Cryptocurrency & Blockchain · head to head
Argent vs Etherscan

Etherscan
Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
The Ethereum blockchain explorer
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Argent renamed Ready, and argent.xyz now redirects to ready.co, so the Argent name is retired; Etherscan the free API plan is capped at 3 calls per second and 100,000 calls per day
- They diverge on capability: Argent covers Smart Contract Wallet, Etherscan covers Block Explorer.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Argent and Etherscan actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cryptocurrency & Blockchain).
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 Argent
- Smart Contract Wallet
- Social Recovery
- No Seed Phrase
- Built-in DeFi
- NFT Support
- Ethereum
- zkSync
- Starknet
Only in Etherscan
- Block Explorer
- Transaction Tracking
- Token Tracker
- Contract Verification
- Gas Tracker
- Ethereum mainnet
- Testnets
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Argent
- Self-custodial wallet on mobilenot Etherscan
- Holding digital dollars under your own controlnot Etherscan
- Spending through a virtual card with Apple Pay or Google Paynot Etherscan
- Connecting to dapps through WalletConnectnot Etherscan
Etherscan
- Looking up Ethereum transactions, addresses and token transfers in a block explorernot Argent
- Reading and verifying deployed smart contract source codenot Argent
- Pulling on-chain data into an application through the explorer APInot Argent
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Argent
- Renamed Ready, and argent.xyz now redirects to ready.co, so the Argent name is retired
- The product has shifted toward community cards and digital dollars rather than being presented purely as a crypto wallet
- Supported chains are no longer listed on the main site
Etherscan
- The free API plan is capped at 3 calls per second and 100,000 calls per day
- The free plan requires attribution and covers only selected chains rather than all supported chains
- API Pro endpoints are withheld below the Standard plan at $199 per month
- The $49 per month Lite plan raises the rate limit to only 5 calls per second and keeps the same 100,000 calls per day as the free tier
- Rate limits top out at 30 calls per second even on the $899 per month Pro Plus plan
- The Address Metadata endpoint requires Pro Plus at $899 per month and is limited to one app license
- Metadata CSV export and dedicated support are only in Metadata Enterprise, which is quoted by contact with no published price
- The 10% and 15% discounts apply only to quarterly and yearly prepayment
Pricing, plan by plan
Argent
Free- FreeFree
- Smart wallet
- Social recovery
- DeFi
Etherscan
Free- FreeFree
- Block explorer
- 5 API calls/sec
- Basic analytics
- Standard$199/month
- 10 API calls/sec
- Advanced APIs
- Pro$399/month
- 30 API calls/sec
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Argent if
- You need smart contract wallet.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android.
- You also want social recovery.
Choose Etherscan if
- You need block explorer.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want transaction tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is Argent or Etherscan better?
- Neither clearly leads. Argent starts at Free and Etherscan at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Argent or Etherscan?
- Argent starts at Free and Etherscan at Free.
- Does Argent or Etherscan run on more platforms?
- Argent runs on Ios, Android. Etherscan runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use Argent for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Argent best used for?
- Argent is most often used for self-custodial wallet on mobile, holding digital dollars under your own control, spending through a virtual card with apple pay or google pay, connecting to dapps through walletconnect. Of those, self-custodial wallet on mobile and holding digital dollars under your own control are not what Etherscan is typically brought in for.
- What can Argent do that Etherscan cannot?
- Argent covers Smart Contract Wallet, Social Recovery, No Seed Phrase, Built-in DeFi. Etherscan covers Block Explorer, Transaction Tracking, Token Tracker, Contract Verification.
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- Etherscan vs Binance
- Etherscan vs Bybit
- Etherscan vs Curve Finance
- Etherscan vs Gemini
- Etherscan vs Uniswap
- Etherscan vs dYdX
- Etherscan vs Gate.io
- Etherscan vs PancakeSwap
- Etherscan vs Aave
- Etherscan vs CoinGecko
- Etherscan vs Compound
- Etherscan vs KuCoin
- Etherscan vs Lido
- Etherscan vs MakerDAO
- Etherscan vs OKX
- Etherscan vs SushiSwap
- Etherscan vs Alchemy
- Etherscan vs Bitfinex

