How to Stake Solana (SOL) Step by Step in Phantom, Solflare, Backpack and Ledger

To stake Solana, open a wallet that holds your SOL, choose the stake option, pick a validator, enter an amount and approve. The whole thing takes a few minutes. Your SOL moves into a stake account that only you control, and it starts earning at the next epoch, which is about a day away. Phantom, Solflare, Backpack and Ledger all follow the same five steps. Solana needs at least 1 SOL to open a native stake, plus a little extra for fees. The sections below give each wallet's exact buttons, then cover staking with Solana Compass, liquid staking, and how to get your SOL back.

What you need before you stake SOL

You need three things to stake SOL: a self-custody wallet, enough SOL to meet the wallet's minimum, and a small balance left over for fees. A self-custody wallet is one where you hold the keys, such as Phantom, Solflare, Backpack or a Ledger device. Native staking means delegating SOL straight to a validator, one of the computers that runs Solana. Since June 2026 the network itself sets a 1 SOL minimum for each new stake account, so every wallet asks for at least that.

Each new stake account also locks a small deposit that Solana requires for storing the account on-chain. Solflare's guide puts it at about 0.002 SOL. Solana has been cutting this deposit, so it is a little less now, and you get it back when you close the account. Ledger suggests keeping at least 0.01 SOL spare, which covers fees for later unstaking.

If you hold less than 1 SOL, liquid staking is the usual route. You swap SOL for a token that earns staking rewards, and there is no stake account to open.

How to stake SOL in Phantom

Phantom stakes SOL natively from its browser extension. The mobile app can unstake and withdraw an existing stake, but Phantom's help centre says new native stake accounts can only be created in the extension. The extension takes five steps and needs at least 1 SOL:

1. Open Solana in your token list, then select More.
2. Choose Stake SOL, then Native Staking.
3. Pick a validator from the list.
4. Enter an amount of 1 SOL or more.
5. Select Stake and approve.

Your position shows as Activating, then Active. Phantom quotes two to three days for that, though the wait is really until the next epoch boundary. You can't top up an existing stake account in Phantom. Adding SOL later opens a second one.

Phantom also offers liquid staking through its own token, PSOL. On mobile you search PSOL and tap Stake; in the extension it sits under More. There is no minimum. Phantom's PSOL page lists a 4% protocol fee on rewards and a 0.1% exit fee. Native staking in Phantom carries no Phantom fee beyond network fees, according to its comparison of the two.

Phantom points you to outside sites to compare validators. Our own validator rankings show commission, uptime and realised yield for each one.

How to stake SOL in Solflare

Solflare stakes SOL natively on both mobile and the web, with a validator already filled in that you can change. On mobile it takes five steps:

1. Open the Staking tab and tap Stake.
2. Enter the amount, at least 1 SOL.
3. Keep the suggested validator or pick another from the dropdown.
4. Tap Next and review the details.
5. Slide to approve.

On the web, go to solflare.com, select Access Wallet, open the Staking tab, then choose Stake. Enter the amount and validator, and confirm. Solflare's desktop guide walks through the same screens.

Ledger points users to Solflare to see MEV rewards. MEV tips are extra payments from traders. Some validators share them with stakers, mostly through Jito JTO$0.371-10.1%.

Solflare stands out when you want out. A normal unstake waits for the epoch to end. Then you withdraw, with no extra fee. An Instant Unstake toggle skips the wait, for a fee the Solflare unstaking guide puts at 0.5% to 3%. Solflare can also split a stake account above 2 SOL, so you can unstake part of it.

How to stake SOL in Backpack

Backpack offers native staking and its own liquid staking token, bpSOL. For native staking, Backpack's guide gives five steps:

1. Open Portfolio and select Solana (SOL).
2. Tap Stake SOL to Earn, then Native Staking.
3. Enter an amount of at least 1.00167 SOL.
4. Review the suggested validator, or choose Other Validators.
5. Tap Stake and approve.

The suggested validator is the Mad Validator, which Backpack owns and runs. Picking it is fine, but it is a choice, so look at Other Validators if you'd rather spread stake around the network. Backpack says new stake typically activates within 24 hours.

For bpSOL you swap rather than stake. Open Swap, choose SOL to bpSOL, enter at least 0.01 SOL, then review and approve. There is no activation wait, and you can swap back at any time. Backpack's help pages don't list a fee for either option.

How to stake SOL on a Ledger

You can stake SOL from a Ledger in two ways. You can use the Ledger Wallet app, once called Ledger Live. Or you can link the Ledger to Phantom or Solflare and stake there. Either way the keys stay on the device, and you approve each step on its screen. Ledger's staking guide, last updated 4 August 2026, needs version 1.2.0 or later of the Solana app on the device.

In Ledger Wallet:

1. Open the Solana app on your Ledger.
2. In Ledger Wallet, go to Accounts and pick your Solana account.
3. Select Earn and read the pop-up.
4. Choose "Ledger by Figment", or select Show all to pick another validator.
5. Enter the amount, continue, and approve on the device.

The Show all list holds only the top 1,000 validators, so small ones may be missing. Ledger says a new stake can take up to three days to go live. To unstake, open Delegations, select Manage, then Deactivate. Withdraw once the stake shows as inactive. Ledger Wallet can't unstake part of a stake, and it doesn't show MEV rewards.

To use Phantom instead, close Ledger Wallet first. Then in Phantom's extension, select your profile, Add Account, and Connect Hardware Wallet. Phantom and Solflare both say some transactions need blind signing turned on in the Solana app. If the device turns down a stake, check that setting in the Solana app. Ledger notes it turns itself off after updates.

How to stake SOL with Solana Compass

Solana Compass runs its own validator, and you can stake to it from any wallet above. To be clear about our interest: we earn a cut of MEV tips on stake sent to us. We keep 0% of inflation rewards and 10% of MEV tips. Our live validator page shows the latest figures. In a wallet, search the list for "Solana Compass", or paste our vote account: EARNynHRWg6GfyJCmrrizcZxARB3HVzcaasvNa8kBS72.

You can also stake directly from the Solana Compass staking page. Connect your wallet, enter an amount and approve. The network's 1 SOL minimum applies there too, and the form checks it before you sign. You keep custody the whole time.

Native staking vs liquid staking vs exchange staking

Native staking suits most holders with 1 SOL or more who want the simplest setup and no extra fees. Liquid staking suits small balances, people who want to exit fast, and anyone who wants to use staked SOL in DeFi. Exchange staking is the easiest, but the exchange holds your SOL.

Liquid staking works through stake pools. You deposit SOL and get a token, such as PSOL or bpSOL, that rises in value against SOL as rewards come in. Our guide to how stake pools work and what they charge compares the main ones. Many people also stake on exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken and Robinhood. That is a separate product, where the exchange stakes for you and sets the rate it pays.

When staking rewards start and how to unstake SOL

New stake starts earning when the next epoch begins. An epoch is Solana's reward period. Each one has lasted about 26 hours lately by Solana Compass's measure. Rewards land once per epoch and join your stake, so they grow on top of each other with no work from you.

The Solana Foundation's staking page still describes an epoch as about two days. Faster blocks since August 2026 have made it shorter. That is why wallets quote anything from one to four days. For more on how payouts work, see where staking rewards come from.

Unstaking takes two steps. First you unstake, which stops rewards when the epoch ends. Then you withdraw the SOL back to your wallet. Withdrawing is its own step in every wallet above, so check back once the stake shows as inactive. Our guide to unstaking, withdrawing and instant exits covers both the wait and the faster options.

How to choose a validator when you stake SOL

The validator you pick sets most of what you earn, so it is worth a minute. Look at three things: its fee, how often it is online, and whether it shares MEV tips. The fee, called commission, is the share of rewards it keeps. A validator that misses votes earns you less. One that goes offline earns you nothing until it is back.

Fees can change, so a 0% validator can raise its rate later. Check yours now and then on Solana Compass, which tracks every fee change. Our guide on how to pick a validator goes through the trade-offs. Staking with smaller validators also helps keep Solana spread out and hard to control.

The chart shows how staked SOL splits by commission. The 100% band is mostly private validators run by exchanges and custodians for their own stake, not ones you would pick in a wallet.

Across validators that paid stakers, the average staker earned about 5.0% a year in the latest epoch we measured. The best-paying validators returned about 5.8%. To turn those rates into SOL for your own balance, work out what your stake will earn with worked examples.

Risks of staking SOL

Native staking has few risks, but they are real. The biggest is the validator. A high fee, a sudden fee rise, or time offline all cut your rewards. Solana does not take staked SOL away as a penalty today. Such penalties, called slashing, exist only as proposals such as SIMD-0204.

Liquid staking adds two more. The pool's code could have a bug, and its token can trade below its true value for a while when many holders sell at once. Exchange staking adds the exchange itself, since you don't hold the keys.

Wallet safety matters more than any of these. Stake only from your wallet's own screen or a site you trust. Read what your wallet or Ledger asks you to approve. A real stake never asks for your recovery phrase.

The Solana Compass staking overview puts rates, validators and liquid staking options in one place. For advanced users, Solana's command-line staking guide covers the same steps without a wallet app.