Chainlink vs The Graph

Chainlink is best known as a decentralized oracle network whose core products (Data Feeds, Automation, Functions, VRF) are consumed on-chain by smart contracts rather than through a conventional web API, which is why this entry sat un-enriched for a long time. Data Streams is the one Chainlink product with a genuine off-chain HTTP surface: a low-latency REST endpoint (plus a companion WebSocket feed) that serves cryptographically-verifiable market-data reports, authenticated with an HMAC-signed API key rather than a bearer token. The mainnet endpoint bills per-report or via a subscription, payable in LINK or other supported assets; the same interface is free to call against a public testnet host for development and testing.

The Graph indexes onchain data into open GraphQL subgraphs that any client can query through its hosted Gateway, covering Ethereum and dozens of other networks without a per-chain node integration. The Gateway requires a bearer token issued from Subgraph Studio, billed on a usage-based model with a free monthly query allowance before paid billing applies. Every query and response travels as GraphQL over HTTPS.