What is Etherscan?
Etherscan is a block explorer and analytics site for the Ethereum blockchain. You can paste in an address, transaction hash, block number, token or ENS-style domain name and see the full public record: balances, transfers, internal transactions, token holdings and the code of verified smart contracts. Public name tags and labels mark known addresses such as exchanges and well-known contracts, which helps when following funds.
Beyond lookups, Etherscan has a gas tracker, token approval checker, CSV export of address history, contract verification and comparison tools, and charts and statistics on network activity. Its API lets developers pull the same data, and the V2 API covers more than 50 EVM chains through one endpoint. The explorer is free to use, and the API has a free tier with paid plans for higher limits and commercial use.
Main Features
- Look up any Ethereum address, transaction, block, token or NFT
- Public name tags and labels for known addresses
- Verified smart contract source code, plus contract reading and diff tools
- Token approval checker for reviewing and revoking permissions
- CSV export of an address's transaction history
- Gas tracker, charts and network statistics
- Watchlists for following addresses with a free account
- API covering more than 50 EVM chains, with a free tier
How to Get Started with Etherscan
- Go to etherscan.io and paste an address, transaction hash, token or domain name into the search bar.
- Read the transactions, token transfers and internal transactions tabs to see where funds went.
- Click through labelled addresses, such as exchanges, to follow the trail.
- Create a free account to add addresses to a watchlist or get an API key.
Etherscan Pricing
The Etherscan explorer is free. The API has a Free plan (3 calls a second, up to 100,000 calls a day on selected chains, for personal and research use). Paid plans are Lite at $49 a month, Standard at $199, Advanced at $299, Professional at $399 and Pro Plus at $899, with Metadata Enterprise and Dedicated plans priced on request. Quarterly billing saves 10% and yearly billing 15%.
Who Should Use It?
- Journalists checking the money trail behind a crypto story
- Scam victims and fraud researchers looking up where funds were sent
- Developers verifying and debugging smart contracts
- Crypto users checking a transaction or reviewing token approvals
- Analysts who need Ethereum data through an API
Etherscan Alternatives
- Arkham Intelligence: a blockchain analytics platform that labels wallets with the entities behind them and maps fund flows.
- Breadcrumbs: a blockchain investigation platform with attribution data and automatic tracing.
- Chainabuse: a free public database for reporting and checking crypto scam addresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Etherscan free?
Yes. The Etherscan explorer is free to use, and the API has a free plan for personal and research use with up to 100,000 calls a day. Paid API plans start at $49 a month for more chains, higher limits and commercial use.
Can Etherscan tell me who owns a wallet?
Only sometimes. Etherscan labels well-known addresses such as exchanges and major contracts, but most addresses are unlabelled. A label tells you which service an address belongs to, not which individual controls it.
Can Etherscan get my stolen crypto back?
No. Etherscan is a read-only explorer and cannot reverse or freeze transactions. You can use it to document where funds went, then report the theft to the police and to the exchange that received the funds.