Blockscout vs Etherscan API: Free Tier, Pricing & Rate Limits Compared (2026)
If you're hitting rate limits, paying for chain coverage that used to be free, or managing a different API key for every network your app touches, here's a direct, numbers-first comparison.
The short version
Blockscout Pro API gives you more requests per second and more usable capacity at every price point, across more chains, with one API key. Migrating from Etherscan is usually a base URL and key swap. Most of your existing code doesn't change.
Side-by-side: rate limits and capacity
At every comparable price point, Blockscout gives you a higher requestsp-per-second ceiling and more monthly capacity. And unlike Etherscan's free tier, which was recently restricted to select chains after Etherscan cited service-quality concerns from surging transaction volumes, Blockscout's free tier covers all 120+ supported chains from day one.
What you actually get with each
One key, every chain. Both APIs have unified around a single key that works across chains via a chain_id parameter. Etherscan did this with API V2; Blockscout Pro API works the same way. The difference is coverage: Blockscout's key works across everything Blockscout indexes at every tier, including free. Etherscan's free tier now excludes some high-traffic chains; full coverage requires at least the Lite plan.
Decoded, not raw. Blockscout Pro API returns the same indexed, decoded, structured data that powers the explorer itself: token metadata, proxy implementation resolution, internal transactions, and contract context. Not just raw RPC responses you'd have to decode yourself.
Built for agents, not just apps. Blockscout ships a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server on the same Pro API backend, plus installable agent skills for building web3 apps and running multichain analysis. x402 pay-per-call support (letting an AI agent pay for data per request with no account or API key setup) is next on the roadmap. This is infrastructure Etherscan doesn't currently offer.
Migration is small. In most cases, switching from Etherscan to Blockscout Pro API means changing your base URL and API key while keeping your existing endpoint structure and request logic intact. We've published a full migration guide covering account, contract, log, and proxy endpoints.
Why this matters right now
Etherscan's July 2026 changelog cuts free-tier limits further: max records per request drops from 10,000 to 1,000, and the Internal Transactions by Block Range endpoint is being removed from the free plan entirely. If your app depends on either of those, you'll hit a wall before you hit a bill.
Should you switch?
If you're on Etherscan's free tier and starting to feel the walls (rate limits, missing chains, shrinking record limits), switching costs you an afternoon and gets you more room to grow. If you're already paying Etherscan for Pro endpoints or multichain coverage, run the numbers above for your usage pattern. Most teams find they get more capacity for the same spend, or the same capacity for less.
Ready to try it?
Pricing and limits reflect published plans as of publish date and are subject to change on both platforms. Check dev.blockscout.com and etherscan.io/apis for current numbers before publishing.