TrueBlocks vs The Graph: Local-First Philosophy

Local-first, deterministic indexing: Runs on your own infrastructure, producing verifiably correct data by re-executing chain history. This eliminates trust in a third-party API and is critical for audit trails, compliance, and financial applications where data provenance is non-negotiable.

No per-query fees or rate limits: Once the local index is built, querying is free and instantaneous. This provides predictable operational costs and is ideal for high-frequency data analysis, backtesting, and applications requiring deep historical scans without API cost concerns.

Serverless, hosted subgraphs: Developers can index and query public blockchain data in minutes without managing infrastructure. With 500+ active subgraphs and a massive network of Indexers, this is the fastest path to market for dApps, dashboards, and prototypes needing aggregated on-chain data.

Broad protocol and chain support: Indexes data across 40+ networks including Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Polygon. Its standardized GraphQL API and extensive tooling (e.g., Subgraph Studio) create a vibrant ecosystem, making it the default choice for cross-chain applications and leveraging community-built subgraphs.

Local indexing ensures verifiable provenance: Every data point is derived directly from the node you run, creating a cryptographic chain of custody. This is critical for regulatory compliance (e.g., proof-of-reserves), forensic accounting, and high-assurance DeFi audits where you cannot trust a third-party API.

No per-query fees or API rate limits: Once the local index is built, querying is free and instantaneous. This provides predictable infrastructure costs for applications like real-time wallet dashboards, batch historical analysis, or internal reporting tools that would incur massive bills on paid services.

Subgraph deployment in hours, not weeks: The hosted service and decentralized network allow developers to index and query public blockchain data without running infrastructure. This accelerates prototyping, hackathon projects, and production apps that need to go live quickly, leveraging a vast ecosystem of existing subgraphs.

Unified query layer across 40+ networks: A single GraphQL endpoint can serve data from Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, and others. This eliminates the complexity of managing separate indexers for each chain, ideal for cross-chain dashboards, aggregators, and protocols like Uniswap or Aave that deploy on multiple L2s.

Requires dedicated node + index management: You must run and maintain an Ethereum archive node (~2TB+) and the TrueBlocks indexer, which can take days to sync. This adds significant DevOps burden and upfront time cost, making it unsuitable for teams without dedicated infrastructure engineers.

Reliance on third-party indexers and pricing: The decentralized network's query costs fluctuate with GRT token price and indexer pricing models. The hosted service is a centralized point of failure. This introduces financial uncertainty and counterparty risk for applications requiring guaranteed uptime or fixed costs.

Local-first indexing ensures you query your own node's data, guaranteeing cryptographic proof of origin for every record. This eliminates the trust assumption inherent in centralized RPC providers or indexers. This matters for audit-grade applications, regulatory compliance (MiCA), and protocols where data provenance is non-negotiable, like decentralized identity or on-chain asset verification.

No recurring query fees or GRT token costs. After the initial sync, operational costs are limited to your node's infrastructure. This provides predictable OpEx and eliminates vendor lock-in. This matters for high-volume dApps (e.g., DeFi dashboards, on-chain analytics platforms) where The Graph's query fees can scale unpredictably with user growth, impacting unit economics.

Decentralized network of Indexers provides instant, scalable access to historical data without needing to sync or maintain a local archive node. The Graph's hosted service and subgraphs for chains like Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Polygon allow projects to launch in hours, not weeks. This matters for rapid prototyping, applications requiring multi-chain data aggregation, or teams without dedicated DevOps for node infrastructure.

Massive developer adoption with 40,000+ active subgraphs and deep integrations across the ecosystem (e.g., Uniswap, Aave, Compound). Tools like Graph Explorer and Subgraph Studio significantly reduce development time. This matters for teams prioritizing time-to-market, needing complex aggregated data (like liquidity pools across DEXs), or building on newer L2s where TrueBlocks support may be limited.

Requires a synced, archival Ethereum node (e.g., Erigon, Nethermind). Initial index creation (chifra init) and ongoing maintenance add DevOps complexity. This matters for smaller teams or startups lacking infrastructure expertise, or applications that need to query data from chains where TrueBlocks is not yet available (many L2s).

Relies on a curated marketplace of Indexers, introducing points of failure and potential for service degradation. Query pricing is subject to GRT token volatility and Indexer pricing models, creating unpredictable costs. This matters for mission-critical financial applications requiring 99.99% uptime guarantees and strict cost controls, where external dependencies pose a business risk.