At the entry tier, Dwellir is the cheapest RPC provider without compute units in this comparison. Its $49 plan includes 25 million responses, which is $1.96 per million calls, and every method costs one credit. On one busy chain, GetBlock's flat-rate Limitless Node can cost less per call. The tables below show where each provider is cheapest. We checked prices between 7 and 31 October 2026.
An RPC provider without compute units charges the same for every call, or a flat monthly price, instead of giving each method its own weight. Your bill then depends on how many calls you send, not on which calls you send.
Try one credit per response on your own traffic. The free plan gives 100,000 responses a day at 20 RPS. Paid plans start at $49 a month for 25 million responses, with trace and debug included. Get a free API key or compare plans.
The five providers at a glance
| Provider | Pricing unit | Free tier | Entry paid plan | Effective $/1M calls | Highest self-serve RPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwellir | 1 credit per response, every method | 100,000 responses/day, 20 RPS | $49/mo, 25M responses | $1.96 | 5,000 (burst 10,000) |
| Chainstack | 1 RU per call, 2 RU archive, debug, trace | 3M RU/mo, 25 RPS | $49/mo, 20M RU | $2.45 | 600 (Enterprise unlimited) |
| dRPC | Same CU on every call | 210M CU/mo (about 10.5M calls), public nodes, 100 RPS | $49/mo Pro, about 10M requests | $4.80 | 600 (Enterprise unlimited) |
| GetBlock Limitless Node | Flat monthly per chain, no meter | None | $150/mo, 25 RPS full node | $2.31 (25 RPS), $1.28 (150+ RPS) at full use | 300 (full node) |
| Ankr | Flat 200 credits per EVM call | 200M credits/mo (about 1M calls) | $10 deposit, pay as you go | $20.00 | About 1,500 |
Effective price is the entry plan's cost divided by the calls it includes. For flat-rate nodes it assumes you run at the RPS limit all month.
What that costs at volume
Monthly cost on an Ethereum call mix (40% eth_call, 25% receipts, 15% eth_blockNumber, 10% small eth_getLogs, 5% eth_getBalance, 5% eth_sendRawTransaction), sorted by the 100M column. QuickNode and Alchemy use compute units. We include them for comparison.
| Provider | 10M req/mo | 50M req/mo | 100M req/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dwellir (metered) | $49 | $174 | $299 |
| GetBlock Limitless (full node) | $150 | $150-300 | $300-500 |
| Chainstack | $49 | $199 | $449 |
| Dwellir (Unlimited Node) | $119 | $119-479 | $479 |
| dRPC | $49 | $217 | $517 |
| QuickNode (compute units) | ~$123 | ~$526 | $999 |
| Alchemy (compute units) | ~$135 | ~$673 | ~$1,347 |
| Ankr | $200 | $1,000 | $2,000 |
GetBlock Limitless covers one chain per node. The multi-chain plans above cover every supported network on one key.
Why compute units make bills hard to predict
Compute units give each RPC method a weight. On Alchemy, eth_blockNumber costs 10 CU, eth_call 26 CU and eth_getLogs 60 CU (Alchemy CU costs). On Infura, eth_call costs 80 credits and debug_traceTransaction 1,000 (Infura credit costs).
Two apps that send the same number of calls can get very different bills. An indexer heavy on eth_getLogs or trace calls pays several times more per call than a wallet that mostly reads balances. To forecast cost, you need your exact method mix and each provider's weight table. The weights change when a provider changes its prices.
Request-based pricing removes that step. If every call costs the same, monthly cost is calls multiplied by one price.
1. Dwellir: one credit per response on every method
Dwellir bills 1 RPC response = 1 API credit for every method, including trace, debug and archive calls. One key covers all supported networks.
In one line: Dwellir charges 1 credit per RPC response with no compute units. Plans start at $49/month for 25 million responses at 100 responses per second. The free tier gives 100,000 responses per day at 20 responses per second.
| Plan | Monthly cost | Responses included | RPS (burst) | Effective $/1M calls | Overage $/1M calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 100,000/day | 20 | $0 | - |
| Developer | $49 | 25M | 100 (500) | $1.96 | $5.00 |
| Growth | $299 | 150M | 500 (2,500) | $1.99 | $3.00 |
| Scale | $999 | 500M | 5,000 (10,000) | $2.00 | $2.00 |
Key features
- One unit for every method:
eth_blockNumber,eth_getLogsanddebug_traceTransactioneach cost one credit - Trace and debug on every paid plan, at the same price as other calls
eth_getLogsrange: 500 blocks on Developer, 10,000 on Growth and Scale. Not available on Free- Unlimited Node: a flat monthly price with no meter. 25 RPS costs $119 and 1,000 RPS costs $4,799 ($1.83-1.85 per million at full use)
- HTTPS and WSS on every plan
- Unlimited team members and crypto payments on every paid plan
For how these throughput caps compare with other providers, see RPC provider rate limits compared.
2. Chainstack: request units with fixed allowances
Chainstack bills Request Units (RU). A call to a full node costs 1 RU. Archive calls (127 or more blocks behind the tip) and every debug_ and trace_ call cost 2 RU.
In one line: Chainstack Growth costs $49/month for 20 million RU at 250 RPS, or $2.45 per million calls. The free Developer plan includes 3 million RU at 25 RPS.
| Plan | Monthly cost | RU included | RPS | Effective $/1M calls | Overage $/1M calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | $0 | 3M | 25 | $0 | $20.00 |
| Growth | $49 | 20M | 250 | $2.45 | $15.00 |
| Pro | $199 | 80M | 400 | $2.49 | $12.50 |
| Business | $499 | 200M | 600 | $2.50 | $10.00 |
| Enterprise | $990 | 400M | Unlimited | $2.48 | $5.00 |
Key features
- Two weights only: 1 RU or 2 RU, published in the request units docs
- 70+ networks with full and archive nodes, debug and trace
- Unlimited Node add-on: flat pricing from $149/month at 25 RPS, on top of Growth or higher
- Annual billing lowers Growth to $40/month
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001
Watch the overage rate. On Growth it is $15 per million RU, six times the included rate. Pick the plan that matches your monthly volume.
3. dRPC: the same CU on every method
dRPC still uses compute units, but every method costs the same. A request takes 16 CU from the Pro plan pool and 14 CU from the Scale pool, and requests past the pool cost $6 per million. Archive calls cost the same as full-node calls.
In one line: dRPC Pro costs $49 a month for about 10M requests at 300 RPS, and Scale costs $199 for about 47M at 600 RPS. Pay as you go is $6 per million at 100 RPS. The free tier gives 210 million CU a month on public nodes.
| Plan | Monthly cost | Included | RPS | Effective $/1M calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 210M CU (about 10.5M calls), public nodes only | 100 | $0 |
| Pay as you go | $6 per 1M requests | No commitment | 100 | $6.00 |
| Pro | $49 | 163M CU (about 10M requests), then $6 per 1M | 300 | $4.80 |
| Scale | $199 | 664M CU (about 47M requests), then $6 per 1M | 600 | $4.20 |
| Enterprise | From $990 | Volume discounts, committed SLAs | Unlimited | Custom |
Key features
- One price for every method and chain, including debug and trace on paid plans
- 130+ chains routed across independent node operators by a load balancer
- No monthly commitment on pay as you go: you pay only for requests sent, at up to 100 RPS
- MEV and frontrunning protection and crypto payments
At 10M calls a month, dRPC Pro costs the same as Dwellir Developer ($49). Above that, the per-call rate is about twice Dwellir's or Chainstack's: $4.20 to $6 per million against about $2.
4. GetBlock Limitless Node: a flat price per chain
GetBlock prices its shared plans in compute units, at 20 CU per call on Ethereum, Base and Polygon. This list does not include the shared plans. The Limitless Node is on the list. It has a flat monthly price for one chain at a fixed RPS, with no meter.
In one line: A GetBlock Limitless full node serves one chain. It costs $150/month at 25 RPS, or $2.31 per million at full use. At 150 RPS it costs $500/month, or $1.28 per million at full use.
| Limitless Node | Monthly cost | Calls at full RPS | Effective $/1M calls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full node, 25 RPS | $150 | 65M | $2.31 |
| Full node, 50 RPS | $300 | 130M | $2.31 |
| Full node, 150 RPS | $500 | 390M | $1.28 |
| Full node, 300 RPS | $1,000 | 780M | $1.28 |
| Archive, 15 / 30 / 50 / 100 RPS | $150 / $300 / $500 / $1,000 | 39M-260M | $3.85 |
Key features
- Lowest flat rate here at 150 RPS and above, if you keep the node busy
- Ethereum, Base, Polygon and Robinhood Chain among the chains offered
- SOC 2 Type II
- 20% off on annual billing
Each node serves one chain, and archive nodes cost three times as much per call. A multi-chain app needs one flat node per chain, so the total cost increases with each chain.
5. Ankr: one credit price per call type
Ankr prices Premium calls in API credits at $0.10 per million credits. Every EVM method costs 200 credits, so an EVM call costs $20 per million whatever the method. Solana calls cost 500 credits and beacon-chain or Advanced API calls 700.
In one line: Ankr Premium charges $20 per million EVM calls, pay as you go from a $10 deposit. The Freemium tier gives 200 million credits (about 1 million calls) a month.
| Plan | Monthly cost | Included | RPS | Effective $/1M calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public | $0 | Keyless | About 30 | $0 |
| Freemium | $0 | 200M credits (about 1M calls) | Public limits | $0 |
| Premium PAYG | $10 minimum deposit | Usage-based | About 1,500 | $20.00 |
| Deal | $500-3,000 | Credits plus 20% bonus | About 1,500 | $16.67 |
Key features
- Same price for every EVM method, with debug and trace on Premium
- 80+ networks and a keyless public tier for testing
eth_getLogsrange of 10,000 blocks on Premium- Pay in ANKR tokens at the current ANKR/USD rate
Ankr's per-call price is predictable. It is also the highest in this list, ten times Dwellir's entry rate.
How to choose
Steady multi-chain traffic. Use Dwellir or Chainstack. Both cost about $2 per million calls at entry and cover many networks on one key. Dwellir has the higher RPS ceilings and charges trace and debug calls at the normal rate. Chainstack charges 2 RU for them.
Spiky or unpredictable traffic. Use dRPC pay as you go. You pay $6 per million only for what you send, with no plan to outgrow, but it is capped at 100 RPS.
Hobby projects and testing. Use dRPC Free (about 10.5M calls a month on public nodes) or Dwellir Free (100,000 responses a day, about 3M a month).
One chain at high, constant load. Use a flat-rate node. GetBlock Limitless at 150+ RPS and Dwellir Unlimited Node are the cheapest per call when the node stays busy.
Moving from a compute-unit plan. Count your current month in calls, not CU, and compare. The QuickNode alternative and Alchemy alternative comparisons show the cost difference at 10M to 500M requests a month.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest RPC provider without compute units?
Dwellir has the lowest entry price per call in this comparison. Its $49 plan includes 25 million responses, which is $1.96 per million, and every method costs one credit. Chainstack is next at $2.45 per million ($49 for 20 million request units). A GetBlock Limitless full node can cost less per call on one chain at sustained high load. At 150+ RPS and full use, it costs $1.28 per million.
What are compute units in RPC pricing?
Compute units (CU) are a billing unit where each RPC method has its own weight. On Alchemy, eth_blockNumber costs 10 CU, eth_call 26 CU and eth_getLogs 60 CU. On Infura, eth_call costs 80 credits and debug_traceTransaction 1,000. Your bill depends on your method mix, so it is hard to forecast.
Which RPC providers do not use compute units?
Dwellir charges one credit per response for every method. Chainstack charges 1 request unit per call, 2 for archive, debug and trace calls. dRPC charges the same CU on every method: $49 a month for about 10M requests on Pro ($4.80 per million), or $6 per million on pay as you go. Ankr charges a flat 200 credits per EVM call ($20 per million). Flat-rate nodes (Dwellir Unlimited Node, Chainstack Unlimited Node, GetBlock Limitless Node) have no meter at all.
Is there an RPC provider with flat monthly pricing?
Yes. Dwellir Unlimited Node starts at $119 a month for 25 RPS across its networks. Chainstack Unlimited Node starts at $149 a month for 25 RPS on top of a $49 Growth plan. GetBlock Limitless Node starts at $150 a month for a 25 RPS full node on one chain. Flat pricing only beats metered plans when you run close to the RPS limit.
What is a cheaper alternative to QuickNode?
On an Ethereum-style call mix, QuickNode Build costs $12.25 per million calls ($49 for 80 million API credits at 20 credits per call). Dwellir costs $1.96 per million on its $49 plan and Chainstack $2.45 on its $49 plan. At 50 million calls a month that is about $526 on QuickNode, $174 on Dwellir and $199 on Chainstack.
How do I compare RPC provider pricing fairly?
Convert every plan to an effective price per million calls for your own method mix. Multiply each method's share by its unit weight, then divide the plan price by the calls it covers. Include archive, trace and debug calls if your application uses them. Compare at the monthly volume you expect, not only at the entry plan. The eth_call pricing benchmark does this for 16 providers, from $1.96 to $20 per million calls.
Sources
Prices checked on 12 October 2026 (dRPC rechecked 21 October 2026) on dwellir.com/pricing, drpc.org/pricing and Ankr pricing docs (updated 8 October 2026). Chainstack, GetBlock and QuickNode prices checked on 7 October 2026 on chainstack.com/pricing, getblock.io/pricing and quicknode.com/pricing. Alchemy pay as you go ($0.52 per million CU, about $13.47 per million calls on this mix) checked on 31 October 2026 on alchemy.com/pricing. Ankr RPS figures are from Ankr's service-plan docs as of 29 September 2026. Dwellir publishes this post and is one of the providers in it.
Related resources
- RPC provider rate limits compared: RPS ceilings and burst limits across 11 providers
- Best Ethereum RPC providers: head-to-head comparison of Ethereum RPC providers on pricing, latency and features
- QuickNode alternative: Dwellir vs QuickNode: pricing, limits and features side by side, with sources
- Self-hosted vs managed RPC nodes: when running your own nodes makes sense and when a managed provider is the better choice
