Block explorers evaluated across what works without paying, data completeness and indexing lag, contract verification support, and independence from the chain.
Ranked here: block explorers, which index a chain's data so a reader can explore the chains they actually work on. Not ranked here: explorers that no longer exist as a product to compare, whether wound down, redirected elsewhere, repurposed for other products or left with no instance to open.
BL
#1 of 7 · published ranking
Blockscout
83ChainChoice Score
4199
Why it leads
Blockscout is 1 point ahead of Routescan, mainly because it scores higher on its independence and its verification.
Show the arithmetic
Ahead of Routescan on independence (+5.0 points) and verification (+1.5 points)
Cost
$0.00 your cost/yr · Transactions per year: 1k
ReviewedNext review by Published Methodology v2026.11.1
How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means every product ranked on this page was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
No provider can pay for a position in this table. The code that computes this order cannot read which links carry a referral code, and every build proves it. Every score below rebuilds from the published criteria.Ranking v2026.11.1 · 4 criteria · 7 products · same inputs, same order
How we review · 7 ranked of 13 assessed · 4 criteria · 0 sponsor weight
How we review
7ranked
13assessed
4criteria
0sponsor weight
Recommendation first, comparison only if needed.
Reviewed and rechecked on the current cycle.
Commercial relationships disclosed before clickout.
Personal comparison
What block explorers cost you
Your inputs update the cost column. The independent ranking stays fixed.
The cheapest published tier that covers your usage. List price before any discount; add-ons priced separately are excluded.
Verification — 8/10Trade-off: The headline differentiator versus Etherscan — 'open source, no lock-in' — stopped be...
83score
your cost/yr
Check availability for your country
Blockscout · docs.blockscout.com. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
2
RORoutescanThe operator of snowtrace.io, with a ke...
Free usability — 8/10Trade-off: status.routescan.io measures availability, not index currency or completeness; it log...
82score
-Not published
Check availability for your country
Routescan · routescan.io. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
3
EtherscanThe EVM incumbent — one V2 key across 6...
Verification — 8/10Trade-off: The free tier is marketed as 90% coverage but excludes BNB Chain, Base, OP Mainnet an...
80score
your cost/yr
Check availability for your country
Etherscan · etherscan.io. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
4
mempool.spaceBitcoin's default explorer — AGPL and g...
Free usability — 9/10Trade-off: Bitcoin, Lightning and Liquid only — no EVM, no smart contracts, no contract verifica...
76score
-Not published
Check availability for your country
mempool.space · mempool.space. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
5
SolscanSolana's default explorer — owned by Et...
Independence — 7/10Trade-off: A free API key with a lower rate limit and core endpoints only, no refunds, a six-mon...
61score
-Not published
Check availability for your country
Solscan · docs.solscan.io. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
6
ARArkham IntelligenceEntity-labelled address explorer — anal...
Independence — 5/10Trade-off: Attribution is proprietary and probabilistic ('ML-driven heuristics - probabilistic a...
54score
-Not published
Check availability for your country
Arkham Intelligence · arkm.com. Provider links appear once we know which country you are browsing from: ChainChoice links to providers only where it serves in full.
Commission: This provider pays ChainChoice nothing for this link. Disclosure
Crypto products are high risk. Check the provider is authorised where you live before you deposit.
1 more assessed and ranked below — none of them hidden for commercial reasons.
Ranked on 4 published criteria weighted 30/26/24/20, which set goal alignment — 30 of the 86 points. The rest: regional access 20 (constant here), evidence depth 18 (constant here), ease of use 10, institutional trust 8 (constant here). Profile match is shown in breakdowns but carries no weight.
How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
Information failure: the number is wrong or bought, or your data leaks.
Scored by Data completeness & indexing lag · 26% (Blockscout 5/10, Routescan 5/10, Etherscan 4/10)
Scored by Independence from the chain · 20% (Blockscout 7/10, Routescan 3/10, Etherscan 8/10)
Also scored, as cost, quality or a summary of several families: What works without paying (30%), Contract verification support (24%).
Audit
Infrastructure
Methodology
2026.11.1
published 10 November 2026
Providers tracked
860+
across 121 categories
Last verified
3 November 2026
newest dated pricing or sentiment read
Named on the roster
2 people
managing directors · 6 automated processes
Decision guide
What matters most before choosing in this category
Weighted on what works without paying (30), data completeness & indexing lag (26), contract verification support (24), and independence from the chain (20). The heaviest is what works without paying: Which core features survive the free tier and its rate limits once you genuinely depend on them.
Which chains do you query daily, and are they first-class on this explorer?
Will you depend on the free tier in production, and have you read its rate limits?
Do you need contract verification for your specific toolchain?
Current engine lead
The #1 overall and the scoring weights
BL
BlockscoutData checked Nov 2026
The self-hostable multichain challenger — except it stopped being open source on 22 April 2026.
The self-hostable multichain challenger — except it stopped being open source on 22 April 2026. Strongest on contract verification support (8/10): Blockscout supports contract verification through its UI and API, Hardhat and Foundry, Sourcify, Remix, Stylus contracts via API and thirdweb, accepting source code or standard JSON input across its 100+ hosted chains. Weakest on data completeness & indexing lag (5/10): Blockscout's status monitor gives its Ethereum indexer 99.960% health over 90 days and 99.902% over 30 days, with its other indexers at 99.990-99.998%; the monitor tracks indexer health, and Blockscout publishes no completeness or lag figure. Published price: Blockscout API rate-limits page (docs.blockscout.com/rate-limits), read 2026-11-03: "Every tier includes access to all 100+ Blockscout-supported chains with a single key." Free "5 RPS" "100K/day" "$0"; Builder "15 RPS" "100M/mo" "$49/mo"; Pro "30 RPS"…
Best forVerification — 8/10
Main tradeoffThe headline differentiator versus Etherscan — 'open source, no lock-in' — stopped being true on 22 April 2026.
Verify before signupBlockscout API rate-limits page (docs.blockscout.com/rate-limits), read 2026-11-03: "Every tier includes access to all 100+ Blockscout-supported chains with a single key." Free "5 RPS" "100K/day" "$0"; Builder "15 RPS" "100M/mo" "$49/mo"; Pro "30 RPS" "500M/mo" "$199/mo"; Business "50 RPS" "3B/mo" "$999/mo"; Enterprise "Contact us". "At the default 20-credit cost per call, the free tier’s 100K daily credits is roughly 5,000 standard requests a day before the counter resets at midnight UTC." Heavier endpoints cost 25 to 50 credits per call on the same page. The Blockscout API page (docs.blockscout.com/devs/blockscout-api) adds "No credit card required for the free tier." Self-hosting for your own chain carries no licence fee, but per docs.blockscout.com/devs/blockscout-license every interface must show a "Powered by Blockscout" credit and paid resale or hosting needs a Commercial Licence. Autoscout, the managed launchpad, is pay-as-you-go in prepaid credits (docs.blockscout.com/using-blockscout/autoscout). Blockscout v12.0.0 (released 7 October 2026) carries breaking API changes and is rolling out to hosted instances gradually.
Weighted criteria
What works without paying30%
Data completeness & indexing lag26%
Contract verification support24%
Independence from the chain20%
Methodology
How this category is reviewed
Reviewed on what survives the free tier, data completeness and indexing lag, contract verification support, and independence from the chain's own foundation.
The order on this page is the published ranking for this category. Every criterion, weight and source behind it is on the methodology page.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask before choosing explorers
Are free explorer tiers actually usable?
That is precisely what is scored. Several free tiers have been narrowed since launch, and a lookup that works today may sit behind a paywall or a rate limit when a project starts depending on it.
Why does operator independence matter?
Because an explorer run by the chain's own foundation is presenting data about its sponsor. It is not disqualifying, but it is a fact worth weighting rather than ignoring.
Is a higher chain count better?
Not on its own. Breadth is worthless if the chain you need is the rate-limited one, so coverage is assessed against the chains a buyer actually uses.
Reviewed3 November 2026Method4 criteriaCategoryblock_explorers
Not financial advice · For informational purposes only · Always do your own research
