Comparison
datastore.sh vs Dune
SQL analytics platform · reviewed September 2026
Short answer
Dune is a hosted SQL platform: decoded blockchain tables stay on Dune infrastructure and you query them there, billed by seats and credits. datastore.sh sells the data itself as partitioned Parquet files, priced per dataset and coverage window. Choose Dune for exploration and dashboards. Choose file delivery for repeated reads over deep history.
What Dune is
Dune publishes decoded on-chain tables that analysts query in SQL from a browser or an API, then assemble into dashboards. A large public library of queries and dashboards sits on top of those tables, which makes Dune an effective place to start a question that someone else has already partly answered.
The product is a query platform. The data stays on Dune infrastructure, access is sold by seats and query or export credits, and results leave through exports or the API. That shape suits interactive work, and it prices every read of history as a fresh event.
How the two products differ
The comparison is between product models rather than feature lists. Prices, rate limits, and chain counts change without notice, so none are quoted here.
| Dimension | datastore.sh | Dune |
|---|---|---|
| What you receive | Partitioned Parquet files with typed schemas, manifests, and checksums | Query results and dashboards, exported when you need files |
| Where the data lives | Your disk, bucket, or warehouse, after a one-time delivery | Dune infrastructure, queried in place |
| Cost model | Per dataset and coverage window, priced before purchase | Seats plus query and export credits |
| Re-reading the same history | Free, because the files are local | Another query against the credit balance |
| Solana decoding depth | Instruction level, with inner instructions and account state | Curated and community tables, with depth varying by protocol |
| Schema guarantees | Pinned versions that never change under a loaded pipeline | Curated tables evolve as curators improve them |
| Access after cancellation | Every delivered file stays yours | Access ends, and prior exports are what remains |
| Best fit | Backtests, model training, and warehouse loads | Exploration, dashboards, and published analysis |
When Dune is the better choice
- You are exploring an open question and want to iterate in SQL without moving any data first.
- You want to publish a dashboard, or start from the public queries other analysts have written.
- You need coverage across many chains for a one-off question rather than depth on one or two.
When datastore.sh is the better choice
- The same history gets read many times, which is the normal shape of a backtest or a training run.
- A pipeline depends on a schema that must not change underneath it between quarters.
- The data has to live in your own warehouse or bucket, under your own access controls.
- You need instruction-level Solana coverage rather than a curated summary table.
Using both together
The two products are often used in sequence. Teams explore a question in Dune, decide which programs and tables matter, then buy that history as files to run the workload that reads it repeatedly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between datastore.sh and Dune?
Dune is a hosted SQL platform: decoded blockchain tables stay on Dune infrastructure and you query them there, billed by seats and credits. datastore.sh sells the data itself as partitioned Parquet files, priced per dataset and coverage window. Choose Dune for exploration and dashboards. Choose file delivery for repeated reads over deep history.
Can I export full history from Dune instead of buying files?
Exports are supported, and they work well for result sets that fit a dashboard or a spreadsheet. Archive-scale extraction is a different task: the export is metered, has to be paginated and reassembled, and produces files with no manifest or checksum. File delivery treats that archive as the product rather than as a byproduct of a query.
Is datastore.sh cheaper than Dune?
The two are priced on different units, so the comparison depends on workload. Dune bills seats and credits, which suits many small queries by a few analysts. datastore.sh bills once per dataset and coverage window, after which re-reading that history costs nothing. Workloads that scan the same large range repeatedly favor the file model.
Does datastore.sh cover the same chains as Dune?
No. Dune covers many networks. datastore.sh covers Solana and Hyperliquid, and goes deeper on them: instruction-level decoding, inner instructions, account state, and typed tables per program. If you need breadth across many chains, a multi-chain platform is the better tool.
Start with the data
Skip the indexing project. Run the query.
Browse documented datasets or send the exact protocol, tables, and historical coverage your team needs.