Blockchain · head-to-head
Helium vs Watchdata
Helium's original Layer-1 blockchain was retired in an April 2023 migration to Solana, and the network's chain data now ships only as bulk Postgres/CSV snapshots over torrent or a requestor-pays S3 bucket rather than a queryable API. The one remaining live HTTP endpoint is the free Entity API, which returns a Hotspot's owner, asserted (H3-obfuscated) location, and on-chain asset IDs by wallet public key. It carries no uptime guarantee and is meant for light lookups, not production traffic.
WatchData operates hosted JSON-RPC nodes across Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, and other networks, plus higher-level "Powered API" endpoints for token balances, transfer history, and block-timestamp lookups that would otherwise require custom indexing. Every call needs an api_key issued from the dashboard after a free signup, with a 100-million-unit free monthly allowance before paid plans apply. Responses are plain JSON-RPC.
| Helium | Watchdata | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | None | API Key |
| Pricing | free | freemium |
| Formats | JSON | JSON |
| CORS | yes | yes |
| HTTPS | Yes | Yes |
Helium needs no API key, while Watchdata requires API Key — pick Helium to start without signup.