Chainstack vs Lightning Labs

Chainstack4.3/5

VS

Lightning Labs3.4/5

Feature	ChainstackVisit	Lightning LabsVisit
Ratings
Our score	4.3/5	3.4/5
User rating	No reviews yet	No reviews yet
Reliability	4.5	4.0
Chain coverage	4.5	2.5
Pricing	4.0	3.0
Developer experience	4.5	4.5
Support	4.0	2.5
Specs
Services	RPC / nodes, Indexing	Developer tooling, RPC / nodes
Chains supported	70	2
Free tier	Yes	Yes
Pricing from	$49/month	Free, open-source software
Enterprise SLA	Yes	Not disclosed
Open source	Not disclosed	Yes
Uptime SLA	99.99%	Not disclosed
Free tier limits	3M request units/month, up to 25 RPS	Unrestricted self-hosted software
Server regions	10+ global data centers	Not disclosed
Company
Founded	2018	2016
Headquarters	Singapore	—
Investors	Not disclosed	Not disclosed
Strengths and weaknesses
Pros	70+ supported chains, including Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin and X Layer Free tier includes 3 million monthly request units Global Nodes route requests across 10+ data centers Self-Hosted keeps node deployment on customer-owned infrastructure	Open-source core node implementation and protocols Non-custodial software for operators who control their own funds and keys Enables stablecoins and asset transfers over Lightning via Taproot Assets Bitcoin infrastructure company founded in 2016
Cons	Paid plans begin at $49 per month after the free tier Managed endpoints create dependence on Chainstack routing and node operations Dedicated Nodes start at $678 per month Global routing can add infrastructure and provider concentration risk	Requires active liquidity management and watchtowers to protect channel states Channel openings and closures remain subject to on-chain Bitcoin network fees Past security vulnerabilities, including three CVE disclosures in September 2019, required urgent patching
Best for	Multichain application teams, RPC-heavy trading systems, Enterprise blockchain infrastructure	Bitcoin routing node operators, Developers building Lightning payment apps, Teams issuing stablecoins on Bitcoin

Highlighted cells show the stronger value in each row. Data comes from each provider's site and public sources; check details before you sign up.

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