Software · head to head
Alchemy vs Infura
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Alchemy the free tier is capped at 30M compute units a month and 25 requests per second; Infura the free plan is capped at 3 million credits a day, 500 credits per second and a single API key
- They diverge on capability: Alchemy covers Node APIs, Infura covers Ethereum APIs.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Alchemy and Infura actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Alchemy
- Node APIs
- Enhanced APIs
- NFT API
- Webhooks
- Mempool
- 35+ chains
- SDKs
- Web support
Only in Infura
- Ethereum APIs
- IPFS Gateway
- Archive Data
- WebSocket Support
- Transaction Pool
- Ethereum
- IPFS
- Polygon
Both cover
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Alchemy
- Hosted blockchain node access across mainnets and testnetsnot Infura
- Backing a production web3 application without running nodesnot Infura
- Webhook-driven notifications for on-chain eventsnot Infura
- Scaling read throughput beyond self-hosted node limitsnot Infura
Infura
- Hosted Ethereum and multi-chain node access across 40+ networksnot Alchemy
- Archive data queries without running an archive nodenot Alchemy
- Backing a production dapp with managed RPC endpointsnot Alchemy
- Debug and trace calls for contract development on paid tiersnot Alchemy
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Alchemy
- The free tier is capped at 30M compute units a month and 25 requests per second
- Free accounts are limited to 5 apps and 5 webhooks
- Beyond the free allowance it is $0.45 per 1M compute units for the first 300M a month
- Request cost varies by call complexity, from around 10 compute units to over 100, so spend is hard to predict from request counts alone
- Signed SLAs and priority support require an Enterprise contract
Infura
- The free plan is capped at 3 million credits a day, 500 credits per second and a single API key
- The Debug and Trace APIs are withheld from the free plan and need Developer at $50 a month
- Support on the free tier is community forums only
- Unlimited API keys require the Team plan at $225 a month
- Auto-scaling and an enhanced SLA are Enterprise only
Pricing, plan by plan
Alchemy
Free- FreeFree
- 300M compute units
- 5 apps
- Core APIs
- Growth$49/month
- 400M compute units
- 15 apps
- Enhanced APIs
- Scale$199/month
- 1B compute units
- Unlimited apps
- Premium support
Infura
Free- FreeFree
- 100K requests/day
- Core APIs
- 3 projects
- Developer$50/month
- 200K requests/day
- Archive data
- 10 projects
- Team$225/month
- 1M requests/day
- SLA
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Alchemy if
- You need node apis.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Api, Web.
- You also want enhanced apis.
Choose Infura if
- You need ethereum apis.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Api.
- You also want ipfs gateway.
Questions people ask
- Is Alchemy or Infura better?
- Neither clearly leads. Alchemy starts at Free and Infura at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Alchemy or Infura?
- Alchemy starts at Free and Infura at Free.
- Does Alchemy or Infura run on more platforms?
- Alchemy runs on Api, Web. Infura runs on Api.
- Can I use Alchemy for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Alchemy best used for?
- Alchemy is most often used for hosted blockchain node access across mainnets and testnets, backing a production web3 application without running nodes, webhook-driven notifications for on-chain events, scaling read throughput beyond self-hosted node limits. Of those, hosted blockchain node access across mainnets and testnets and backing a production web3 application without running nodes are not what Infura is typically brought in for.
- What can Alchemy do that Infura cannot?
- Alchemy covers Node APIs, Enhanced APIs, NFT API, Webhooks. Infura covers Ethereum APIs, IPFS Gateway, Archive Data, WebSocket Support. Both handle Api support.