Cryptocurrency & Blockchain · head to head
Etherscan vs CoinMarketCap
Etherscan
Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
The Ethereum blockchain explorer
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
CoinMarketCap
Cryptocurrency & Blockchain
The world's most-referenced price-tracking website
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Etherscan the free API plan is capped at 3 calls per second and 100,000 calls per day; CoinMarketCap the free Basic plan gives historical data going back only 60 seconds, so it cannot answer any question about the past
- They diverge on capability: Etherscan covers Block Explorer, CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Etherscan and CoinMarketCap actually diverge.
| Attribute | Etherscan | CoinMarketCap |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, Api | Web, Ios, Android |
| Category | Cryptocurrency & Blockchain | Unknown |
| Founded | 2015 | 2013 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Etherscan
- Block Explorer
- Transaction Tracking
- Token Tracker
- Contract Verification
- Gas Tracker
- Ethereum mainnet
- Testnets
- Api support
Only in CoinMarketCap
- Price Tracking
- Market Cap Rankings
- Portfolio Tracker
- Crypto News
- API Access
- Binance
- Exchanges
- Ios support
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Etherscan
- Looking up Ethereum transactions, addresses and token transfers in a block explorernot CoinMarketCap
- Reading and verifying deployed smart contract source codenot CoinMarketCap
- Pulling on-chain data into an application through the explorer APInot CoinMarketCap
CoinMarketCap
- Cryptocurrency price and market capitalisation data over an APInot Etherscan
- Historical market data for analysis and backtestingnot Etherscan
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
CoinMarketCap
- The free Basic plan gives historical data going back only 60 seconds, so it cannot answer any question about the past
- Three years of history requires the $29 Builder plan and all time history the $79 Startup plan
- Free is capped at 15,000 credits a month and 50 requests a minute
- Rate limits are tiered separately from credits, from 50 a minute on free to 1,200 on Professional
- Enterprise pricing is custom despite listing 30,000,000 credits
Pricing, plan by plan
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
CoinMarketCap
Free- FreeFree
- Price data
- Charts
- Portfolio
- API Basic$79/month
- 10K credits/month
- Historical data
Which should you pick?
Choose Etherscan if
- You need block explorer.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want transaction tracking.
Choose CoinMarketCap if
- You need price tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want market cap rankings.
Questions people ask
- Is Etherscan or CoinMarketCap better?
- Neither clearly leads. Etherscan starts at Free and CoinMarketCap at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Etherscan or CoinMarketCap?
- Etherscan starts at Free and CoinMarketCap at Free.
- Does Etherscan or CoinMarketCap run on more platforms?
- Etherscan runs on Web, Api. CoinMarketCap runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Etherscan for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Etherscan best used for?
- Etherscan is most often used for looking up ethereum transactions, addresses and token transfers in a block explorer, reading and verifying deployed smart contract source code, pulling on-chain data into an application through the explorer api. Of those, looking up ethereum transactions, addresses and token transfers in a block explorer and reading and verifying deployed smart contract source code are not what CoinMarketCap is typically brought in for.
- What can Etherscan do that CoinMarketCap cannot?
- Etherscan covers Block Explorer, Transaction Tracking, Token Tracker, Contract Verification. CoinMarketCap covers Price Tracking, Market Cap Rankings, Portfolio Tracker, Crypto News. Both handle Web support.