Compare · Mempool.space

Mempool.space alternative for indexed Bitcoin data

Mempool.space is a superb open-source Bitcoin explorer, and its free API is the go-to for live mempool state and fee estimates. If you need real-time fees and mempool visibility, it is excellent, community-run and widely trusted, and BitcoinDatabase happily points people to it for that job.

The reason teams look for a Mempool.space alternative is usually two things: undisclosed rate limits on the free API (higher limits come through an enterprise sponsorship with custom pricing), and the fact that it is mempool and explorer focused rather than a general indexed-data provider. BitcoinDatabase covers mempool and fee data too, but adds deep indexed lookups: address balances to the satoshi, full transaction history, UTXOs and entity labels over a REST API, SQL and dashboards, on usage-based paid plans with clear throughput. Informational on-chain data only, not financial advice.

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REST API · SQL · dashboards · address history since the 2009 genesis block

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informational on-chain data · not financial advice

REST API · SQL · dashboards, one indexed dataset. Reading the chain ...

Mempool.space leads on free, real-time mempool and fee data, while BitcoinDatabase adds deep indexed address, balance and history lookups over REST, SQL and dashboards on production plans.

Side by side

Mempool.space vs BitcoinDatabase, honestly

A fair look at what each does well. Both are capable tools. Here is where they differ.

What matters	BitcoinDatabase	Mempool.space
Primary strength	Deep indexed data: addresses, balances, history, UTXOs	Live mempool state and fee estimation
Access methods	REST API, SQL and dashboards	REST and WebSocket API
Address history depth	Full history, balances to the satoshi, labels	Address and transaction lookups
Mempool and fees	Yes, mempool and fee endpoints included	Yes, a core strength
Custom SQL	Yes, query the indexed chain directly	No SQL interface
Rate limits	Production throughput on paid plans	Free API with undisclosed limits; enterprise sponsorship for more
Pricing model	Usage-based paid plans, no free plan	Free; enterprise sponsorship for higher limits

Comparison reflects general, publicly understood positioning. Capabilities change, so check each product for the latest.

Why teams pick BitcoinDatabase

The fully indexed Bitcoin blockchain, queryable by REST, SQL and dashboards

Indexed lookups, not just mempool

Mempool.space shines at live fees and mempool state. BitcoinDatabase adds the indexed layer: any address balance to the satoshi, full history, UTXOs and entity labels, so you analyze and reconcile, not only watch the next block.

SQL and dashboards

Query the whole indexed chain with SQL and explore it in dashboards, alongside the REST API, so research and compliance work the same data as engineering rather than scripting against an explorer.

Clear production plans

Usage-based paid plans give you defined throughput and support instead of undisclosed free-tier limits, which matters when an app depends on the data being there under load.

Good questions

Mempool.space vs BitcoinDatabase, answered

If you need deep indexed lookups (address balances, full history, UTXOs, labels) and SQL, plus predictable production throughput, yes. Mempool.space is excellent and free for live mempool and fee data; BitcoinDatabase adds the indexed-data layer over REST, SQL and dashboards.

The public mempool.space API does not publish exact limits and returns HTTP 429 when you exceed them; higher limits are available through an enterprise sponsorship with custom pricing. BitcoinDatabase uses usage-based paid plans with defined throughput instead.

No. We called its chain-tip endpoint on 11 August 2026 and read every response header: it returns cache-control, CORS and two headers naming its own stack (mempool-electrs 3.4.0-dev and Bitcoin Core /Satoshi:30.0.0), but nothing reporting remaining quota. You cannot tell how close you are to the limit until a request returns 429, which is the practical argument for a plan with defined throughput.

Its /api/v1/fees/recommended returns five named tiers as whole numbers of sat/vByte, where Blockstream returns floats keyed by target block count and can go below 1 sat/vByte. Tested on 11 August 2026, mempool.space reported a fastestFee of 2 while Blockstream priced a three-block target at 2.006. Swapping providers without adjusting your rounding changes the fee your wallet attaches.

Because some of its endpoints return a bare value as text/plain, and a bare hex string is not valid JSON. Tested on 12 August 2026, /api/blocks/tip/height returned 962164 and Python parsed it fine as an integer, while /api/blocks/tip/hash on the same host raised JSONDecodeError even though both returned HTTP 200. Read those endpoints with response.text and keep .json() for endpoints that return an object.

Yes. BitcoinDatabase includes mempool and fee endpoints alongside its indexed lookups, so you can read live state and query deep history from one provider. This is informational on-chain data, not financial advice.

No. BitcoinDatabase provides informational on-chain data and analytics only. It is not investment, financial or legal advice, and entity labels are context for your own review, never claims about individuals.

Explore the data

The Bitcoin data you can query here

Bitcoin address lookup

Look up any Bitcoin address: balance, full history and UTXOs in one query.

Explore

Bitcoin historical data API

Full-depth history: every block, transaction and metric back to 2009.

Explore

Bitcoin node API

JSON-RPC style access to blocks, transactions and balances, with no Bitcoin Core to run.

Explore

Bitcoin address balance history API

What an address held on any past date, not just what it holds now.

Explore

More comparisons

See how BitcoinDatabase compares

vs Glassnode

Glassnode alternative

Raw queryable Bitcoin data over REST, SQL and dashboards, not just curated charts.

vs Blockchair

Blockchair alternative

Bitcoin-deep with every UTXO, entity labels, metrics, SQL and dashboards.

vs BlockCypher

BlockCypher alternative

Bitcoin-native depth with SQL and dashboards, not just a multi-chain REST API.

vs Xverse

Xverse alternative

Query indexed ordinals, inscriptions, BRC-20 and Runes data over REST and SQL, not just wallet and minting endpoints.

vs BigQuery

BigQuery alternative

Balances, entity labels and fund flows already indexed, without per-terabyte scan billing.

vs Bitquery

Bitquery alternative

Bitcoin-only depth over REST and SQL, billed on calls rather than on points that move with query shape.

vs TimechainIndex

TimechainIndex alternative

Bitcoin-only like TimechainIndex, with published pricing and a commercial REST API.

vs CryptoQuant

CryptoQuant alternative

API access on the entry plan and the raw chain underneath, not day-resolution metrics.

vs Alchemy

Alchemy alternative

An indexed Bitcoin database you query by address, not a Bitcoin Core JSON-RPC passthrough.

vs QuickNode

QuickNode alternative

An indexed Bitcoin database you query by address, not a managed Core node with the address-capable calls switched off.

vs Hiro

Hiro alternative

Hiro retired its Bitcoin Layer 1 APIs. The endpoints now answer HTTP 410 Gone, and the migration link inside that answer is itself dead.

vs Amberdata

Amberdata alternative

Amberdata belongs to Kaiko as of June 2026. Its pricing page loads but publishes no number, and its API answers a missing key three different ways.

vs Elliptic

Elliptic alternative

Elliptic publishes no pricing and sells its screening API only on a negotiated contract. We measured its endpoints, and the OFAC list underneath it, on 4 September 2026.

vs Merkle Science

Merkle Science alternative

Merkle Science publishes no pricing and gates every product behind a demo. We measured its site, its API documentation and its blockchain coverage on 6 September 2026.

vs Coin Metrics

Coin Metrics alternative

Coin Metrics is now Talos and its pricing page is gone. We measured the redirects, the free community API and the exact metrics it withholds on 8 September 2026.

vs CoinGlass

CoinGlass alternative

CoinGlass publishes exchange balances per wallet address, hourly and rounded, from $29 a month with no free tier. We measured its plans, its documented precision and its Bitcoin gaps on 10 September 2026.

vs Crypto APIs

Crypto APIs alternative

Crypto APIs covers 35+ networks from $49 a month. For Bitcoin fee rates, balances and history, we measured where a Bitcoin-only index does the job better and where it does not.

vs Tatum

Tatum alternative

Tatum covers 130+ blockchains from $49 a month. For Bitcoin history, balances at a past block and fee rates, we priced its plans and measured the Bitcoin side on 22 Sep 2026.

vs NOWNodes

NOWNodes alternative

NOWNodes sells shared node and Blockbook access across 100+ networks from 20 euros a month. We read its price list and hit its Bitcoin endpoints on 26 Sep 2026.

vs GetBlock

GetBlock alternative

GetBlock sells shared nodes on 130+ chains, priced in compute units, from $49 a month. We read its plan table and CU rules and probed its Bitcoin endpoints on 27 Sep 2026.

vs Arkham

Arkham Intelligence alternative

Arkham names wallets across seven networks and grants its API by application. We read its access terms and probed its API on 28 Sep 2026.

vs Santiment

Santiment alternative

Santiment sells 1,000+ metrics across 2,800 assets over GraphQL. We read its plans and tested its Bitcoin balance query against the chain on 29 Sep 2026.

vs Nansen

Nansen alternative

Nansen labels wallets across 38 chains, and Bitcoin is one of them. We read its API docs, credit table and pay-per-call terms on 30 Sep 2026.

vs Allium

Allium alternative

Allium sells enterprise blockchain data across dozens of chains, Bitcoin included. We read its docs, unit tables and keyless pricing on 1 Oct 2026.

vs Flipside

Flipside alternative

Flipside sold its blockchain data business to SonarX in May 2026 and its old domain now redirects to an enterprise AI product. We checked what is left on 2 Oct 2026.

vs SonarX

SonarX alternative

SonarX ships Bitcoin as Snowflake shares, file dumps and Kafka streams, and turns on Bitcoin balances and REST on request. We read its Bitcoin page and checked its pricing URL on 5 Oct 2026.

vs GoldRush

GoldRush alternative

GoldRush, the API formerly sold as Covalent, covers 100 plus chains and gives Bitcoin three endpoints. We read its Bitcoin docs and pricing page on 6 Oct 2026.

vs Scorechain

Scorechain alternative

Scorechain is a Luxembourg blockchain analytics firm covering 25 plus chains. We read its site, its QuickNode add-on docs and pricing on 7 Oct 2026.

vs AMLBot

AMLBot alternative

AMLBot sells wallet checks, KYT monitoring and KYC to crypto businesses across many chains. We read its site and plan guide on 8 Oct 2026.

See everything BitcoinDatabase can query

Query the whole Bitcoin blockchain in one place

An address in, structured on-chain data out. BitcoinDatabase serves balances, UTXOs, transactions, entity labels and fund flows, with address history back to the 2009 genesis block over REST, and SQL and dashboards over the indexed chain. No node to run.

See pricing

REST + SQL + dashboards · new blocks within seconds · informational on-chain data only