The Best Blockchain APIs for Building Onchain Applications in 2025

Written by Max Crawford

Published on September 17, 202510 min read

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Building onchain applications requires reliable infrastructure that can handle millions of user requests, maintain consistent uptime, and scale with your growth. Users expect snappy experiences, and whether you're launching a DeFi protocol, an NFT marketplace, or a crypto wallet, choosing the right blockchain API provider can make or break your product.

After powering thousands of web3 applications and processing trillions of requests, at Alchemy, we've seen firsthand what developers need from their blockchain infrastructure. In this guide, we'll break down the best blockchain APIs available today, what makes each unique, and how to choose the right provider for your project.

What Are Blockchain APIs and Why Do They Matter?

A blockchain API (Application Programming Interface) acts as the bridge between your application and blockchain networks. Instead of running your own blockchain node(s) to connect to the network (which requires substantial technical expertise, maintenance, and overhead costs as you scale), you can instead simply connect to the network via 3rd party API endpoints that handle all the complexity of that connection for you.

Think of blockchain APIs as your gateway to reading and writing data onchain. You use blockchain APIs to check wallet balances, send transactions, query smart contracts, fetch NFT metadata, and much more. Without reliable APIs, your app might show users out-of-date information, fail to land transactions onchain, and offer a broken UX.

The difference between a good and great blockchain API provider shows up directly in your app’s user experience: load times can drop from seconds to milliseconds, the reliability of your app can go from 99% (3.5 days of outages annually) to 99.99% (less than an hour of outages annually), and your engineering team can spend more cycles on building features and interfacing with customers directly rather than building our your infrastructure to maintain a reliable connection to the network.

What Are the Different Types of Blockchain APIs?

Not all blockchain APIs serve the same purpose or offer the same data. Understanding the different types can help you pick the right tools for your specific needs:

RPC (Remote Procedure Call) APIs form the foundation of blockchain interaction. Every blockchain node comes with an RPC API, and 3rd party providers build advanced infra on top of these nodes to offer you the best reliability and lowest latency (by doing things like running a fleet of nodes, storing onchain data in custom Postgres databases for faster retrieval, caching, load balancing, and much much more). These RPC APIs let you send transactions, query blockchain state, and subscribe to events. Every onchain application needs robust RPC endpoints to function.

Enhanced data APIs go beyond the basic API functionality of RPC nodes and offer processed, indexed data that’s ready for use in production. For example, a Token API might index and parse onchain data related to token activity (such as token metadata, ownership information, trading activity, and more), and the provider of that API might proactively clean and enrich that data, so you don’t have to do any work to process the onchain data yourself. You can find all sorts of specialized APIs on the market today, including token APIs, NFT APIs, portfolio APIs, transaction APIs, and much more.

Specialized infrastructure APIs handle specific use cases that RPC APIs do not have the functionality to handle. For example, a specialized API might offer MEV protection for DeFi applications, priority fee estimation for transactions on high-throughput chains, or cross-chain data aggregation for multichain applications.

WebSocket APIs enable real-time data streaming for applications that need instant updates on blockchain events, new blocks, or pending transactions.

A general rule of thumb is that every blockchain ecosystem will offer RPC APIs out of the box. In some cases, you might find the foundation runs nodes that you can call, or in the absence of a publicly available resource, you can simply run a node yourself and access RPC API functionality for your application.

But if you’re building an application that needs to scale, that’s just the starting point. Third-party providers give you what the base layer can’t: consistent uptime, faster response times, unlimited scalability, and developer-friendly APIs — alongside enriched data and specialized infrastructure to accelerate your roadmap.

With that understanding, let’s take a closer look at what blockchain API providers are available on the market today.

The 12 Best Blockchain APIs in 2025

1. Alchemy

Alchemy eliminates the infrastructure headaches that slow down web3 development and is the leading blockchain API provider on the market today. In the summer of 2025, we launched Cortex, a new blockchain engine that transformed Alchemy’s product suite and unlocked a new level of performance for our API product lines, driving sub-50ms response times and 99.99% uptime across 50+ different chains.

Not only does Alchemy provide industry-leading reliability and performance, but it also offers unique features like unlimited range getLogs so you can scan the whole chain for your events with just a single request, shuffle sharding so performance spikes from your neighbors don’t impact your business, and much more.

Alchemy APIs power the biggest builders in crypto, including giants like Robinhood, World, Stripe, Chainlink, Polymarket, OpenSea, 0x, Aave, and Circle. Plus, the company offers a suite of additional products so you can easily build onchain, including enriched data APIs, smart wallets, webhooks, and even rollups as a service.

Chain support: Alchemy supports 50+ different blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, and many more.

Pricing: Alchemy offers the industry's most generous free tier (30M CU/month) to get you started quickly. From there, we offer a fully transparent and predictable pay-as-you-go pricing model that offers discounts as you scale, as well as enterprise plans for apps that need unmatched performance and strategic partnership with our team.

Best for: Production applications that can't afford downtime, apps that require snappy user experiences, teams building complex DeFi products, developers who need a range of devtools and want infrastructure that "just works."

2. QuickNode

QuickNode is one of the largest blockchain API providers in the space today, supporting 200B+ monthly API requests. They emphasize speed and reliability, with 72ms latency and 99.99% uptime. Alongside their blockchain API product line, QuickNode offers data streaming, enriched data APIs, dedicated node clusters, and more.

In addition to their product suite, QuickNode offers an add-on marketplace (think of it like an app store for blockchain APIs), where you can find a number of products from various partners, including Flashbots, Blockscout, Covalent, and others. QuickNode customers include crypto.com, LG, Binance, Dune, Nansen, and more.

Chain support: QuickNode supports 76 chains across 125 networks, making it one of the broadest coverages available.

Pricing: QuickNode offers a one month free trial, and its paid plans begin at $42/month and scale all the way up to $849/month and beyond.

Best for: Teams wanting plug-and-play tools, multichain projects, developers who value ecosystem over raw performance

3. Infura

As part of the Consensys ecosystem, Infura positions itself as the reliable workhorse for Ethereum development and for a period of time Infura dominated the API market, serving 400,000+ developers. Their deep integration with Ethereum gave them an early head start, but since then competition has grown, and developers now have many options on the market.

Infura offers a centralized service (as do most of the providers on this list), but they’ve been progressively decentralizing their network with a “decentralized infrastructure network” (DIN) effort that brings various API providers together. In addition to APIs that offer 99.99% reliability, Infura offers a Gas API powered by MetaMask, which gives Infura comprehensive insights into network congestion and gas pricing.

Chain support: Infura supports 20 networks, including Ethereum and many popular Ethereum L2s.

Pricing: Infura offers a free plan with 3M daily free credits (which translates to roughly 1M transactions per month), and the company offers paid plans beginning at $50/month to support you as you scale.

Best for: Joe Lubin, MetaMask integration, Ethereum purists, teams needing IPFS alongside blockchain data

4. Ankr

Ankr positions itself as Web3's decentralized infrastructure leader, operating one of the first DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure) networks. Their network of independent nodes serves 8+ billion daily requests while maintaining decentralization. In addition, Ankr itself is a DAO, and decision making is spread across holders of the ANKR token.

Ankr also uses this token to enable a two-sided marketplace where node operators earn ANKR tokens for serving requests while developers pay ANKR tokens to make requests. Optimized for decentralization over performance, Ankr’s customers include Sentora, SushiSwap, Chiliz, and more.

Chain support: Ankr supports 79 different blockchains.

Pricing: Ankr’s free plan limits users to 30 reqs/sec, but 200M free monthly credits (which translates to ~$20 in value). For higher throughput and additional support, Ankr’s paid plans begin at $10/month and scale up to custom enterprise pricing (think $3,000+ monthly).

Best for: Ideological decentralization advocates, projects needing many chains, ANKR token holders

5. Chainstack

Chainstack offers a range of different blockchain APIs across its Global Nodes, Unlimited Nodes, Dedicated Nodes, and Trader Nodes, making sure that whether you are experimenting or an enterprise power user, you have a product that meets your needs.

Alongside those various node parameters, Chainstack offers impressive tooling for landing transactions at a 99% success rate within just a couple blocks, useful for high frequency trading and DeFi apps. Chainstack also offers subgraphs, data streaming for Solana, and fast access to archival data. Chainstack’s users include Axelar, Trust Wallet, Kenshi, Chainalysis, Mantle, and more.

Chain support: Chainstack supports 70+ blockchains.

Pricing: Chainstack’s free plan offers 3M requests/month with 25 reqs/sec. Paid plans begin at $49/month and scale to enterprise plans, which start at $990/month.

Best for: Trading firms, MEV searchers, enterprises needing custom configurations

6. Helius

Helius has carved out a dominant position in Solana with its first mover advantage. Built by Solana natives who understand the chain's unique architecture, they offer performance and features that are hard to match: 99.99% transaction landing rate, with just 1.5 second confirmation time.

Helius is also more than just an API provider. They offer a Solana validator that takes 0% fees, a shred delivery product that gives you the earliest possible access to raw onchain data, enhanced APIs for asset and transaction data, data streams and notifications, and more. Helius customers include the largest builders on Solana, including Phantom, Pump.fun, Jupiter, Raydium, and more.

Chain support: Helius exclusively offers Solana support (and is proud of it).

Pricing: Helius offers 1M free credits monthly at 10 reqs/sec, with paid tiers beginning at $49/month.

Best for: Serious Solana builders, high-frequency trading, NFT and memecoin platforms on Solana, anyone who needs Solana transactions to land reliably

7. Blockdaemon

Blockdaemon is a staking provider for enterprise, focusing on MPC wallets, vaults, and staking as a service. But as part of that work, they also offer institutional nodes and APIs for businesses at scale, helping them land transactions, track user balances, and more.

Blockdaemon also offers enhanced API experiences that collate data from various networks and return all of that data via a single API interface. Blockdaemon customers include MetaMask, Circle, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Microsoft, and more.

Chain support: Blockdaemon supports 40+ blockchain networks, with strong non-EVM coverage.

Pricing: Given their institutional focus, Blockdaemon offers opaque pricing that requires contacting sales for more information.

Best for: Institutions needing compliance, projects on niche chains, white-label infrastructure needs

8. GetBlock

GetBlock offers API access to 50 different networks and also offers plans for dedicated nodes and node clusters. They also offer “blockchain-as-a-service” and support 150+ different appchains. With 24/7 service support and 99.99%, GetBlock is trusted by customers like Chainlink, Elliptic, Trust, and Near.

Chain support: GetBlock supports 50+ blockchains.

Pricing: GetBlock offers a free plan with 50K CU at 5 rps, and paid plans begin at $39/month scaling up to enterprise at $799/month.

Best for: Variable workloads, developers who want a solid all-around provider

9. dRPC

dRPC takes a unique architectural approach: instead of running their own nodes, they orchestrate a network of 50+ independent providers through intelligent load balancing. Think of them as the "Uber for RPCs,” matching your requests with the best available node in real-time.

dRPC has built a fault-tolerant load balancer for 50+ different blockchain API providers that considers node location, sync state, and recent performance for every request to make sure that your API response is as fast and snappy as it can be. Today, 3,000 apps are powered by dRPC, and the network processes 4B requests per day. dRPC customers include Lido, OpenZeppelin, PancakeSwap, Safe, Dex Screener, and more.

Chain support: dRPC supports 100 different chains across 187 networks.

Pricing: dRPC offers a free plan that limits your access to the public nodes in its network, and its growth plan is a dead simple $6 per 1M requests, regardless of chain or method.

Best for: High-volume applications, cost-conscious teams needing predictable pricing, projects requiring true decentralization without performance sacrifice

10. Coinbase Developer Platform

Leveraging Coinbase's exchange infrastructure, Coinbase has made a number of developer tools available to developers to help bring the world onchain. Those tools include fiat ramps, wallets, blockchain APIs, and more.

Coinbase offers these various tools for free. Its blockchain APIs in particular offer free RPC access to Base, as well as APIs for user balances, history, transactions, verifying a user’s account, and more, all of which you can pull directly into your app. Users of Coinbase Cloud include Phantom, Metamask, Uniswap, and Trust.

Chain support: Most of Coinbase’s tooling is for Base, but some of the APIs, including wallet history, are multichain.

Pricing: Free!

Best for: Wallets, traders, simple trading apps

How to Choose the Right Blockchain API Provider

Selecting the best blockchain API for your project depends on several critical factors:

Performance Requirements

If you're building a trading platform, DeFi protocol, or any application where milliseconds matter, prioritize providers with proven low-latency infrastructure. Look for published response times, global server distribution, and specific optimizations for your use case. We've seen projects cut their response times by 60% just by switching to optimized infrastructure.

Reliability and Uptime

Downtime doesn't just frustrate users—it costs money and damages trust. Check uptime guarantees (99.9% vs 99.99% makes a big difference at scale), understand failover mechanisms, and verify how providers handle chain reorganizations and node syncing issues.

Chain Coverage

Multichain strategies require providers that support all your target blockchains with consistent quality. Some providers excel at EVM chains but struggle with Solana, while others specialize in specific ecosystems. Match your chain requirements with provider strengths.

Developer Experience

The best infrastructure becomes useless if it's painful to implement. Evaluate documentation quality and the complexity of common operations. Enhanced APIs that abstract complex blockchain operations can save weeks of development time.

Scaling Considerations

Your infrastructure needs will change as you grow. Free tiers help you start building, but understand the pricing curve as you scale. Some providers offer usage-based pricing, so costs scale with your traffic and you even enjoy discounts as your usage increases. Other providers rely on complex credit systems or flat monthly fees that force you to guess your consumption up front, making it harder to predict and manage costs.

Support and Community

When production issues arise, responsive support becomes critical. Consider support channel availability (tickets, Discord, dedicated Slack), response time guarantees, and the size of the developer community for peer assistance.

Getting Started with Blockchain APIs

Ready to start building? Here's your quickest path to production:

1. Start with the fundamentals. Get an API key and try out RPC endpoints for basic blockchain interactions. Many providers offer free tiers perfect for development and testing.

2. Layer in enhanced APIs. Add Token APIs, Portfolio APIs, NFT APIs, and more, based on what you need for your use case.

3. Implement proper error handling. Blockchain networks have unique failure modes. Build in retry logic, handle rate limits gracefully, and plan for chain reorgs.

4. Monitor everything. Track response times, error rates, and usage patterns from day one. This data guides optimization and helps you catch issues before users notice.

5. Plan for growth. Choose providers that scale with you. Switching infrastructure mid-growth can be painful, and often isn’t done until you experience an outage that impacts your users..

Build Your Next Application with Confidence

The blockchain API landscape has matured significantly, with providers now offering enterprise-grade reliability, developer-friendly tooling, and the scale to support millions of users. The key is matching your specific needs with the right provider's strengths.

We built Alchemy's infrastructure to eliminate the common pain points that slow down web3 development. With Cortex powering sub-50ms response times, 99.995% uptime, and intelligent scaling, you can focus on building great products instead of managing infrastructure.

Ready to experience the difference? Join thousands of developers who trust us to power their applications, from experimental prototypes to production systems processing billions of requests. Get started here.