As DAOs have evolved, certain frameworks, platforms, and tools have become widely adopted due to their reliability, security, and community support. These industry standards provide time-tested solutions for governance, treasury management, and decision-making, reducing the need for DAOs to build systems from scratch.

This article explores the most commonly used DAO frameworks and platforms, analyzing their core features and how they fit into different governance models.

Why Industry Standards Matter

Using established DAO frameworks offers several advantages:

  • Security – Audited and battle-tested contracts reduce the risk of vulnerabilities.
  • Efficiency – Leveraging pre-built solutions speeds up DAO deployment and governance processes.
  • Interoperability – Many standard frameworks integrate well with external tools and governance extensions.
  • Community & Support – Widely used frameworks have strong developer communities, making it easier to find resources and assistance.

However, relying on industry standards also means inheriting trade-offs from their design choices, which may not fit every DAO’s unique needs.

Key DAO Frameworks & Platforms

MolochDAO Framework

Moloch-style DAOs focus on simplicity and capital efficiency, primarily using “rage quitting” as a core mechanism. Members contribute funds to a shared pool and can exit (rage quit) with their pro-rata share if they disagree with governance decisions.

  • Strengths: Simple, efficient capital allocation, strong Sybil resistance.
  • Weaknesses: Limited flexibility, lack of modular governance features.
  • Used by: MetaCartel, DAOhaus.

Compound Governor

Compound’s governance system is based on off-chain proposal creation with on-chain execution using a token-weighted voting model. It has become a widely used governance standard, powering many DAOs that require transparent, on-chain decision-making.

  • Strengths: Fully on-chain, modular, well-audited.
  • Weaknesses: High governance overhead, potential for governance capture.
  • Used by: Compound, Uniswap, Aave, OpenZeppelin Governor.

Gnosis Safe & Zodiac

Gnosis Safe is the most widely used multi-signature wallet in the DAO ecosystem, acting as a treasury management and execution layer. Zodiac, an extension framework, allows DAOs to create modular and composable governance mechanisms on top of Gnosis Safe.

  • Strengths: Highly flexible, multi-sig security, modular expansion.
  • Weaknesses: Requires external integrations for full governance functionality.
  • Used by: Gnosis DAO, ENS DAO, SafeDAO.

Aragon

Aragon provides a full-stack DAO creation suite, allowing DAOs to deploy governance structures with custom permissions, voting mechanisms, and dispute resolution. Aragon OS and Aragon DAO cater to different governance needs, from simple DAOs to complex organizations.

  • Strengths: No-code governance setup, modular design, strong developer ecosystem.
  • Weaknesses: Higher complexity compared to lightweight frameworks, reliance on Aragon’s infrastructure.
  • Used by: Decentraland, API3.

Tally

Tally is a governance front-end that supports Compound Governor-based DAOs, providing a user-friendly interface for proposal creation, voting, and execution tracking.

  • Strengths: Improves DAO accessibility, integrates with existing governance frameworks.
  • Weaknesses: Limited to Governor-based DAOs, relies on external execution layers.
  • Used by: Compound, Gitcoin, Uniswap.

Choosing the Right Standard for Your DAO

The best framework depends on the DAO’s needs, governance structure, and level of decentralization. Some considerations:

  • For Simple Governance & Treasury Management → MolochDAO, Gnosis Safe.
  • For Fully On-Chain Governance → Compound Governor, Aragon.
  • For Modular & Hybrid Governance → Gnosis Safe + Zodiac, Aragon OS.
  • For User-Friendly Governance UI → Tally.

Some DAOs use a mix of these tools, combining a Gnosis Safe treasury with Compound Governor voting or Aragon’s permission system with external governance extensions.

Final Thoughts

Industry standards provide DAOs with reliable, proven governance models that can be adopted as-is or customized to fit specific needs. While these frameworks streamline DAO creation and governance, each has its own trade-offs, and choosing the right one depends on a DAO’s objectives, security needs, and governance philosophy.

By leveraging existing industry standards, DAOs can reduce risk, improve efficiency, and focus on innovation rather than reinventing governance from scratch.