Head-to-head · RPC Providers
Features, pricing, health score, community ratings — side-by-side from the live MadeOnSol database.
Updated July 29, 2026
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|---|---|---|
| Rating | (1) | (2) |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| Health | Healthy | Healthy |
| Chain | solana only | solana only |
| Open Source | ||
| Features | 4 features | 8 features |
| Upvotes |
Pros & cons
Analysis
extrnode extrnode, built by staking operator Everstake, is a decentralized Solana RPC gateway that load-balances and auto-fails-over across a cluster of RPC nodes, so a single node going down doesn't take your... Helius Helius is the premier developer platform for Solana, providing enterprise-grade RPC infrastructure, webhooks, enhanced APIs, and developer tools that power many of the ecosystem's most popular applica...
extrnode is rated higher by the MadeOnSol community with 5.0/5 stars across 1 review, compared to 4.5/5 for Helius (2 reviews). That said, ratings only tell part of the story — what matters most is which tool fits your specific workflow.
extrnode uses a freemium model, while Helius is freemium — Free tier: 30 RPS, 1M credits/day. Developer: $49/mo. Business: $499/mo. Enterprise: custom pricing.. Both offer free tiers with paid upgrades, so try each before committing to a paid plan.
extrnode offers 4 features including Decentralized RPC gateway with automatic failover, Load balancing across a cluster of nodes, DAS API for compressed NFTs and token metadata, and 1 more. Helius counters with 8 features including Enterprise-grade RPC nodes with optimized routing and low latency, Enhanced transaction API parsing raw data into human-readable formats, Digital Asset API (DAS) for comprehensive NFT and token metadata, and 5 more. The right choice depends on which specific features matter for your use case — check the individual review pages for full breakdowns.
We monitor both tools around the clock for uptime, SSL validity, and response times. extrnode currently has a healthy health status with 100.0% uptime over the last 30 days. Helius is rated healthy with 100.0% uptime. For any tool you trust with your funds, trades, or yield, uptime and speed are non-negotiable.
extrnode's key strengths include auto-failover across multiple nodes improves uptime, das api support for compressed nfts out of the box, backed by everstake, an established staking and infra operator.
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| Twitter Followers | 1,001 | 74,240 |
| Categories | Developer Tools, RPC Providers | Data & Indexing, RPC Providers |
| Description | Decentralized Solana RPC gateway with auto-failover across a node cluster | The developer platform for building on Solana |
Both extrnode and Helius operate in the rpc providers space, so this is a direct head-to-head. extrnode has the community's vote, but your mileage may vary depending on your specific needs. We recommend trying both — extrnode is free to start and Helius is free to start. Read user reviews on each tool's page for real-world feedback from the Solana community.