Polkadot RPC Endpoint
Flat-rate Polkadot RPC provider and Polkadot RPC node access: free tier, no KYC, HTTP & WebSocket.
https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/polkadot?key=YOUR_API_KEYwss://rpc.swiftnodes.io/ws/polkadot?key=YOUR_API_KEYPolkadot is a Substrate-based relay chain that coordinates shared security and interoperability for connected rollups and parachains. It is non-EVM at the relay-chain level and uses the DOT token for staking, governance, and coordination.
polkadotPolkadot on the SwiftNodes fleet, right now
Status and latency from our health checks, refreshed about every 5 minutes. Uptime history. Network status
About Polkadot
Polkadot's relay chain launched in May 2020 and transitioned to Nominated Proof-of-Stake (NPoS) by June 2020. Block authoring uses BABE while GRANDPA provides finality across chains; relay-chain block time is around 6 seconds.
DOT uses 10 decimals. The relay chain itself runs no smart contracts; application logic lives on parachains and rollups built with the Substrate framework. Tooling includes Polkadot-JS, the Substrate SDK, and Polkadot.js API.
Common Use Cases on Polkadot
- Shared security for parachains
- Cross-chain interoperability (XCM)
- Staking and governance
- Parachain and rollup deployment
- Coordination of connected chains
Polkadot Ecosystem
Polkadot secures parachains and rollups such as Acala, Astar, and Hydration (formerly HydraDX), connected via cross-consensus messaging (XCM).
Polkadot Mainnet RPC URL (HTTP)
https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/polkadot?key=YOUR_API_KEYPolkadot WebSocket RPC URL
wss://rpc.swiftnodes.io/ws/polkadot?key=YOUR_API_KEYQuick Start: Connect to Polkadot
cURL
curl -X POST https://rpc.swiftnodes.io/rpc/polkadot?key=YOUR_API_KEY \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"getHealth","id":1}'Note: Polkadot uses its own RPC methods. Refer to the official Polkadot documentation for available methods.
Bridging to Polkadot
Cross-chain transfers within the ecosystem use XCM; external bridges such as Snowbridge connect Polkadot to Ethereum.
Features of SwiftNodes for Polkadot
- Load-balanced across multiple upstream nodes wherever a chain has more than one, with automatic failover
- Health-checked every 2 minutes with automatic failover
- Free tier available — no credit card or KYC required
- Flat-rate monthly pricing with no per-request fees
- HTTP and WebSocket support
- One API key works across all 75+ supported chains, including Polkadot
Rate Limits
| Plan | Price | HTTP req/s | WS msg/s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 2 | 1 |
| Starter | $49/mo | 50 | 25 |
| Growth | $89/mo | 150 | 75 |
| Scale | $149/mo | 300 | 150 |
| Pro | $249/mo | 500 | 250 |
Frequently Asked Questions: Polkadot
Does Polkadot have an EVM chain ID?
No. The Polkadot relay chain is non-EVM and does not use an EVM chain ID. EVM compatibility is offered by specific parachains (for example Astar), each with its own chain ID.
How is Polkadot queried?
Polkadot is queried over the Substrate JSON-RPC interface, typically via the Polkadot.js API, rather than Ethereum JSON-RPC.
How many decimals does DOT have?
DOT has 10 decimals; the smallest unit is the Planck, where 1 DOT equals 10,000,000,000 Planck.
Polkadot guides from the blog
- Polkadot RPC: JSON-RPC Over a Different NamespacePolkadot's RPC is JSON-RPC over HTTP — but it's the Substrate namespace (system_*, chain_*, state_*), not eth_*, so viem/ethers don't connect. The relay chain runs no smart contracts, DOT has 10 decimals (not 18), and storage is SCALE-encoded, not ABI. Here's the developer map for querying Polkadot (and Kusama / Asset Hub) over Substrate RPC.
Related Polkadot chains
Explore RPC endpoints for other Polkadot networks on SwiftNodes:
Ready to start building on Polkadot? Connect your wallet and get a free API key in 30 seconds. No email or KYC required.