We have to face reality; Lightning Network doesn't yet allow the same level of reliability as current payment systems or Bitcoin on-chain payments. It is still pretty common to experience failed, or unusually long, payments.

bitcoin

Is your LN node ready? -- a blog post on reliability and tools | bolt.observer

boltobserver

The bullet-point summary:
- reachability - make sure nodes can connect to yours
- latency. Tor seems to be problematic. People like [@DarthCoin](https://stacker.news/darthcoin) have [written extensively about this](https://community.getumbrel.com/t/lnd-tor-clearnet-how-to-setup-hybrid-mode/6133/39)
- interconnectedness - open channels with people! the less hops the better
- liquidity - seems to be more complex than just "more sats", will be covered in a separate piece

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> We have to face reality; Lightning Network doesn't yet allow the same level of reliability as current payment systems or Bitcoin on-chain payments. It is still pretty common to experience failed, or unusually long, payments. 

It's good to be realistic.

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Great comparison!
![img](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1a77546c-818d-4600-a156-b1e36e13c0e2_578x222.png)

