Alternatives
Best Helius Alternatives for Solana RPC (2026)
Helius is a capable Solana RPC provider, and for many teams it is the right choice. This page is for the teams it is not right for: it lists the reasons people switch, ranks every alternative we publish a comparison for, and gives you a checklist to migrate without downtime. Head-to-head detail lives on OrbitFlare vs Helius.
Why teams look beyond Helius
- No Shredstream — you cannot tap shreds before they reach validators
- Higher price-per-RPS at growth and pro tiers
- No dedicated low-latency Jetstream gRPC variant
- Shared infrastructure on lower tiers can mean noisy-neighbor effects
To be fair to Helius: Helius has broader SDK coverage, more mature webhooks/notification infrastructure, and stronger ecosystem brand recognition.
The Helius alternatives, ranked
Ranked for latency-sensitive Solana workloads first. We operate OrbitFlare, so the bias is declared; every other entry links to an honest head-to-head.
- 1
OrbitFlareOur pick for trading
Shredstream-optimised RPC, Jetstream and Yellowstone gRPC, dedicated nodes, staked transaction landing.
Shredstream-optimized RPC, Jetstream gRPC, dedicated Apex transaction landing, and lower per-RPS cost on growth tiers.
See plans - 2
Triton
Two infrastructure-first Solana RPC providers, side by side.
Triton One is widely respected for high-quality dedicated Solana infrastructure and helped pioneer Yellowstone gRPC. OrbitFlare offers similar dedicated and gRPC capabilities with the addition of Shredstream and a more granular shared-RPC pricing ladder for teams scaling from prototype to production.
OrbitFlare vs Triton - 3
QuickNode
Solana-native vs multi-chain.
QuickNode is a strong multi-chain RPC provider supporting 60+ chains with broad tooling. OrbitFlare is Solana-native — every part of the stack, from Shredstream to Jetstream gRPC to the Apex transaction landing service, is engineered specifically for Solana's execution model.
OrbitFlare vs QuickNode - 4
Alchemy
Solana-native infrastructure vs a multi-chain Web3 platform.
Alchemy is one of the largest Web3 infrastructure platforms and supports Solana alongside many EVM chains, with strong tooling for app developers. OrbitFlare focuses entirely on Solana, with Shredstream-optimized routing, Jetstream gRPC, and Apex transaction landing built specifically for Solana's validator architecture.
OrbitFlare vs Alchemy - 5
Chainstack
Solana-native vs enterprise multi-chain.
Chainstack is a multi-chain enterprise RPC platform supporting many networks with strong reliability and compliance. OrbitFlare focuses exclusively on Solana, offering Shredstream, Jetstream, and Apex — features that only make sense on Solana's validator architecture.
OrbitFlare vs Chainstack
OrbitFlare and Helius pricing side by side
OrbitFlare pricing
- Free tier10 RPS · $0
- Developer tier50 RPS · $49/mo
- Growth tier200 RPS · $399/mo
- Pro tier600 RPS · $999/mo
- Dedicated nodesFrom $2,500/mo
- gRPC streamingFrom $500/mo (shared)
- ShredstreamFrom $500/mo standard / $1,000/mo premium
Helius pricing
- Free tier10 RPS · $0
- Developer tier50 RPS · ~$49/mo
- Growth tier200 RPS · ~$499/mo
- Pro tier500 RPS · ~$999/mo
- Dedicated nodesFrom $2,500/mo
- gRPC streamingIncluded on higher tiers
- ShredstreamNot offered
Feature comparison
| Feature | OrbitFlare | Helius |
|---|---|---|
| Shredstream raw shred delivery | ||
| Yellowstone (full data) gRPC | ||
| Jetstream (low-latency) gRPC | ||
| Dedicated transaction landing service | Apex | Sender / Stake-Weighted RPC |
| Webhook subscriptions | ||
| NFT API | ||
| Historical data since genesis | ||
| Devnet endpoints included | ||
| WebSocket subscriptions | ||
| Solana validator (own stake) | ||
| 99.99% uptime SLA | ||
| Global regions | 11 | Multi-region |
Run the checklist on the free tier
No card required. Point a staging environment at OrbitFlare and compare landing rate in your busiest hour before you switch anything.