Blockchain · head-to-head
Bitquery vs Etherscan
Bitquery serves onchain data across 40+ blockchains through a single GraphQL schema, covering trades, transfers, balances, and DEX activity, plus real-time delivery over WebSocket streams. Access is metered per API point and stream-minute, with a 7-day free trial that unlocks the full streaming tier before billing kicks in. Tokens are issued through an OAuth2 client-credentials flow rather than a static key.
Etherscan's API exposes the same account balances, transactions, contract source, and gas-tracker data shown on the block explorer, addressed to Ethereum mainnet and its testnets through a single query-parameter-based endpoint. Calls against the older V1 endpoint now return a deprecation notice pointing at the documented V2 migration, so new integrations should build against V2 directly. Free-tier keys cover light use, with paid plans unlocking higher rate limits.
| Bitquery | Etherscan | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | OAuth | API Key |
| Pricing | metered | freemium |
| Formats | GraphQL, WebSocket | JSON |
| CORS | yes | yes |
| HTTPS | Yes | Yes |
Etherscan is freemium, while Bitquery is metered — Etherscan is the cheaper way in.