Litecoin vs Monero

General

Description

Litecoin Logo
Litecoin
 (LTC)

Litecoin is a fork of Bitcoin and was one of the first alternative coins to emerge alongside it. Several years ago, Litecoin positioned itself as “silver” to Bitcoin’s “digital gold.” It has also frequently served as a testing ground for potential upgrades to the Bitcoin protocol, allowing new features to be trialed on the Litecoin network first.

What is Litecoin?
Monero Logo
Monero
 (XMR)

Monero is a decentralized cryptocurrency designed for private and difficult-to-trace payments. Unlike most public blockchains, the sender, recipient and amount of every transaction are concealed by default. This protects users’ financial privacy and prevents individual XMR from being treated differently based on their transaction history.

What is Monero?
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Purpose and goals

Litecoin Logo
Litecoin
 (LTC)
  • Digital currency
  • Former test network for Bitcoin
  • Fast transactions
Monero Logo
Monero
 (XMR)
  • Digital currency
  • Private and censorship-resistant payments
  • Decentralized mining on standard hardware
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Price and market data

Chart

Litecoin
 (LTC)

$44.96

-0.7%
Monero
 (XMR)

$353.62

+1.6%
Market data
LitecoinMonero
All-time high
$410.26
May 09, 2021
-89.0%
$797.73
Jan 14, 2026
-55.7%
Crypto all-time highs
Market cap
$3.48B
$6.64B
Market share
0.15%
0.29%
Transaction volume (24h)
$198.19M
+20.1%
$84.92M
+20.5%
Exchange rate

1 LTC = $44.96

1 XMR = $353.62

LTC converterXMR converter
Prediction for 2026
Powered by AI
$54.60
+21.5%
$468.72
+32.0%
LTC predictionXMR prediction
Price trend
Positive
(15/30 days)
Positive
(17/30 days)
Momentum
Positive
NegativePositive
Positive
Positive
NegativePositive
Positive
Relative Strength Index
Neutral
BuySell
Neutral (45.7)
Neutral
BuySell
Neutral (54.1)
News sentiment
Negative
NegativePositive
Negative (19/100)

Last 6 months

Neutral
NegativePositive
Neutral (43/100)

Last 12 months

LTC newsXMR news
Price performance
++1.5%
--2.2%
Price performance
--0.7%
++1.6%
Price performance
++1.2%
++10.8%
Price performance
--64.4%
++19.5%
Annual return
--43.1%
--20.0%
Annual return
--20.7%
++130.0%
Annual return
++35.1%
++15.1%
LTC returnsXMR returns
Average annual return
++397.0%
++397.4%
Max supply
84M
Circulating supply
77.46M
18.79M
Inflation
1.72%
Year
1.85%
Year
Crypto inflation

On-chain data

LitecoinMonero
Total Value Locked (TVL)
$705,733.03
What is Total Value Locked?
Market cap/TVL (ratio)
4,934.75
Transactions (24h)
172,867
28,814
Active addresses (24h)
267,654

Our rating

Our rating
LitecoinMonero
Our overall rating
Litecoin
Monero
How we evaluate cryptocurrencies

Our individual ratings

Risk
Litecoin: 2 of 10
Risk (Litecoin)
Monero: 5 of 10
Risk (Monero)
Litecoin Logo
Monero Logo
riskyless risky
Community
Litecoin: 3 of 10
Community (Litecoin)
Monero: 7 of 10
Community (Monero)
Litecoin Logo
Monero Logo
smalllarge
Hype & momentum
Litecoin: 2 of 10
Hype & momentum (Litecoin)
Monero: 6 of 10
Hype & momentum (Monero)
Litecoin Logo
Monero Logo
weakstrong
Active usage
Litecoin: 3 of 10
Active usage (Litecoin)
Monero: 7 of 10
Active usage (Monero)
Litecoin Logo
Monero Logo
lowhigh
Network effect
Litecoin: 1 of 10
Network effect (Litecoin)
Monero: 6 of 10
Network effect (Monero)
Litecoin Logo
Monero Logo
weakstrong
Decentralization
Litecoin: 5 of 10
Decentralization (Litecoin)
Monero: 7 of 10
Decentralization (Monero)
Litecoin Logo
Monero Logo
centralizeddecentralized

Our opinion

Litecoin Logo
Litecoin
 (LTC)
A few years ago, Litecoin was highly regarded in the crypto scene, as it was not only one of the first alternative networks to Bitcoin, launched in 2011, but also served extensively as a “crash-test dummy” for Bitcoin. Today, however, it’s difficult to see real utility or justification for Litecoin’s continued existence. The network—and therefore the digital currency—is scarcely used, and even founder Charlie Lee stepped down from his role as founder and lead developer back in 2017. As a long-term investment, we consider Litecoin uninteresting, though we fondly remember the early days. Together with Bitcoin, Litecoin was undoubtedly one of the pioneers in the crypto space and played an important role in testing various upgrades for the Bitcoin protocol.
What is Litecoin?
Monero Logo
Monero
 (XMR)
Monero is the most uncompromising major crypto project focused on private payments. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, it conceals the sender, recipient and amount by default, strengthening fungibility and censorship resistance. Its real-world use for legitimate private payments and on darknet marketplaces demonstrates genuine demand, while also explaining the intense regulatory pressure. Monero also benefits from its long track record, fair launch without an ICO or pre-mine, and independent open-source development. At the same time, exchange delistings restrict access, liquidity and institutional adoption. Monero does not guarantee complete anonymity either, as exchange data, IP addresses or compromised devices may still reveal information about users. Overall, we view Monero as the strongest project for private digital money, although regulatory risks are likely to limit its long-term growth.
What is Monero?
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Key data

Key data
LitecoinMonero
Sector
Currency
Privacy
Key feature
Fast Transactions
Private transactions by default
Founder
Charlie Lee
thankful_for_today (pseudonym)
Developer
Litecoin Foundation
Monero Project (open source)
Published
2011
2014
Institutional investors
  • Galaxy Digital
  • Block Ventures
  • Kenetic Capital
  • Digichain Capital
  • Parallax Digital
  • etc.
Social media
1.26M followers
530,292 followers
Website
litecoin.org
www.getmonero.org
Whitepaper
Whitepaper
Whitepaper

Technical details

Technical details
LitecoinMonero
Blockchain
Litecoin Blockchain
Monero Blockchain
Consensus mechanism
Proof of Work
Proof of Work (RandomX)
Staking
No
No
Open source
Yes
Yes
Energy consumption
High
High
Transactions per second
56 TPS
90 TPS
Litecoin vs Monero

Litecoin or Monero

Market data comparison of LTC versus XMR

The current price of Litecoin is $44.96 and has increased by 1.5% in the last 24 hours. Monero is currently trading at $353.62, with a drop of 2.2% over the same period. Litecoin has a market cap of $3.48B and ranks 28th. Monero follows with a market cap of $6.64B, ranking 17th — meaning it is valued higher.

We automatically update all market data every 15 minutes, so you always have the latest figures for your comparison.

Should I buy Litecoin or Monero?

You should be aware that investing in cryptocurrencies carries risks, and we are neither allowed nor intending to provide investment advice. Still, we'd like to offer some food for thought: consider the opportunities and risks associated with both Litecoin and Monero. What target markets and problems are these two projects aiming to address?

If you're still unsure whether to invest in Litecoin or Monero, you can take a look at some additional market data to help with your decision:

Currently, Litecoin is about -89.0% below it's all-time high of $410.26 reached May 09, 2021.
In comparison, Monero is down approximately -55.7% from it's all-time high of $797.73 Jan 14, 2026.
Litecoin currently has a 133.4% higher 24h transaction volume of $198.19M compared to Monero with $84.92M.
Over the past year, Litecoin achieved a total return of -64.4%, while Monero returned +19.5%. Keep in mind, however, that past performance rarely guarantees future results.

Additional criteria for comparing cryptocurrencies:

  • What problem does the project aim to solve, and is a decentralized network meaningful and necessary for it?
  • How actively is the network being used?
  • Does the project have a large and active community?
  • How strong is the development activity? (e.g., on GitHub)
  • How decentralized is the underlying blockchain and the project itself?

How we evaluate cryptocurrencies

These are just a few indicators you can use to better evaluate and compare cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Monero. Cryptocurrencies and their underlying technologies are often difficult to compare — even for professionals. So don’t stress yourself out, and never let emotions or fear of missing out drive your investment decisions.

Where can I buy Litecoin or Monero?

Today, there are many reputable and secure exchanges that make it easy to invest in Litecoin and Monero. We're happy to help you choose the right one: simply use our exchange comparison tool to find the platform that best suits your needs. Both Litecoin and Monero are well-known and in high demand, which means they're available on most major exchanges.

Crypto exchanges comparison

Which crypto wallet is best for Litecoin and Monero?

If you want to store cryptocurrencies like Litecoin or Monero yourself, choosing the right wallet is essential. Consider your personal preferences when deciding: Is ease of use important to you? Do you prefer maximum security with a hardware wallet (USB device), or is a software wallet sufficient for your needs? Our crypto wallet comparison helps you find the best wallet for Litecoin, Monero, and many other cryptocurrencies.

Crypto wallets comparison