zk-vs-fhe-vs-mpc
ZK vs FHE vs MPC
ZK vs FHE vs MPC: which should you use for a privacy-focused DApp?
Zero-knowledge proofs (ZK), fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), and secure multi-party computation (MPC) are three different approaches to privacy-preserving computation, each with different tradeoffs. The right choice depends on what needs to stay private and what performance profile your application can tolerate. Midnight uses zero-knowledge proofs, specifically zk-SNARKs, through Compact, a domain-specific smart contract language based on TypeScript.
This page compares the three cryptographic approaches in depth. For the category-level view first, see how privacy blockchains work.
Comparison at a glance
| Zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) | Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) | Secure multi-party computation (MPC) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it protects | Proves a statement is true without revealing the underlying data | Allows computation directly on encrypted data | Allows multiple parties to jointly compute over combined private inputs |
| Where computation happens | The prover generates a proof, locally by default; the network verifies it on-chain | Directly on ciphertext, by a single computing party | Distributed across multiple non-colluding parties |
| Typical performance profile today | Cost concentrates in proof generation; practical for smart contract logic | Overhead applies to every operation on encrypted data; an active area of optimization | Requires coordination and communication between parties; overhead scales with party count |
| Example platforms | Midnight (Compact), Aztec (Noir), Aleo (Leo), Mina, Starknet (Cairo), ZKsync | Zama (TFHE-rs, Concrete, FHEVM), Fhenix, Duality Technologies, OpenFHE, Microsoft SEAL | Partisia Blockchain, Lit Protocol, Threshold Network |
| Typical use case today | Private smart contracts, selective disclosure, identity proofs | Encrypted data processing, confidential analytics, confidential smart contracts | Threshold key management, distributed signing, joint computation without a trusted party |
Platform examples verified August 2026. Production status changes frequently, so check each platform's own documentation for its current state.