NAVI vs Suilend: Comparing Sui's Two Biggest Lenders

NAVI and Suilend are the two largest lending markets on Sui and are almost the same size: on 18 October 2026, DefiLlama showed about $158M of TVL in NAVI Lending and about $156M in Suilend, each with roughly $72–75M borrowed. The practical differences are in how each one isolates risk, which liquid staking token it is built around (vSUI for NAVI, sSUI for Suilend), how liquidations work, and which strategies sit on top of it.

This head-to-head is for someone choosing where to supply or borrow. For a wider view that also covers Scallop and Current Finance, see our Sui lending protocols comparison.

NAVI vs Suilend at a glance

Sources: NAVI's liquidation docs and borrow docs; Suilend details as documented in our Suilend overview and lending comparison, both checked against Suilend's docs in October 2026.

Size and depth

On size there is nothing to choose between them. Both peaked in July 2025 at several times today's deposits and both have shrunk by about three quarters since, as we covered in the lending comparison. What matters more for a user is depth in the specific pool you plan to use. A $500,000 USDC deposit or withdrawal moves the rate much less in a $30M pool than in a $3M one.

Pool composition differs. NAVI's TVL leans on liquid staking tokens (vSUI, haSUI) and Bitcoin collateral. Suilend's largest asset is its own sSUI, followed by SUI and USDSUI. If you hold one of those LSTs, its home market usually gives it the best terms.

How each one contains risk

On NAVI there are two borrowing modes. "By Market" is the shared model: all your supplied assets back all your borrows with one health factor. "By Pair" uses isolated single-pair markets, each its own position, with higher LTV on blue-chip pairs. NAVI's Prime vaults are curated on top of these isolated markets. NAVI also runs E-Mode for correlated pairs, for example vSUI collateral against a SUI borrow at 90% LTV (E-Mode parameters).

On Suilend, blue-chip assets sit in the main market. Riskier assets are either "isolated assets" (the only asset you can borrow from that account) or live in separate isolated markets with their own parameters. One of those is the Ember Market, where Ember's eEARN yield token can be posted as collateral. Suilend's docs say losses in uninsured isolated pools can be socialised across that pool's depositors, which is what happened in its IKA market in September 2025.

Both approaches work in the same spirit: keep a risky asset from dragging down the main pool. The difference is mostly ergonomic. NAVI exposes isolation as a toggle on one Borrow page; Suilend exposes it as a market selector.

Rates, fees and incentives

Both set variable rates by utilisation on a kinked curve. NAVI adds a one-time 0.3% borrow fee taken from each borrowed amount. Suilend's documentation says it keeps a spread of usually 20% of borrow interest.

A dated example for USDC, the most-used stablecoin pool on each:

• NAVI USDC on 18 October 2026: about 5.1% base supply and 8.4% base borrow (NAVI open API).
• Suilend main-market USDC on 12 October 2026: about 4.4% base supply and 6.7% base borrow, from our on-chain snapshot in how to use Suilend.

Those snapshots are six days apart and rates move hourly, so do not read them as a ranking. Compare live figures in each app at the moment you deposit.

Incentives differ in kind. On 18 October 2026 NAVI's stablecoin pools were paying rewards in vSUI. Suilend runs two-week reward periods and was paying sSUI on its main USDC and SUI reserves. Both tokens are liquid staking tokens, so the reward is worth roughly its weight in SUI. Treat rewards as a bonus that can change, and base the decision on the base rate.

Liquidations

Both liquidate when your health factor drops below 1, and both let third parties do it. The size of each liquidation differs. On NAVI a liquidator can repay up to 35% of the debt in one go, depending on the token. On Suilend a liquidator repays 20% of the loan and receives a 5% bonus. A smaller slice per liquidation means a borrower loses less in each step if prices move only a little past the line. Our guide to DeFi liquidations walks through the arithmetic.

Liquid staking: vSUI vs sSUI

Each lender owns a liquid staking product. NAVI acquired Volo, which issues vSUI. Suilend built SpringSui, a standard for issuing LSTs, and its own sSUI, which can be redeemed for SUI in one transaction. If your plan is "stake SUI, then borrow against the LST", pick the lender whose LST you hold. Our Sui liquid staking comparison covers vSUI, sSUI, haSUI and JewelSwap's JWLSUI side by side.

Strategies built on each

Much of the activity on both markets comes from looping: supplying, borrowing and resupplying to multiply a yield. Both protocols have their own tools. NAVI offers Multiply strategies and a flash loan on every pool; Suilend's app supports leveraged positions, and its Strategies page runs its own eEARN loop.

JewelSwap Labs runs a managed vault on each:

• Ember Loop uses Suilend as its primary lender. You deposit USDC; the vault buys Ember's eEARN, posts it on Suilend's Ember Market and borrows USDC to buy more, at about 4.5x. Withdrawals are queued and paid in request order, usually within 10–30 minutes. Details in our Ember Loop guide.
• NAVI Loop runs same-asset loops on NAVI: USDY at about 2.6x and USDSUI at about 3x, capped at about $10,000 per vault during the beta. Its docs say plainly that NAVI's borrow rate is above its supply rate, so the loop only pays while NAVI's rewards outweigh that gap. Details in our NAVI Loop guide.

Both vaults are unaudited betas. We compare them directly in Ember Loop vs NAVI Loop.

Which should you use?

• You hold vSUI or haSUI: NAVI is the deeper market for both, and E-Mode gives vSUI/SUI a high LTV.
• You hold sSUI: Suilend is its home market.
• You want contained exposure: NAVI's by-Pair markets and Suilend's isolated markets both do this; pick the one that lists your pair.
• You want eEARN as collateral: Suilend's Ember Market is where most eEARN sits.
• You just want to supply stablecoins: compare the live base rate and pool utilisation on both on the day, and consider splitting.

To start, see our step-by-step guides to using NAVI and using Suilend.

Risks on both

• Smart-contract risk. Both are audited; neither audit is a guarantee. NAVI's group company Volo lost about $3.5M from three vaults in April 2026. Suilend had two market-level losses in isolated pools in 2025.
• Liquidation risk for any borrower whose health factor falls below 1.
• Withdrawal liquidity. At very high utilisation, suppliers may have to wait until borrowers repay. Check the utilisation rate first.
• Oracle and incentive risk. Bad price data can trigger wrong liquidations, and reward programmes can end.
• Strategy risk. Loop vaults built on these markets, including JewelSwap's betas, add their own contract and keeper risk on top of the lender's. Ember Loop and NAVI Loop are unaudited and should only receive amounts you can afford to lose.

Frequently asked questions

Is NAVI or Suilend bigger?

They are almost the same size. On 18 October 2026 DefiLlama showed about $158M of TVL in NAVI Lending and about $156M in Suilend, each with roughly $72–75M borrowed.

Which has lower borrow rates, NAVI or Suilend?

It changes by the hour and by pool. Both use utilisation-based rate curves, and NAVI adds a one-time 0.3% borrow fee. Compare live rates in both apps when you borrow.

What is the main difference between NAVI and Suilend?

NAVI pairs lending with Volo's vSUI and offers by-Market and by-Pair borrowing modes plus E-Mode. Suilend pairs lending with SpringSui's sSUI and isolates risky assets in separate markets, including an Ember Market for eEARN.

Does JewelSwap integrate with NAVI and Suilend?

Yes, through two beta vaults. Ember Loop uses Suilend as its primary lender, and NAVI Loop runs same-asset USDY and USDSUI loops on NAVI. Both are unaudited.

Can I move a position from Suilend to NAVI?

NAVI's Optimize tool says it can migrate supported positions from Suilend in one transaction using a flash loan, with a 0.3% fee on borrowed amounts plus gas.

Keep reading

• Sui lending protocols compared
• How to use NAVI Protocol
• How to use Suilend
• Ember Loop vs NAVI Loop
• What is NAVI Protocol?

Educational content, not financial advice. TVL figures are from DefiLlama on 18 October 2026; NAVI rates from NAVI's open API on 18 October 2026; Suilend rates from on-chain data on 12 October 2026. All figures change constantly.