Compare · Xverse

Xverse API alternative for querying ordinals and on-chain Bitcoin data

Xverse is a well-built Bitcoin wallet, and its API is a natural extension of that: it reads ordinals, inscriptions, BRC-20 tokens, Runes, UTXOs and rare sats, and it goes further by letting apps mint, etch and deploy with order management, cost estimation and status tracking. Payment is pay-per-request over Lightning, roughly a sat per call, which suits AI agents and apps that would rather not manage API keys. If your job is embedding wallet features or minting flows, it is a strong fit.

The reason developers look at Xverse API alternatives is data breadth and how you query it. BitcoinDatabase covers the Bitcoin chain, ordinals, inscriptions, BRC-20 events and Runes balances included, and exposes it three ways: a REST API with address history back to the 2009 genesis block, plus raw SQL and dashboards over the indexed chain, which grows with every new block. So you are not limited to per-address wallet lookups or minting endpoints. You can join inscription data against address balances, fund flows, entity labels and UTXOs in one SQL query, on usage-based plans built for analytics, research and compliance rather than minting. Everything here is informational on-chain data, not financial or investment advice, and collectible valuation is out of scope.

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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 ...

Xverse leads on wallet-native ordinals, Runes and BRC-20, including minting and order execution over Lightning, while BitcoinDatabase gives you the fully-indexed Bitcoin chain, ordinals data included, to query over REST, SQL and dashboards.

Side by side

Xverse vs BitcoinDatabase, honestly

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

What matters	BitcoinDatabase	Xverse
Primary strength	Query the full indexed chain, ordinals and BRC-20 included	Wallet-native ordinals, minting and order execution
Access methods	REST API, SQL and dashboards	REST API, pay-per-call over Lightning
Minting and etching	No, read and query only	Yes, mint, etch and deploy with order management
Custom SQL	Yes, join ordinals against balances, flows and UTXOs	Endpoint responses rather than raw SQL
Data breadth	Whole chain: addresses, transactions, flows, labels, ordinals	Ordinals, Runes, BRC-20, UTXOs and rare sats
Pricing model	Usage-based paid plans, no free plan	Pay-per-request over Lightning, about a sat per call
Best suited for	Analytics, research and compliance on indexed data	Apps embedding wallet, ordinals and minting features

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

Ordinals data you can query, not just read

Inscriptions, sat numbers, BRC-20 events and Runes balances sit in the same indexed chain as addresses, balances and UTXOs. So a single SQL query can join an inscription to the address that holds it and the flow that moved it, instead of stitching wallet endpoints together.

Three ways to query

Call the REST API from an app, run SQL for research and reconciliation, or explore in dashboards, all against one fully-indexed Bitcoin chain. Each job uses the right tool without wiring per-address wallet calls into an analytics pipeline.

Honest about indexer state

BRC-20 balances are indexer-computed off-chain state, not enforced by the protocol, so providers can legitimately disagree. BitcoinDatabase is explicit about what is read directly from the chain versus computed, which matters when your numbers have to reconcile.

Good questions

Xverse vs BitcoinDatabase, answered

If you want to query ordinals, inscriptions, BRC-20 and Runes data as part of the whole indexed Bitcoin chain over REST, SQL and dashboards, yes. Xverse is a strong choice for wallet-native features and minting; BitcoinDatabase gives you the underlying data to query and join yourself.

No. BitcoinDatabase is a read and query layer, not a wallet. It does not mint, etch or deploy inscriptions, Runes or BRC-20 tokens. It indexes that data so you can query balances, transfers and history, which is a different job from creating them.

Yes. It parses inscriptions from Taproot witness envelopes, reads Runes from the OP_RETURN runestone per UTXO, and exposes BRC-20 balances as indexer-computed state, all queryable over REST and SQL alongside the rest of the chain.

Xverse charges pay-per-request over Lightning, roughly a sat per call, which suits low-volume and agent workloads. BitcoinDatabase uses usage-based paid plans built for production analytics and bulk querying. There is no free plan on either side for serious volume.

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

Xverse serves its ordinals data from api.secretkeylabs.io under a /v1/ordinals/ prefix, with endpoints keyed by address and by transaction, for example an address UTXO route and a transaction route. Calling a bare /v1/ordinals path with no sub-route returns a plain HTTP 404 naming the missing route, which is a useful way to confirm you have the host right but the path wrong.

Because access is priced per request rather than per month. Calling the ordinals endpoints without credentials on 2 September 2026 returned HTTP 402 Payment Required with a paymentauth.org problem type and a unique challengeId for each request. That is a payment challenge, not an authentication failure, so a client should treat it differently from a 403: it is recoverable by settling payment rather than by fixing a key.

Yes, Hiro named Xverse as the migration path when it deprecated its Ordinals, Runes and BRC-20 APIs on 9 March 2026. Those Hiro endpoints now return HTTP 410 Gone. Worth knowing before you start: the migration link inside that 410 response body returns 404, so there is no guide waiting at the end of it. We documented the whole teardown on our Hiro alternative page.

Explore the data

The Bitcoin data you can query here

Bitcoin ordinals and inscriptions API

Query Bitcoin ordinals, inscriptions, BRC-20 events and Runes balances from the same indexed chain, over REST and SQL.

Explore

Query the Bitcoin blockchain with SQL

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

Explore

Bitcoin address labels

Attach exchange, miner and service labels to addresses, so raw hashes read as entities.

Explore

Bitcoin rich list

The largest balances ranked, with labels and historical snapshots.

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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 Mempool.space

Mempool.space alternative

Indexed address, balance and history data over REST and SQL, alongside mempool and fees, on production plans.

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