What is TPS?
In the context of blockchain performance, TPS stands for Transactions Per Second. It is a key metric used to measure the speed and scalability of a blockchain network by indicating how many transactions the network can process in one second.
For example, Ethereum processes around 12-15 transactions per second on average, while Bitcoin processes roughly 6-8.
Types of TPS
Not all TPS metrics are the same. There are 3 most common types of TPS:
Real-time TPS
Max Recorded TPS
Max Theoretical TPS
Real-time TPS
Real-time TPS shows how many transactions per second the blockchain is processing. It’s probably the most important of all three metrics because it is based on real-time blockchain data and can’t be inflated. It shows the adoption level of the blockchain and its actual throughput.
Max Recorded TPS
Max recorded TPS indicates the peak TPS blockchain has ever reached. It shows how many transactions a blockchain can process during times of high workload. Typically, it happens when the market is volatile, and a lot of people want to transact at the same time.
Max Theoretical TPS
Max theoretical TPS shows how many transactions per second the blockchain is theoretically capable of handling. To calculate this metric, divide the block size measured in gas or bytes by the size of the smallest transaction possible. In most blockchains, the least possible transaction is a transfer of a native token.
For example, the Ethereum block size is 30 million gas, the block time is 12 seconds, and the transfer of Ether takes 21,000 of gas. It means each block can contain 30 million / 21,000 = 1428 transactions. So, the maximum theoretical TPS is 1428 transactions / 12s = 119 transactions per second. Of course, the reality is often different due to the different block times, block sizes, and other real-world nuances.
Real blockchain TPS
At Chainspect, we track TPS for all our blockchains in real time and show it on the dashboard
and on individual chain pages. For example, here is the Ethereum chain page.
How We Calculate TPS on Chainspect?
To calculate Real-Time TPS we take different time intervals (hour/day/week/month) and calculate the total amount of transactions in them. Then we divide it by the number of seconds in an interval.
Only transactions with economic value are included, system transactions and transactions needed for consensus are excluded. Internal/inner transactions are not counted as additional transactions.