Subscan vs Otterscan
A detailed head-to-head comparison of Subscan and Otterscan — pricing, features, and which one wins for different use cases.
Subscan
Multi-network explorer for Polkadot, Kusama, and Substrate chains
Subscan is the leading block explorer for the Polkadot ecosystem, covering the Polkadot and Kusama relay chains along with the many parachains and standalone Substrate-based networks built on the same…
Full review →Otterscan
Fast, self-hosted open-source explorer that runs on your own Erigon node
Otterscan is a free, open-source, self-hosted block explorer designed to run directly on top of your own Erigon (or compatible) Ethereum node, giving you an Etherscan-like experience with complete pri…
Full review →Feature Comparison
| Feature | Subscan | Otterscan |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction History | ✓ | ✓ |
| Contract Verification | ✗ | ✗ |
| Token Tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nft Tracking | ✗ | ✗ |
| Api Access | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi Chain Support | ✓ | ✗ |
| Gas Tracker | ✗ | ✗ |
| Source Code Viewer | ✗ | ✓ |
| Address Labels | ✓ | ✓ |
| Private Notes | ✗ | ✗ |
Subscan Pricing
Subscan
Free
Free
- ✓Multi-network Substrate explorer
- ✓Staking + OpenGov governance data
- ✓XCM cross-chain messaging
- ✓Extrinsic/event decoding
- ✓Developer API (paid plans)
Otterscan Pricing
Otterscan
Free
Free
- ✓Fully open-source
- ✓Self-hosted on your Erigon node
- ✓Private, fast local lookups
- ✓Internal-tx tracing
- ✓Approval + history analysis
Verdict: Which Should You Choose?
Subscan is the better pick if you need canonical explorer for polkadot, kusama, and substrate chains. Otterscan wins when runs on your own node — fully private, no third-party queries. Both are production-ready — the right choice depends on your team's workflow and budget.