Arc, Circle's EVM-compatible Layer 1 with USDC as the gas token, opened its public mainnet on September 16, 2026 (chain ID 5042). Several RPC providers now serve it, and they differ on billing units, testnet coverage, archive data and WebSocket support. This guide compares them using only what each provider publishes on its own pricing and docs pages.
Pricing and features were checked on October 14, 2026 against each provider's own pages. Every source is linked at the end. Where a provider doesn't publish a fact for Arc, we write "not listed" instead of guessing.
What to look for in an Arc RPC provider
Arc runs its own keyless public endpoint at https://rpc.mainnet.arc.io (testnet: https://rpc.testnet.arc.io). That's a reasonable place to start testing. Once you have real traffic, compare providers on:
- Billing unit. Some charge per request, others in compute units or credits weighted by method. A $0.50-per-million credit can cost more than a $5-per-million request.
- Mainnet and testnet. If you test on Arc testnet (chain ID 5042002), check that the provider serves it.
- Archive data. Needed for historical state reads, backfills and reconciliation.
- WebSocket (WSS). Needed for
eth_subscribeon new heads and logs. - Rate limits and free tier. Requests per second matter as much as monthly volume.
Arc RPC providers compared
| Provider | Arc mainnet | Arc testnet | Archive on Arc | WSS on Arc | Free tier (account-wide) | Billing unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlockReq | Yes | Not listed | Yes | Yes | 3M requests / 30 days, 10 req/s | 1 request = 1 Request |
| Alchemy | Yes | Not listed on Arc page | Not listed for Arc | Yes | 30M CU / month, 15 req/s | Compute units (eth_call = 26 CU) |
| QuickNode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Free trial: 10M credits, 1 month | API credits (Arc = 20 per call) |
| dRPC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 210M CU / month, public nodes only | Flat $6 per 1M requests (Growth) |
| Chainstack | Yes | Yes | Not listed for Arc | Yes | 3M RU / month, 25 req/s | Request units (full node 1 RU, archive 2 RU) |
| Dwellir | Yes | Not listed | Yes (state back to genesis; debug/trace supported) | Yes | 100,000 responses / day, 20 req/s | 1 credit per response |
Arc's own docs also list Blockdaemon as a node provider. It doesn't publish self-serve pricing, so it isn't priced below.
What Arc RPC costs per month
Assumes standard reads (eth_call) and each provider's cheapest published combination of plan plus overage. Excludes annual discounts, throughput add-ons and enterprise deals.
| Provider | 20M requests | 100M requests | 1B requests |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlockReq | $39 | $149 | $1,346 |
| Dwellir | $49 | $299 | $1,999 |
| Chainstack | $49 | $449 | $3,990 |
| dRPC | $120 | $600 | $6,000 |
| QuickNode | $247 | $999 | $9,499 |
| Alchemy | $273 | $1,365 | $13,650 |
How each row is built:
- BlockReq: BlockReq sells one-time Request Packs, not subscriptions. 20M uses one Growth Pack ($39, 25M Requests, valid 60 days). 100M uses one Professional Pack ($149, 100M Requests, valid 90 days). 1B uses three Business Packs and one Professional Pack ($1,346 for 1.0B). Above 500M a month, BlockReq quotes contract pricing. Unused requests stay usable until the pack expires.
- Dwellir: Developer $49 (25M), Growth $299 (150M), Scale $999 (500M) plus 500M at $2.00/M.
- Chainstack: Growth $49 (20M RU). Business $499 (200M RU) is cheaper than Pro plus overage at 100M. At 1B, Enterprise from $990 (400M RU) plus 600M at $5/M. Full-node calls; archive calls cost 2 RU.
- dRPC: $6 per 1M requests on Growth.
- QuickNode: 20 credits per Arc call. Accelerate $249 (450M credits) at 20M; Business $999 (2B credits) at 100M; Business+ Tier 3 $2,999 (7B) plus 13B credits at $0.50/M at 1B. The 20M figure ($247) is Build plus overage.
- Alchemy: Pay as You Go at $0.525 per 1M CU, 26 CU per
eth_call. Capacity above 300 req/s costs extra.
On standard reads, BlockReq has the lowest price of the providers compared at all three volumes we checked. Log-heavy and trace-heavy apps should redo the math, because most providers weight those methods more than plain reads.
Where each provider fits
- Lowest list price on plain reads among the providers compared: BlockReq, then Dwellir.
- Testing on Arc testnet with the same provider: QuickNode, dRPC and Chainstack list both networks.
- Streams, webhooks and the widest Arc tooling: QuickNode.
- Account abstraction and gas sponsorship tooling: Alchemy.
- Flat per-call billing across all methods: dRPC and Dwellir.
- Prepaid packs instead of a monthly subscription, with archive and WSS on Arc: BlockReq.
Why BlockReq for Arc
BlockReq counts one HTTP or WSS call as one Request, with no method multipliers. Our Arc endpoint serves archive data and WebSocket, and you can pay by credit card or crypto.
- Free: 3M Requests every 30 days, 10 req/s sustained (30 burst), 2 WSS connections.
- Packs: Starter $9 (5M), Growth $39 (25M), Professional $149 (100M), Business $399 (300M).
- PAYG: $3.90 per 1M Requests after prepaid packs, with no minimum top-up.
What we don't do on Arc today: we don't list Arc testnet, and our Arc endpoint doesn't offer debug/trace methods. For Arc testnet, QuickNode, dRPC and Chainstack list it. For debug/trace on Arc, QuickNode, dRPC, Chainstack and Dwellir may suit you better.
How to connect to Arc with BlockReq
The public endpoint needs no key. For production, swap public for your API key.
| Use | Endpoint |
|---|---|
| HTTPS (public) | https://arc-rpc.blockreq.com/v1/rpc/public |
| WSS (public) | wss://arc-rpc.blockreq.com/v1/rpc/public |
| HTTPS (keyed) | https://arc-rpc.blockreq.com/v1/rpc/{API_KEY} |
| WSS (keyed) | wss://arc-rpc.blockreq.com/v1/rpc/{API_KEY} |
curl -s -X POST https://arc-rpc.blockreq.com/v1/rpc/public \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"eth_chainId","params":[]}'
# {"id":1,"jsonrpc":"2.0","result":"0x13b2"} -> 5042, Arc mainnetimport { createPublicClient, http, defineChain } from "viem";
const arc = defineChain({
id: 5042,
name: "Arc",
nativeCurrency: { name: "USDC", symbol: "USDC", decimals: 18 },
rpcUrls: { default: { http: ["https://arc-rpc.blockreq.com/v1/rpc/public"] } },
});
const client = createPublicClient({ chain: arc, transport: http() });
console.log(await client.getBlockNumber());Docs: Supported networks · Pricing
FAQ
What is the cheapest Arc RPC provider?
On standard eth_call traffic at 20M, 100M and 1B requests a month, BlockReq had the lowest published price of the providers compared on October 14, 2026. For log-heavy or trace-heavy workloads, price your own method mix.
What is Arc's chain ID?
Arc mainnet is 5042 (0x13b2). Arc testnet is 5042002. Gas is paid in USDC, which has 18 decimals as the native balance.
Is Arc's public RPC endpoint enough for production?
https://rpc.mainnet.arc.io is free and keyless, which works well for testing. Production apps usually want a provider with published rate limits, WebSocket and archive access.
Which providers support Arc testnet?
QuickNode, dRPC and Chainstack list Arc testnet on their own pages. Arc also runs a public testnet endpoint at https://rpc.testnet.arc.io.
Can I switch Arc RPC providers without code changes?
For standard JSON-RPC, yes. Arc is EVM-compatible, so switching usually means changing the endpoint URL. Provider-specific APIs, such as streams, bundlers and custom namespaces, need extra work.
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Start on Arc with 3M free Requests every 30 days: blockreq.com