Software · head to head
BscScan vs Alchemy
The short version
- Each has a real cost: BscScan the BscScan API page now redirects to Etherscan's unified multichain API pricing, so BNB Chain data is bought under Etherscan plans rather than a BscScan-specific one; Alchemy the free tier is capped at 30M compute units a month and 25 requests per second
- They diverge on capability: BscScan covers Block Explorer, Alchemy covers Node APIs.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which BscScan and Alchemy 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 BscScan
- Block Explorer
- Transaction Tracking
- Token Tracker
- Contract Verification
- Validators Info
- BNB Smart Chain
- BEP-20 tokens
Only in Alchemy
- Node APIs
- Enhanced APIs
- NFT API
- Webhooks
- Mempool
- 35+ chains
- SDKs
Both cover
- Web support
- Api support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
BscScan
- Exploring BNB Smart Chain transactions, addresses and BEP-20 token transfersnot Alchemy
- Verifying and reading BNB Chain smart contract source codenot Alchemy
- Querying BNB Chain data programmatically through the explorer APInot Alchemy
Alchemy
- Hosted blockchain node access across mainnets and testnetsnot BscScan
- Backing a production web3 application without running nodesnot BscScan
- Webhook-driven notifications for on-chain eventsnot BscScan
- Scaling read throughput beyond self-hosted node limitsnot BscScan
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
BscScan
- The BscScan API page now redirects to Etherscan's unified multichain API pricing, so BNB Chain data is bought under Etherscan plans rather than a BscScan-specific one
- The free API plan is capped at 3 calls per second and 100,000 calls per day and requires attribution
- API Pro endpoints start at the Standard plan at $199 per month
- 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
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
Pricing, plan by plan
BscScan
Free- FreeFree
- Block explorer
- 5 API calls/sec
- Token tracker
- Pro$199/month
- Higher rate limits
- Advanced APIs
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
Which should you pick?
Choose BscScan if
- You need block explorer.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want transaction tracking.
Choose Alchemy if
- You need node apis.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Api, Web.
- You also want enhanced apis.
Questions people ask
- Is BscScan or Alchemy better?
- Neither clearly leads. BscScan starts at Free and Alchemy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, BscScan or Alchemy?
- BscScan starts at Free and Alchemy at Free.
- Does BscScan or Alchemy run on more platforms?
- BscScan runs on Web, Api. Alchemy runs on Api, Web.
- Can I use BscScan for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is BscScan best used for?
- BscScan is most often used for exploring bnb smart chain transactions, addresses and bep-20 token transfers, verifying and reading bnb chain smart contract source code, querying bnb chain data programmatically through the explorer api. Of those, exploring bnb smart chain transactions, addresses and bep-20 token transfers and verifying and reading bnb chain smart contract source code are not what Alchemy is typically brought in for.
- What can BscScan do that Alchemy cannot?
- BscScan covers Block Explorer, Transaction Tracking, Token Tracker, Contract Verification. Alchemy covers Node APIs, Enhanced APIs, NFT API, Webhooks. Both handle Web support, Api support.