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QuickNode Bitcoin API alternative with indexed address data

QuickNode runs excellent Bitcoin infrastructure. We called its public endpoint on 1 September 2026 and got a Bitcoin Core 31.1.0 node, 99 peers, unpruned, sitting exactly on the tip at block 965,040.

The gap is what a node can be asked. Every address-shaped call returned -32601, Method not found, and scantxoutset, the one Core method that could answer what an address holds, is blocked outright. That is correct engineering, not a defect: a node keeps no address index. BitcoinDatabase is the index. Informational on-chain data only, never financial or investment advice.

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REST API · SQL · dashboards · indexed since the 2009 genesis block

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informational on-chain data · not financial advice

REST API · SQL · dashboards, one indexed dataset. Querying the indexed Bitcoin blockchain ...

QuickNode leads on managed node access, broadcasting, mining templates, an ordinals and runes index and multi-chain breadth, while BitcoinDatabase leads on indexed Bitcoin data you can query by address, balance, history or SQL.

Side by side

QuickNode vs BitcoinDatabase, honestly

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

What matters	BitcoinDatabase	QuickNode
API shape	Indexed REST API, SQL and dashboards	Managed Bitcoin Core node over JSON-RPC, plus separate indexed add-on APIs
Balance by address	One call returns the confirmed balance to the satoshi	getbalance returns -32601 Method not found on the public endpoint
Full address history	One query returns every transaction back to 2009	No RPC method accepts an address for history
UTXOs for an address	Returned as a list for any address or xpub	listunspent returns -32601; scantxoutset is blocked with -32604
Address validation	Validation plus the balance, history and UTXOs behind it	validateaddress works but only parses the string, it never reads the chain
Ordinals, runes and BRC-20	Indexed resources you can filter by address and holder	Yes, a separate Ordinals and Runes API keyed by inscription, block, sat and rune
Custom SQL	Yes, POST to the SQL endpoint on Growth and above	No SQL layer over the chain
Broadcast a transaction	No, we are read-only and do not broadcast	Yes, and this is a core strength of a node provider
Mining templates	No	Yes, getblocktemplate answered on the public endpoint
Node introspection	Not applicable, we do not expose a node	Broad: getpeerinfo, getnettotals, getmemoryinfo and getindexinfo all answered
Chain coverage	Bitcoin only, indexed deeply	Bitcoin plus a large set of other chains
Entry pricing	Usage-based paid plans, no free plan	Free trial at 10M API credits and 15 requests per second; Build $49 a month

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

What we actually called, and what came back

On 1 September 2026 we sent JSON-RPC to the public documentation endpoint at docs-demo.btc.quiknode.pro. Answering normally: getblockcount, getbestblockhash, getblockchaininfo, getnetworkinfo, getdifficulty, getchaintips, getmempoolinfo, estimatesmartfee, getrawtransaction, validateaddress, getindexinfo, getblocktemplate, getpeerinfo, getconnectioncount, getnettotals, getnetworkhashps, getblockstats, getchaintxstats, getmemoryinfo and getdeploymentinfo. Returning -32601 Method not found: getbalance, listunspent, getreceivedbyaddress, getaddressinfo, getwalletinfo and dumpprivkey. Blocked with HTTP 400 and -32604: scantxoutset, generatetoaddress, stop, uptime and getrpcinfo. gettxoutsetinfo returned nothing within 30 seconds.

The two calls that could answer an address question are off

This is the part worth understanding before you compare providers. Bitcoin Core keeps unspent outputs keyed by transaction id and output index, with no address index, so a plain node has nothing to look up when you hand it an address. Core does ship one escape hatch, scantxoutset with an addr() descriptor, which sweeps the whole UTXO set to find matching outputs. It is also a multi-second full scan that would flatten shared infrastructure, so providers disable it. Blocking it is correct engineering. The consequence is simply that no managed node, QuickNode included, can serve address balances, and every product that does has built an index.

Even the ordinals index is not keyed by address

QuickNode does sell indexed Bitcoin data as a separate Ordinals and Runes JSON-RPC API, which is a genuine advantage over providers that offer none. Reading its documentation on 1 September 2026, the methods are ord_getInscription, ord_getInscriptions, ord_getInscriptionsByBlock, ord_getContent, ord_getChildren, ord_getSat, ord_getSatRecursive, ord_getRune, ord_getRunes, ord_getCollections, ord_getOutput, ord_getTx and ord_getBlockHash. They key on inscription id, block, sat number, rune and outpoint. ord_getInscriptions takes a single pageIndex parameter. If your question starts with a holder address, that is still a query you have to build yourself.

Where QuickNode is the right call

If you sign and broadcast transactions, watch your own mempool, pull a block template, need deep node introspection, or run one account across Bitcoin and a dozen other chains, QuickNode is the better product and we would rather say so plainly. We are read-only, we never broadcast, and we do not replace node infrastructure. Plenty of teams run both: a node provider for writes, an index for reads.

Good questions

QuickNode vs BitcoinDatabase, answered

No. Calling the public endpoint on 1 September 2026, getbalance returns JSON-RPC error -32601, Method not found, and so do listunspent, getreceivedbyaddress and getaddressinfo. The only method that accepts an address is validateaddress, and it just checks the encoding and returns the scriptPubKey without reading the chain.

Because scantxoutset is blocked. It returns HTTP 400 with error -32604, this request method is not supported. That call is the one Core method that can answer an address question, using an addr() descriptor to sweep the entire UTXO set, and it is a heavy multi-second scan. Disabling it on shared infrastructure is a sensible operational choice, but it removes the last node-side route to a balance.

On the pricing page read 1 September 2026: a free trial with 10M API credits a month at 15 requests per second, Build at $49 a month for 80M credits and 50 requests per second, Accelerate at $249 for 450M and 125, Scale at $499 for 950M and 250, and Business at $999 for 2B and 500. Business Plus runs $1,499, $1,999 and $2,999. Annual billing is listed at 15 percent below monthly and overage credits run $0.62 down to $0.36 per million.

Yes, through a separate Ordinals and Runes JSON-RPC API rather than the base Bitcoin RPC. On the base endpoint the ord_ methods return -32601 until that product is enabled. Its documented methods key on inscription id, block, sat, rune and outpoint, so it answers "what is this inscription" well and "what does this wallet hold" not at all.

The public documentation endpoint reported /Satoshi:31.1.0/ on 1 September 2026, protocol version 70016, with 99 connections, an unpruned chain of about 872.5 GB on disk and a tip of block 965,040. Median response time for getblockcount over seven calls was 0.144 seconds from a single US machine.

For reading the chain, yes. If your queries begin with an address, an xpub, a balance, a history, a UTXO set or a cohort of holders, you need an index, and that is what BitcoinDatabase is. For broadcasting, mempool policy, mining templates or multi-chain node access, QuickNode is the better fit, and the two are commonly used side by side rather than instead of each other.

Only for the read half of your product. Anything that writes to the network needs a node: signing is yours, but relaying, mempool acceptance testing and fee estimation against live policy all belong to node infrastructure. What an index replaces is the part teams usually underestimate, which is building and reconciling an address index next to that node and keeping it from silently falling behind.

No. BitcoinDatabase provides informational on-chain data and analytics only. It is not investment, financial or legal advice, and nothing here is a signal or guarantee.

Explore the data

The Bitcoin data you can query here

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Write plain SQL against the whole indexed chain, no node, no ETL.

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See everything BitcoinDatabase can query

Query the whole Bitcoin blockchain in one place

An address in, structured on-chain data out. BitcoinDatabase indexes balances, UTXOs, transactions, entity labels and fund flows since the 2009 genesis block, queryable by REST API, SQL and dashboards. No node to run.

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