards, compressed NFT workflows, or asset APIs.
• You are building a marketplace, game, creator app, launchpad, or collectibles product.
• You need SDKs, CLIs, or APIs for Solana digital assets.

Watch out for:

Metaplex covers a broad surface. Pick the specific product or program you need, such as Token Metadata, Core, Bubblegum, DAS API, or Umi, instead of treating Metaplex as one single integration.

4. Pyth Network

Pyth Network is an oracle network for market data. Its developer hub describes Pyth Core as decentralized price feeds with deterministic on-chain delivery, pull and push updates, and support across more than 100 blockchains.

For Solana builders, Pyth is most relevant when an app needs price data for DeFi, trading, lending, perps, structured products, payments, liquidation logic, or risk checks. It is also useful for teams that need market data but do not want to run their own oracle infrastructure.

Use Pyth Network when:

• Your app needs price feeds or market data.
• You are building DeFi, trading, lending, or risk logic.
• You need oracle data that can be consumed on-chain.
• You want a market-data layer that supports Solana and many other ecosystems.

Watch out for:

Oracle integration is part of application security. Review update models, price confidence, staleness checks, supported feeds, API key requirements, and failure behavior before using any feed in critical logic.

5. Phantom

Phantom is one of the most important user-facing wallets in the Solana ecosystem. Its developer docs describe Phantom as a wallet for managing digital assets and accessing decentralized applications across Solana, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Base, Polygon, Sui, Monad, and HyperEVM.

For app teams, Phantom matters because users already have it installed. Phantom also provides developer tools, Connect SDKs, and integration paths across web and mobile platforms. If a Solana app has a wallet connection flow, Phantom support is usually table stakes.

Use Phantom when:

• Your Solana app needs to support a widely used wallet.
• You are building web or mobile wallet flows.
• You need a wallet SDK for app users.
• You want to test how mainstream Solana users will experience your app.

Watch out for:

Supporting Phantom does not mean supporting every wallet experience. Test browser extension, mobile, in-app browser, and mobile deep-link behavior separately where relevant.

6. Solana Web3.js

Solana Web3.js is the familiar JavaScript SDK many Solana apps and examples use for accounts, programs, transactions, and Solana JSON-RPC interaction. The official docs describe the v1.x library as a way to interact with accounts and programs on Solana through the Solana JSON-RPC API.

The important caveat is maintenance status. The official Solana Web3.js docs say v1.x is now a maintenance branch and point developers to @solana/kit as the successor. That means Solana Web3.js is still important for existing codebases, tutorials, and dependencies, but it should be evaluated carefully for new projects.

Use Solana Web3.js when:

• Your existing app already depends on it.
• You are maintaining older Solana JavaScript code.
• You need compatibility with tutorials, packages, or examples that still use it.
• You are migrating incrementally toward newer Solana JavaScript tooling.

Watch out for:

For a brand-new Solana app, check the current Solana JavaScript stack before defaulting to Solana Web3.js v1.x. If your team uses it anyway, connect it to a reliable RPC endpoint and be explicit about your migration plan.

7. Switchboard

Switchboard is an oracle protocol for bringing data on-chain and generating verifiable randomness. Its docs describe data feeds, custom feeds, randomness, and a Solana commit-reveal flow for verifiable randomness.

Switchboard is useful when you need something beyond standard price feeds. That can include custom data sources, prediction markets, gaming randomness, NFT mint randomness, lotteries, fair distribution flows, or application-specific data.

Use Switchboard when:

• You need custom on-chain data feeds.
• Your app needs verifiable randomness.
• You are building games, lotteries, NFT mint mechanics, or prediction markets.
• You need oracle behavior that is more flexible than a fixed price feed.

Watch out for:

Randomness and oracle data can affect funds, rewards, and user outcomes. Review commit and reveal timing, replay protection, staleness checks, settlement behavior, and failure modes before using Switchboard in production logic.

8. Solflare

Solflare is a Solana wallet with browser extension, web, and mobile support. Its help center describes Solflare as a non-custodial wallet for accessing Solana applications, and its technical docs cover deeplink provider methods such as connect, sign transaction, sign message, and sign and send transaction.

Solflare is useful for teams that want strong Solana wallet coverage beyond only Phantom. It is especially relevant for mobile flows, deeplink behavior, staking users, and apps that want to test across multiple Solana wallet experiences.

Use Solflare when:

• You want broader Solana wallet support.
• You need to test mobile and deeplink wallet flows.
• Your users include staking, DeFi, or Solana-native wallet users.
• You use Wallet Adapter and want to validate key wallet integrations.

Watch out for:

Solflare integration details can differ by platform and flow. Test connection, signing, transaction submission, session handling, and network selection on the actual platforms your app supports.

9. Backpack

Backpack is a Solana-native wallet with a broader multichain footprint. Backpack materials describe it as a self-custodial wallet built for Solana and beyond, with support for SOL, tokens, NFTs, DeFi access, hardware wallets, custom RPCs, and multiple networks.

Backpack is a good addition to a Solana app testing matrix because it is popular with crypto-native Solana users and is tightly connected to the broader Solana ecosystem. Chainstack’s Solana tooling guide also calls out Backpack as one of the wallets where teams can set a custom RPC endpoint.

Use Backpack when:

• You want to support Solana-native power users.
• You need wallet coverage beyond Phantom and Solflare.
• You want to test custom RPC configuration in a wallet.
• Your product targets DeFi, NFT, or trading-heavy Solana users.

Watch out for:

Backpack is user-facing wallet infrastructure, not an app framework. Use it alongside Solana Wallet Adapter, app-specific wallet testing, and your own RPC endpoint strategy.

10. Jito

Jito is more specialized than the other tools in this list. It is relevant for Solana teams working around transaction landing, MEV-aware execution, bundles, liquid staking, validator economics, and DeFi infrastructure.

Jito Labs documentation describes low-latency transaction send, Jito-Solana, the Block Engine, transaction bundles, and JSON-RPC or gRPC submission paths. The Jito Foundation docs also cover JitoSOL, staking, StakeNet, TipRouter, governance, and restaking documentation.

Use Jito when:

• Your app needs better transaction landing under contention.
• You are building trading, liquidation, arbitrage, or high-priority transaction flows.
• You need to understand Solana bundles and Block Engine behavior.
• Your product touches JitoSOL, staking, validator selection, or Solana DeFi infrastructure.

Watch out for:

Jito is not necessary for every Solana app. Most frontends should start with reliable RPC, good wallet UX, and solid transaction handling first. Add Jito-specific infrastructure when transaction priority, MEV, bundles, or staking logic becomes part of the product requirement.

Suggested stacks by use case

Solana program with a React frontend

Use:

• Anchor for Solana program development.
• Solana Wallet Adapter for wallet connection.
• Phantom, Solflare, and Backpack for wallet testing.
• Chainstack Solana RPC endpoints for reads, transaction submission, and WebSocket subscriptions.

This is the most natural stack for many custom Solana applications.

NFT or digital asset app

Use:

• Metaplex for token, NFT, and metadata workflows.
• Solana Wallet Adapter for wallet connection.
• Phantom, Solflare, and Backpack for user wallet coverage.
• Chainstack Solana RPC endpoints for asset reads, account queries, and transaction workflows.

This works for marketplaces, creator tooling, games, collectibles, and token-gated products.

DeFi or trading app

Use:

• Anchor for custom programs.
• Pyth Network or Switchboard for price feeds or custom oracle data.
• Jito for transaction landing or bundle-specific requirements.
• Chainstack Solana RPC endpoints for low-latency reads and transaction workflows.

This is the better pattern when app correctness depends on fresh market data and fast transaction execution.

Existing Solana JavaScript app

Use:

• Solana Web3.js if the existing codebase already depends on it.
• Solana Wallet Adapter for wallet connection.
• Chainstack Solana RPC endpoints for reliable API access.
• A migration review for newer Solana JavaScript tooling when you touch major frontend or client code.

This keeps existing code stable while avoiding accidental dependence on public RPC endpoints.

How to choose

Start with what your app does.

If you are building custom programs, begin with Anchor. If you are building a frontend, add Solana Wallet Adapter early. If users manage assets, NFTs, or token metadata, evaluate Metaplex. If your app needs price data or randomness, compare Pyth Network and Switchboard by the data model you need. If your app competes for transaction landing or uses bundle flows, evaluate Jito.

Wallet support should be practical, not theoretical. Phantom is usually essential. Solflare and Backpack are strong additions for Solana-native users. Test the exact platforms your users use, including browser extension, mobile, deeplink, and in-wallet browser paths.

Finally, treat RPC as part of the product. Solana apps depend heavily on account reads, program queries, blockhashes, transaction simulation, sendTransaction, WebSocket subscriptions, and status checks. Connect your Solana stack to reliable RPC infrastructure before traffic, trading activity, or wallet UX exposes the weak points.