The Graph's Hosted Service excels at providing a predictable, low-barrier entry point for dApp development. It offers a free tier for new projects and a managed environment where costs are primarily the engineering time to deploy and maintain subgraphs. For example, a protocol like Uniswap v3 can index millions of events daily on the hosted service without direct GRT token expenditure, allowing teams to focus on product-market fit before committing to network costs.
LABS
Comparisons
Subgraph Deployment Cost: Hosted Service vs Decentralized Network Costs
A technical and financial comparison of The Graph's two primary indexing solutions, analyzing the free-tier Hosted Service against the decentralized network's query fee market and staking model for CTOs and protocol architects.
Chainscore © 2026
introduction
THE ANALYSIS
Introduction: The Indexing Cost Dilemma
Choosing between The Graph's Hosted Service and its decentralized network fundamentally pits predictable operational costs against long-term censorship resistance and protocol alignment.
The Graph's Decentralized Network takes a different approach by introducing a marketplace for indexing services, paid in GRT. This results in a variable cost model where query fees are determined by Indexer staking and delegation dynamics. The trade-off is higher initial complexity—requiring GRT bonding, delegation management, and multi-sig coordination—for the benefit of decentralized infrastructure resilience and alignment with web3 principles, as seen with Livepeer and Audius.
The key trade-off: If your priority is rapid iteration, predictable budgeting, and zero upfront crypto-economic overhead, choose the Hosted Service. If you prioritize censorship resistance, long-term protocol sustainability, and deep integration with the decentralized data economy, choose the Decentralized Network.
tldr-summary
Hosted Service vs. The Graph Network
TL;DR: Core Differentiators at a Glance
A direct comparison of cost, control, and reliability for deploying and querying subgraphs.
01
Hosted Service: Predictable, Zero-Cost Entry
No direct deployment fees: The Graph Foundation covers hosting costs. This matters for bootstrapping projects, hackathons, and MVPs where upfront capital is limited. However, it's a centralized service with no long-term guarantees.
02
The Graph Network: Decentralized & Censorship-Resistant
Pay-as-you-query model: Costs are based on query volume and indexing rewards. This matters for production dApps requiring uptime SLAs, data sovereignty, and permissionless access. Initial GRT bonding is required for subgraph curation.
03
Hosted Service: Simplified Operational Overhead
Managed infrastructure: No need to manage Indexers, curators, or GRT delegation. This matters for small teams who want to focus on dApp logic, not blockchain data pipeline operations. Relies entirely on The Graph Foundation's roadmap.
04
The Graph Network: Programmable, Open Market
Costs scale with usage and competition: Indexers compete on price and performance. This matters for high-volume applications (e.g., DeFi dashboards, NFT marketplaces) that can optimize for cost-efficiency and leverage multiple Indexers for redundancy.
05
Hosted Service: Risk of Centralized Sunsetting
No long-term service agreement: The Foundation can deprecate the service, forcing migration. This matters for protocols building long-term infrastructure (e.g., Uniswap, Aave) who require immutable data access guarantees for their smart contracts.
06
The Graph Network: Aligned Economic Incentives
Indexers stake GRT for slashing risk: This creates cryptoeconomic security for query integrity. This matters for applications handling high-value transactions where tamper-proof, verifiable data is non-negotiable.
HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON
Subgraph Deployment Cost: Hosted Service vs Decentralized Network
Direct cost and operational comparison for deploying and maintaining subgraphs.
| Metric | The Graph Hosted Service | The Graph Decentralized Network |
|---|---|---|
Deployment Cost (One-Time) | $0 | ~$5 - $50 (GRT for curation) |
Query Fee Model | Free Tier, then usage-based | Pay-per-query in GRT |
Monthly Cost (10M queries) | $0 - $100 | $50 - $200 |
Uptime SLA | 99.5% |
|
Data Freshness | ~1 block | < 1 block |
Protocol Dependency | Centralized Indexer | Decentralized Indexers (e.g., Figment) |
Requires GRT Staking |
pros-cons-a
Subgraph Deployment Cost: Hosted Service vs Decentralized Network
The Graph Hosted Service: Pros and Cons
A data-driven breakdown of operational costs and trade-offs for deploying subgraphs. Choose based on your project's stage, budget, and decentralization requirements.
01
Hosted Service: Zero Upfront Cost
No GRT staking or query fees: The service is free for developers, subsidized by The Graph Foundation. This matters for early-stage projects, hackathons, and MVPs where capital efficiency is critical. You can deploy a subgraph for Ethereum, Arbitrum, or Polygon without locking any tokens.
$0
Deployment Cost
02
Hosted Service: Simplified Operations
Managed infrastructure: The Graph team handles indexing node maintenance, upgrades, and uptime. This matters for small teams without dedicated DevOps who need to focus on core product development instead of managing Graph Node instances and database performance.
03
Decentralized Network: Predictable, Usage-Based Billing
Pay-as-you-query model: Costs are based on query volume via the Gateway, priced in GRT. This matters for scaling production dApps (like Uniswap or Livepeer) that require guaranteed performance SLAs and transparent, usage-aligned billing instead of relying on a free, rate-limited tier.
~$5-50
Monthly Query Cost (Est.)
04
Decentralized Network: Censorship Resistance & Uptime
Fault-tolerant indexing: Relies on a decentralized network of Indexers (over 200+ globally) staking GRT. This matters for mission-critical DeFi or governance protocols that cannot afford centralized points of failure. Downtime or takedown risk is distributed.
05
Hosted Service: Centralized Chokepoint
Single point of failure: Service is run by a single entity. This matters for production applications with high reliability needs; an outage or policy change by the Foundation could disrupt your dApp's data layer without recourse.
06
Decentralized Network: Staking & Setup Complexity
GRT capital requirement: To become a consumer, you must manage GRT for query payments. For dedicated subgraphs, curation and indexing stake is required. This matters for teams with limited crypto-native ops; the learning curve for managing wallets, delegation, and billing is non-trivial.
100k+ GRT
Typical Indexer Stake
pros-cons-b
Subgraph Deployment Cost: Hosted Service vs Decentralized Network
The Graph Decentralized Network: Pros and Cons
Key strengths and trade-offs for CTOs evaluating long-term data indexing infrastructure costs and reliability.
02
The Graph Hosted Service: Cons
Centralized dependency: Relies on a single entity (The Graph Foundation). Introduces platform risk and potential single points of failure, which is a critical consideration for DeFi protocols requiring maximum uptime.
No long-term guarantee: The service is being sunset, with a full migration to the decentralized network required. This creates a mandatory refactoring timeline and technical debt for projects like SushiSwap or Balancer.
Limited censorship resistance: The Foundation can technically deprecate or freeze subgraphs, a non-starter for permissionless applications where data integrity is paramount.
04
Decentralized Network: Cons
Significant upfront capital: Requires bonding GRT (currently 100k GRT minimum) to deploy a subgraph. This represents a substantial capital allocation ($20K+) that could be deployed elsewhere.
Complex operational overhead: Teams must manage curation signals, indexer selection, and GRT stake delegation. Adds DevOps complexity compared to the fully-managed hosted service.
Variable query costs: Query pricing is set by a competitive indexer market. While generally low, costs can fluctuate based on network demand, making precise budgeting more challenging than the hosted service's fixed price model.
CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITY
Decision Framework: When to Choose Which
The Graph Hosted Service for Cost-Conscious Startups
Verdict: The clear choice for bootstrapped projects and MVPs. Strengths: Zero upfront infrastructure costs. The free tier (up to ~100K queries/day) is sufficient for early-stage dApps. Predictable, usage-based billing scales with your user base. No need to manage GRT tokens or stake for curation, reducing operational overhead. Trade-offs: You accept centralization risk and reliance on The Graph Foundation's roadmap. Long-term, query costs can become significant for high-traffic applications. Key Metric: $0 to start; ~$0.10 per 1K queries at scale.
The Graph Decentralized Network for Cost-Conscious Startups
Verdict: Typically cost-prohibitive for early stages, but consider for mission-critical data. Strengths: Cost structure is fixed per query in GRT, independent of hosted service pricing changes. Potential for community-subsidized subgraphs via curation. Trade-offs: High initial complexity and capital requirement. Must stake GRT for subgraph deployment (curation) and manage query fee agreements. Indexer pricing can be volatile. Key Metric: Minimum ~200 GRT stake for curation + ongoing query fees.
SUBGRAPH DEPLOYMENT
Deep Dive: Detailed Cost Breakdown and Modeling
Choosing between The Graph's Hosted Service and its Decentralized Network involves complex trade-offs in cost, reliability, and decentralization. This analysis provides a concrete cost model for CTOs and architects planning long-term data infrastructure.
The Hosted Service is cheaper for new projects with low-to-moderate query volume. It offers a free tier and predictable, usage-based billing via the Gateway, with costs scaling linearly from $0-$500/month for most startups. The Decentralized Network requires an upfront GRT stake for curation and indexing, plus ongoing query fees, creating a higher initial cost barrier often exceeding $1,000+ for reliable service setup.
verdict
THE ANALYSIS
Final Verdict and Strategic Recommendation
Choosing between The Graph's Hosted Service and its Decentralized Network is a strategic decision balancing cost predictability against censorship resistance and long-term protocol alignment.
The Hosted Service excels at providing predictable, low-to-zero upfront costs for rapid prototyping and early-stage projects. Because it is a managed service subsidized by The Graph Foundation, developers can deploy subgraphs without purchasing and staking GRT tokens. For example, a new DeFi protocol like a Uniswap fork can index its data for free during development and initial launch, with costs only scaling with query volume, which is often minimal at the start.
The Decentralized Network takes a different approach by introducing a market-driven cost model based on staking GRT and paying query fees. This results in higher initial complexity and capital requirement (e.g., staking thousands of GRT per subgraph) but delivers critical trade-offs: verifiable censorship resistance, guaranteed uptime via a decentralized network of Indexers, and direct participation in The Graph's long-term ecosystem. Protocols like Livepeer and Audius use it for production-grade, unstoppable APIs.
The key trade-off: If your priority is minimizing initial cost and operational overhead for a growth-stage application, choose the Hosted Service. If you prioritize censorship resistance, data provenance, and aligning with decentralized infrastructure for a mainnet protocol with significant TVL, the Decentralized Network is the definitive choice. The migration path from Hosted Service to the decentralized network is well-documented, allowing teams to start simply and decentralize later.
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