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Blockchain Data API Pricing in 2026: Free Tiers and Monthly Costs Compared

What a blockchain data API costs per month, which providers still have a free tier, and why their quotas are hard to compare. Bitquery, Alchemy, QuickNode, Moralis, Helius, Chainstack and CoinGecko, checked on 29 October 2026.

By Divyasshree · Blockchain Intelligence

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The short answer

Most blockchain data APIs cost between $35 and $299 a month for a first paid plan. Many have a free tier, and each one counts usage in its own unit.

Provider	Free option	First paid plan	What it mostly sells
Bitquery	7-day trial, no card	$49 / month	Decoded data: trades, prices, transfers, balances, streams
Alchemy	Free plan, 30M compute units / month	Pay as you go, $0.52 per 1M compute units	RPC nodes plus data APIs
QuickNode	Free trial, 10M credits / month	$49 / month	RPC nodes plus add-ons
Moralis	Free trial on request	$149 / month	Data APIs for wallets, tokens and NFTs
Helius	Free plan, 1M credits / month	$49 / month	Solana RPC and data APIs
Chainstack	Free plan, 3M request units / month	$49 / month	RPC nodes
CoinGecko	Free Demo plan, 10k calls / month	$35 / month	Prices and market data

Prices come from each provider's public pricing page on 29 October 2026. They change often, so check the page before you commit.

Why the free tiers are hard to compare

Each provider sells a different unit. Alchemy counts compute units, QuickNode and Helius count credits, Chainstack counts request units, and Bitquery counts points. A method that is cheap in one unit can be expensive in another.

The bigger difference is what one call returns. An RPC node gives you raw blocks, logs and receipts. To get "every swap this wallet made last month" you make many calls, decode each log, then add prices yourself. A decoded data API answers the same question in one query. So a large free RPC quota can cost more engineering time than a small data API quota.

Ask three questions before comparing numbers:

Do I need raw RPC or decoded data? Sending transactions needs RPC. Dashboards, bots and analytics usually need decoded trades, transfers and balances.
Do I need history? Some free tiers cover only recent blocks. Archive access is often a paid feature.
Do I need streaming? Many providers keep WebSocket or gRPC streams behind paid plans.

Provider by provider

Bitquery

Bitquery sells decoded on-chain data through GraphQL, WebSocket streams, Kafka and bulk files. There is no permanent free plan. Instead, every paid plan starts with a 7-day free trial with full WebSocket streaming and no card required. The trial covers real-time data on a small quota.

Plan	Monthly	Billed yearly	Fit
Personal	$49	$29 / month	API only, no streaming, personal projects
Pro	$99	$69 / month	Trading bots, alerts and dashboards with live streams
Scale	$299	$199 / month	Production real-time apps
Enterprise	Custom	Custom	Multi-chain complete history and bulk delivery

AI agents can use the Bitquery MCP server on separate plans: Trading MCP at $19 a month and AI Investigation MCP at $149 a month. Each trial includes 100 MCP credits.

Deeper history on a core chain is a flat-rate add-on, and every Data Store dataset has a free sample file. Full details are on the pricing page.

Alchemy

Alchemy has a free plan with 30M compute units a month at 15 requests a second. Paid usage is pay as you go at $0.52 per 1M compute units, with more throughput available. Enterprise pricing is custom. Alchemy is mainly an RPC provider with data APIs on top.

QuickNode

QuickNode has a free trial with 10M API credits a month at 15 requests a second. Paid plans start with Build at $49 a month for 80M credits, then Accelerate at $249, Scale at $499 and Business at $999. The pricing page lists archive data on every plan.

Moralis

Moralis's pricing page does not list a permanent free plan. It offers a free trial that the team sets up. Paid plans start with Starter at $149 a month for 2M compute units, then Pro at $249 and Business at $749. A separate Data Feeds plan starts at $10 a month.

Helius

Helius covers Solana only. Its free plan has 1M credits a month at 10 requests a second and includes standard WebSocket streaming. Developer costs $49 a month for 10M credits, then Business at $499 and Professional at $999.

Chainstack

Chainstack's free Developer plan has 3M request units a month at 25 requests a second, without archive data. Growth costs $49 a month for 20M request units and includes archive data. Pro is $199, Business $499 and Enterprise starts at $990.

CoinGecko

CoinGecko sells market data more than on-chain data. Its free Demo plan has 10k calls a month at 100 calls a minute. Basic costs $35 a month, Analyst $129, Lite $499 and Pro $999.

What a typical project costs

Project	Typical need	Rough monthly cost
Side project or prototype	Recent data, no streaming	Free tier, or $35 to $49
Trading bot or alert service	Live streams, decoded trades	$49 to $299
Analytics dashboard	History plus prices	$99 to $499
Compliance or research team	Full history, labels, bulk files	Enterprise or dataset purchase

The most common mistake is choosing on free quota alone. Price the plan you will need in month three, with streaming and history included, and compare that.

How to try Bitquery for free

Create an account at the pricing page and start the 7-day trial. No card is needed.
Run your first query in the GraphQL IDE.
Download a free sample file from the Data Store to check historical coverage.
To test with an AI agent, connect the MCP server. The trial includes 100 MCP credits.

FAQ

How much does a blockchain data API cost per month?

Most first paid plans cost $35 to $299 a month. Bitquery's plans are $49, $99 and $299 a month, or $29, $69 and $199 a month billed yearly. Enterprise plans for full history and bulk delivery are priced on request.

Which blockchain data APIs have a free tier?

On 29 October 2026, Alchemy, Helius, Chainstack and CoinGecko listed free plans, and QuickNode listed a free trial with a monthly credit allowance. Bitquery offers a 7-day free trial on every paid plan, with streaming included and no card required.

Does Bitquery have a free plan?

Bitquery has a 7-day free trial instead of a permanent free plan. The trial includes live WebSocket streaming and 100 MCP credits, and no card is needed. Data Store datasets also have free sample files.

Is a free RPC tier enough for analytics?

Usually not. RPC returns raw blocks and logs, so analytics needs many calls plus decoding and pricing. A decoded data API returns trades, transfers and balances directly, which uses far fewer calls.

Which plan do I need for streaming?

At Bitquery, streaming starts on the Pro plan at $99 a month. The Personal plan is API only. The free trial includes streaming so you can test it first.