Ethereum testnets at a glance
| Testnet | Status | Use it for | Chain ID |
| Sepolia | Active: full support through 2026, LTS in 2027 | Smart contracts, dApps, tooling | 11155111 |
| Hoodi | Active: planned through 2029 | Validators, staking, protocol upgrades | 560048 |
| Holesky | Shut down (October 2025) | Nothing; move staking tests to Hoodi | 17000 |
| Goerli | Retired (April 2024) | Nothing; move apps to Sepolia | 5 |
| Rinkeby, Ropsten, Kovan | Retired (2022–2023) | Nothing | 4, 3, 42 |
Sepolia vs Goerli: what was the difference?
Goerli and Sepolia ran side by side for a while, but they were built for different jobs, and that’s why only one survived.
Validator set
Goerli had an open, community-run validator set, which made it a good copy of mainnet staking but also made it hard to keep stable. Sepolia uses a permissioned validator set run by Ethereum client and testing teams. Developers lose nothing by that (anyone can still deploy and transact), and the network stays predictable.
Test ETH supply
Goerli’s fixed supply of test ETH ran short as usage grew. Faucets dried up, and Goerli ETH even started trading for real money, which defeated the point of a testnet. Sepolia’s supply is controlled by its operators, so faucets can keep giving out free test ETH. (Sepolia ETH still has no value; see is Sepolia ETH real money?)
State size and sync time
Goerli had years of accumulated state, so syncing a node was slow and storage-hungry. Sepolia’s smaller state makes it quick to sync and cheap to run, which suits the CI pipelines and local tooling most developers use.
Why Goerli and Holesky were retired
In late 2023 the Ethereum Foundation announced that Dencun would be the last upgrade Goerli received. Mainnet Dencun went live on March 13, 2024, and client and testing teams began exiting Goerli’s validators about a month later, using the shutdown to test delayed finality and mass slashing. Goerli users were told to move to Sepolia (applications) or Holesky (staking).
Holesky didn’t last long either. After it hit problems during the Pectra upgrade in early 2025, Ethereum developers launched Hoodi in March 2025 as the new staking testnet. Holesky was shut down in October 2025, two weeks after the Fusaka upgrade finalized on it, and staking operators moved to Hoodi.
Should you use Sepolia or Hoodi?
- Building smart contracts, dApps, wallets or developer tools? Use Sepolia. Every major RPC provider, explorer (sepolia.etherscan.io) and framework supports it.
- Running validators, testing a staking product or client software? Use Hoodi. It has an open validator set and a large state, so it’s closer to mainnet for that work, but it takes longer to sync.
- Building on a layer 2? Most L2 testnets (Base Sepolia, Arbitrum Sepolia, OP Sepolia, ZKsync Sepolia) settle to Sepolia, so the same choice applies. On other EVM chains, such as BNB Chain, use that chain’s own testnet; our BNB testnet faucet guide covers it.
Sepolia itself will eventually be replaced: Ethereum developers have said a newer testnet will run alongside it for a grace period before it retires. That won’t happen before 2027, so Sepolia is the right choice for anything you start today.
How to migrate a project from Goerli to Sepolia
If you’ve found an old tutorial or repository that still targets Goerli (or Rinkeby), here’s how to move it:
- Update your network config. Change the chain ID from 5 (Goerli) or 4 (Rinkeby) to 11155111, and point your RPC URL at a Sepolia endpoint from Alchemy, Infura, QuickNode or another provider.
- Add Sepolia to your wallet. MetaMask lists it under test networks; turn on “Show test networks” if you can’t see it. Our MetaMask setup guide walks through it.
- Get Sepolia ETH. Claim from a faucet such as the Metana Sepolia faucet or Chainlink’s faucet. Our list of the best testnet faucets has current limits, and you can also follow the step-by-step guide to getting Sepolia ETH.
- Redeploy your contracts. Contracts and balances don’t carry over between networks, so deploy fresh and update the addresses in your front end. Follow smart contract testing best practices as you go.
- Replace third-party addresses. Oracles, token contracts and protocols have different addresses on Sepolia. Check each project’s docs for its Sepolia deployment.
- Update explorer links. Use sepolia.etherscan.io (or Blockscout or Otterscan) instead of Goerli explorers.
If a deployment fails with a revert after the move, our guide to EVM “execution reverted” errors covers the usual causes.
What happened to Goerli and Rinkeby faucets?
They stopped working when their networks were retired. Searches for “Goerli faucet” or “Rinkeby faucet” still turn up old pages, but there’s no network left to send test ETH to. Any site still offering Goerli ETH, especially for a fee, should be avoided.
The replacement is Sepolia ETH, which you can claim from several free faucets:
- The Metana Sepolia faucet, designed for learners without mainnet ETH
- Faucets from Chainlink, Alchemy, Google Cloud and QuickNode (see our faucet roundup)
- Our beginner’s guide to Sepolia faucets if this is your first time
If you’re curious how faucets work and why they exist, read Crypto Faucet 101.
What to build on Sepolia
Sepolia supports everything you’d test before mainnet:
- Tokens: deploy an ERC-20 by following our guide to creating a token with Solidity.
- DeFi: test lending, swaps and vaults; start with DeFi smart contracts for beginners and our overview of DeFi lending platforms.
- NFTs and games: mint and trade test assets; see NFT smart contract programming.
Good tooling makes the work faster: compare the best Solidity IDEs and plugins, and if you’re still choosing a language, see Python, JavaScript and Solidity for Ethereum development.
Just getting started? Our step-by-step guide to learning Web3 lays out a path, and the Full Stack Web3 Beginner Bootcamp takes you from zero to deploying your own contracts with mentor code reviews. Developers aiming for a role can explore Solidity developer jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Goerli still active?
No. Client and Ethereum Foundation teams stopped supporting Goerli after the Dencun upgrade, and it was retired in April 2024. Use Sepolia instead.
Is Holesky still active?
No. Holesky was shut down in October 2025. Staking and validator testing moved to Hoodi.
Which Ethereum testnet should I use in 2026?
Sepolia for smart contracts, dApps and tooling; Hoodi for validators and staking infrastructure.
How long will Sepolia be supported?
Ethereum client teams plan to fully support Sepolia through 2026, including the Glamsterdam upgrade, followed by a long-term-support phase in 2027. A replacement testnet is expected to run in parallel before Sepolia retires.
Can I still get Goerli ETH?
No working faucet offers it, because the network is no longer supported. Claim Sepolia ETH from a free faucet instead.
Can I use the same smart contracts on Sepolia?
Yes. The code is the same, since Sepolia runs the same EVM as mainnet. You need to redeploy, though: contract addresses, balances and state don’t carry over from Goerli.
What is the Sepolia chain ID?
11155111. Hoodi’s chain ID is 560048.
Written by
Nilupul Weerasinghe
Nilupul Weerasinghe is a Web3 developer and researcher who builds applications on the EVM, with a strong focus on DeFi protocols and the growing intersection of AI agents and on-chain payments, including the x402 standard. Beyond account-based chains, he has deep hands-on experience with UTXO-based architectures, particularly Bitcoin Cash and CashTokens, where he founded CashMint, a BCH-native NFT marketplace and AI agent platform. His writing breaks down how different blockchain models handle state, payments, and smart contract logic, helping developers build across both EVM and UTXO ecosystems.
