Software · head to head
Rainbow vs Etherscan
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Rainbow free instant deposits and fee auto-compounding are gated behind the paid Rainbow Black tier; the vendor's own site states "Upgrade to Rainbow Black for free instant deposits, bigger rewards, and up to 100% of your trading fees auto-compounded", implying standard accounts pay deposit and trading fees; Etherscan the free API plan is capped at 3 calls per second and 100,000 calls per day
- They diverge on capability: Rainbow covers Ethereum Wallet, Etherscan covers Block Explorer.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Rainbow and Etherscan actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 Rainbow
- Ethereum Wallet
- NFT Gallery
- ENS Integration
- Layer 2 Support
- Swaps
- Ethereum
- Optimism
- Arbitrum
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.
Rainbow
- Walletsnot Etherscan
- Ethereumnot Etherscan
- Mobilenot Etherscan
Etherscan
- Looking up Ethereum transactions, addresses and token transfers in a block explorernot Rainbow
- Reading and verifying deployed smart contract source codenot Rainbow
- Pulling on-chain data into an application through the explorer APInot Rainbow
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Rainbow
- Free instant deposits and fee auto-compounding are gated behind the paid Rainbow Black tier; the vendor's own site states "Upgrade to Rainbow Black for free instant deposits, bigger rewards, and up to 100% of your trading fees auto-compounded", implying standard accounts pay deposit and trading fees
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
Rainbow
Free- FreeFree
- Ethereum wallet
- NFTs
- ENS
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 Rainbow if
- You need ethereum wallet.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Ios, Android, Chrome.
- You also want nft gallery.
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 Rainbow or Etherscan better?
- Neither clearly leads. Rainbow 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, Rainbow or Etherscan?
- Rainbow starts at Free and Etherscan at Free.
- Does Rainbow or Etherscan run on more platforms?
- Rainbow runs on Ios, Android, Chrome. Etherscan runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use Rainbow for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Rainbow best used for?
- Rainbow is most often used for wallets, ethereum, mobile. Of those, wallets and ethereum are not what Etherscan is typically brought in for.
- What can Rainbow do that Etherscan cannot?
- Rainbow covers Ethereum Wallet, NFT Gallery, ENS Integration, Layer 2 Support. Etherscan covers Block Explorer, Transaction Tracking, Token Tracker, Contract Verification.