The Alchemy Alternative That Doesn’t Punish You for Growing
Alchemy charges per Compute Unit and metered usage can swing your monthly bill 2-5× when traffic spikes. SwiftNodes is flat-rate: one predictable number every month, with card or crypto payments, no KYC, and 75+ chains under a single API key.
The short version: SwiftNodes is a multi-chain blockchain RPC provider with flat-rate monthly pricing, no KYC, card or crypto payments, and 75+ supported chains. If you’re on Alchemy today and your usage is unpredictable, KYC is friction, or you want one provider for both EVM and non-EVM networks, SwiftNodes is built for that. Try the free tier →
Feature-by-feature: SwiftNodes vs Alchemy
| Feature | Alchemy | SwiftNodes | Better for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per-request via Compute Units; usage spikes mean cost spikes | Flat monthly rate, no per-request fees, no overage | SwiftNodes |
| Free tier | 100M Compute Units / month | 2 HTTP req/s, unlimited monthly volume | Context |
| Supported chains | ~70 chains, EVM-heavy | 75+ chains, EVM and non-EVM (Solana, Sui, Aptos, Cosmos, Polkadot, etc.) | SwiftNodes |
| Payment methods | Credit card only | Card or crypto (ETH, BNB, USDT, USDC) on any supported chain | SwiftNodes |
| KYC requirement | Optional at low tiers; Enterprise may require | Never. Sign up with wallet or email. | SwiftNodes |
| HTTP RPC | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| WebSocket RPC | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Archive node access | Available on higher tiers | Available on supported chains, included in paid plans | Tie |
| NFT / Indexer / Webhooks | Yes — strong product suite (NFT API, Notify, Subgraphs) | Not currently — focused purely on raw RPC | Context |
| Prepay discounts | Annual discount on enterprise tiers | 5% off 6 months, 10% off 12 months on every plan | SwiftNodes |
Feature data sourced from Alchemy’s public pricing pageand SwiftNodes’ own published rates. Last reviewed 2026-05. Pricing changes frequently — verify on the source site before deciding.
Why developers switch from Alchemy to SwiftNodes
Predictable bills, not metered surprises
Compute Units are great in theory and frustrating in practice. A new client integrates, batches some calls inefficiently, and your monthly bill spikes by 5×. SwiftNodes is one flat number per month — your invoice next month equals your invoice this month, regardless of whether you sent 10M or 1B requests. For indie devs and small SaaS teams, that predictability is worth more than any per-call optimization.
Real multi-chain coverage including Solana and Cosmos
Alchemy's strength is Ethereum and a tight set of EVM L2s. If your stack spans Solana, Sui, Aptos, Cosmos Hub, Osmosis, Polkadot, Kusama, or Bitcoin family chains, you're either running multiple provider accounts or self-hosting the others. SwiftNodes ships 75+ chains under a single API key — one billing relationship, one set of credentials, one place to monitor.
Card or crypto, no KYC at any tier
You shouldn't have to file a W-9 or wait three days for verification just to query a public blockchain. SwiftNodes accepts card payments or ETH, BNB, USDT, and USDC on any supported network. Sign up with a wallet or an email one-time code — never a password, never an ID document.
When Alchemy is still the right call
Honest take: if you rely heavily on Alchemy's Notify webhooks, NFT API, subgraph indexes, or their account abstraction toolkit, SwiftNodes is not a direct replacement — we focus exclusively on raw RPC and WebSocket. If raw RPC is what you actually need (which is most use cases), the flat-rate, multi-chain, no-KYC stack is a better fit. If you need indexers and managed webhooks too, you may want to combine SwiftNodes RPC with a dedicated indexer service like Goldsky or The Graph.
Frequently asked questions
Is SwiftNodes cheaper than Alchemy?
Sometimes, yes. At low volume both are roughly comparable. At high volume SwiftNodes is significantly cheaper because there are no per-request fees — once you pick a plan that covers your peak RPS, additional usage within the rate limit is free. The honest pitch is predictability more than raw cost: you know exactly what next month will cost on SwiftNodes, regardless of usage spikes.
Can I migrate from Alchemy to SwiftNodes without code changes?
Yes for raw RPC. Both providers expose standard JSON-RPC over HTTPS and WebSocket. Replacing your Alchemy URL with the equivalent SwiftNodes URL in your ethers.js / viem / web3.py provider config is typically a one-line change. If you're using Alchemy-specific endpoints (NFT API, Notify, Subgraphs), those need separate replacements — see the question above.
Does SwiftNodes have archive node access?
Yes on most major chains including Ethereum, BSC, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, and Avalanche. Archive access is included in paid plans at no extra fee — no separate "archive" tier upgrade like some competitors require.
What chains does SwiftNodes support that Alchemy doesn't?
SwiftNodes has the full Bitcoin family (BTC, LTC, DOGE, BCH), the broader Cosmos ecosystem (Cosmos Hub, Osmosis, Injective, Celestia, dYdX, Sei, Neutron, Akash, Axelar, Babylon, Avail, Kava, Dymension), Polkadot and Kusama, Sui, Aptos, TRON, and Starknet — all of which are either unavailable or limited on Alchemy.
Is there a free trial?
Better: there's a free tier with no expiration. Sign up with email or wallet and get an API key immediately. The free tier is rate-limited (2 HTTP requests per second, 1 WebSocket message per second) but works across every supported chain.
Try SwiftNodes free — no card, no KYC
Flat-rate pricing, 75+ chains, pay with crypto or card. Live in 30 seconds.
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