If you're picking a blockchain API in 2026, the three names on the shortlist are usually Alchemy, QuickNode, and 1F. This is the head-to-head comparison engineers actually need — not the vendor brochure version.
Pricing at a glance
| Tier | Alchemy | QuickNode | 1F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 300M compute units/mo | 50M API credits/mo | 1,000 calls/mo |
| Entry paid | $49/mo (Growth) | $49/mo (Build) | $50/mo (Starter) |
| Mid | $289/mo | $299/mo | $200/mo (Pro) |
| Enterprise | Custom ($1.5K+) | Custom ($999+) | Custom |
For pure JSON-RPC, the entry tiers are roughly equivalent. Where 1F pulls ahead is at the "Pro" rung: $200/month covers 5M API calls plus the indexed Data APIs plus real-time mempool stream plus the on-chain compliance layer (KYC, OFAC, FinCEN SAR). Alchemy and QuickNode price compliance tooling separately or not at all.
Chains supported
| Alchemy | QuickNode | 1F | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethereum + L2s | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| BSC | via partner | ✅ | ✅ |
| Polygon | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Avalanche | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Solana | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (tail) |
| Bitcoin | ❌ | partial | ✅ (tail) |
| Cross-chain joins | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ (sub-ms) |
The cross-chain row is the differentiator. Asking "what is this same EOA doing across ETH,
Polygon, and Arbitrum?" requires three Alchemy calls that you join client-side. With 1F it's
one call to /api/cross-chain/portfolio/{address}.
Indexed Data APIs
All three offer transfers, balances, and metadata APIs. Where 1F adds value:
- Bridge tx pairing —
/api/cross-chain/follow/{txHash}returns the source-chain tx + the destination-chain tx joined by message-id (LayerZero nonce, Wormhole sequence, CCTP nonce). Neither Alchemy nor QuickNode pair these automatically. - Mixer correlation — Tornado/Railgun/Privacy Pools commitment-nullifier registry exposed
at
/api/forensics/mixer-correlate. - Token holders historical — pull every holder of a contract via
/v1/tokens/{contract}/holders.
Real-time stream
Alchemy and QuickNode both offer WebSocket subscriptions for newHeads, logs, pendingTransactions.
What they don't offer:
- Filter by token-touch via calldata substring scan (catches Uniswap/Pancake-style swaps without you decoding the calldata)
- Filter by
originChain(auto-populated when a confirmed event paired with a bridge source) - Filter by decoder protocol family (e.g.
protocols:["pancake","uniswapV2","aave"])
1F's /api/stream/subscribe covers all three.
On-chain compliance — the gap
This is where the comparison breaks down because Alchemy and QuickNode don't compete here at all. If you need OFAC sanctions screening, mule-pattern detection, multi-hop indirect exposure, or FinCEN Form 111 SAR support, the alternatives are Chainalysis Reactor or TRM Labs at $50K+/year per seat. 1F bundles this into Pro at $200/month:
POST /api/kyc/screen— wallet decision (BLOCK/REVIEW/WARN/ALLOW)POST /api/forensics/screen— bulk screen up to 1000 addresses/api/forensics/exposure-multihop— weighted indirect exposure up to 6 hops/case/{id}/sar— FinCEN Form 111-style adapter
When Alchemy or QuickNode is the right choice
- You only need standard JSON-RPC and don't care about cross-chain joins
- You have an established Chainalysis contract for compliance separately
- You need a chain 1F doesn't yet support (Cosmos, Polkadot, Move ecosystems)
When 1F is the right choice
- You want one API key for infra + compliance
- You're investigating cross-chain flows (bridge tx, mixer correlation)
- You're operating a mid-market exchange and Reactor seats are out of budget
- You need real-time mempool with token + protocol + origin-chain filters
Try it
curl -X POST https://1f.ai/api/auth/signup \
-H "Origin: https://1f.ai" -H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"email":"you@example.com","password":"…"}'
Free tier is 1,000 calls/month, no credit card. Sign up or read the API docs.
See also: Investigating a cross-chain bridge exploit in 5 minutes, OFAC sanctions screening for crypto: an API-first checklist, Tracking pig-butchering scam wallets across chains.