Chainstack Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Chainstack costs Free to $990 per month as of June 2026, with 5 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Developer (free), Growth at $49/month, Pro at $199/month, Business at $499/month, and Enterprise at $990/month. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Chainstack offers 5 pricing tiers: Developer, Growth, Pro, Business, Enterprise. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Growth at $49/month, Pro at $199/month, Business at $499/month. The Growth plan is startups and researchers needing reliable blockchain access.
Yes, Chainstack offers a forever free plan as of June 2026. The free tier includes 7 features with limits on usage. Paid plans start at $49/month (Growth). Pricing verified from 3 sources by CostBench.
Chainstack's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 3 million request units/month
- 25 requests/second
- 1 node
- WebSockets endpoint
- Pay in crypto
- Community support
- No credit card required
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- 20 million request units/month
- 250 requests/second
- 10 nodes
- Archive data
- Add-ons
- Standard support (24x5, <24h response)
- Extra usage at $15 per 1M units
- Warp transactions at $0.15/txn
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like 20 million request units/month or 250 requests/second
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Chainstack branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Growth Plan Comparison
| Developer $0 | Growth $49/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 7 included | 8+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Chainstack branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Developers building, testing, and deploying Web3 apps | Startups and researchers needing reliable blockchain access |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Chainstack free?
Yes, Chainstack offers a forever free plan with 7 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Chainstack's free plan?
Chainstack's free plan includes: 3 million request units/month, 25 requests/second, 1 node, WebSockets endpoint, Pay in crypto, and 2 more features. Key limits include basic usage caps.
03 What's NOT included in Chainstack's free plan?
The free plan excludes: 20 million request units/month, 250 requests/second, 10 nodes, Archive data, Add-ons. You'll also have Chainstack branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Chainstack's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like 20 million request units/month or 250 requests/second, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $49/month.
05 Is Chainstack's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Chainstack's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.