Compute Units - BlockDB Docs

Compute Unit (CU) Pricing Model

BlockDB uses a Compute Unit (CU) pricing model that charges based on the computational complexity of each API endpoint. This ensures you only pay for what you use, without being forced into expensive plans for simple queries.

How Compute Units Work

Each API request consumes a fixed number of Compute Units determined by the data layer — not by result size or pagination depth. Your monthly CU allowance (cu_limit, cu_used, cu_remaining on GET /usage) is account-wide and shared by every API key—adding keys does not create separate CU pools. The same applies to RPS; see Rate limiting.

Level	CU / request	Endpoint Family	Endpoint
L1	1 CU	Raw history, blocks summary, lineage (parents), verification, JSON-RPC	`evm/raw/blocks`
			`evm/raw/blocks-summary`
			`evm/raw/transactions`
			`evm/raw/logs`
			`evm/raw/contracts`
			`evm/raw/function-results`
			`evm/raw/internal-transactions`
			`evm/lineage/parents`
			`evm/verify/receipt-root`
			`evm/verify/logs-bloom`
			`evm/rpc`
L2	40 CU	Entities, lineage (record)	`evm/lineage/record`
			`evm/entities/tokens/erc20`
			`evm/entities/tokens/erc721`
			`evm/entities/tokens/erc1155`
			`evm/entities/pools`
			`evm/entities/pools/fee-terms`
L3	80 CU	Reserves, transfers, swaps, prints, flash loans	`evm/entities/reserves`
			`evm/transfers/token-transfers`
			`evm/swaps/fees`
			`evm/prices/spot/crypto/prints`
			`evm/flash-loans/prints`
L4	80 CU	Per-pool OHLC/VWAP	`evm/prices/spot/crypto/vwap`
			`evm/prices/spot/crypto/ohlc`
			`evm/yields`
L5	80 CU	Cross-pool VWAP	`evm/prices/spot/crypto/vwap-aggregate`
L6	100 CU	Token-to-fiat VWAP	`evm/prices/spot/fiat/vwap`
L7	200 CU	Pool TVL USD	`evm/tvl`
L8	300 CU	Arbitrage path topology & path status	`evm/arb/paths`
			`evm/arb/path-status`
L9	1000 CU	Arbitrage opportunities	`evm/arb/opportunities`

CU consumption is calculated per request. Result size and pagination do not affect CU cost — only the endpoint level determines the CU value.

CU Billing & Tracking

How CU Consumption is Tracked

Query the GET /usage endpoint to retrieve your plan, cu_used, cu_remaining, cu_limit, cu_reset_at, and rate_limit_rps. This endpoint is free to use and does not consume compute units.

The /usage endpoint provides comprehensive usage data including consumption by dataset, billing period information, and rate limits.

Overage Handling

When you exceed your monthly CU allowance:

Hard limits: API requests are blocked once your CU allowance is exhausted
Additional packages: Purchase additional CU packages to continue using the API
No automatic overage charges: You control when to purchase additional CUs—no unexpected charges
Package options: Additional CU packages are available in various sizes to match your needs

Once your CU allowance is exhausted, API requests will return 429 Too Many Requests until you purchase an additional CU package. Plan your usage accordingly to avoid service interruptions.

Pricing Examples

Example 1: Raw block query (L1)

POST /evm/raw/blocks
CU cost: 1 CU

Example 2: ERC-20 token lookup (L2)

POST /evm/entities/tokens/erc20
CU cost: 40 CU

Example 3: Fiat VWAP price (L5, dataset `0605`, `b0605_token_to_fiat_vwap`)

POST /evm/prices/spot/fiat/vwap
CU cost: 100 CU

Example 4: Multi-step analysis workflow

POST /evm/raw/blocks              (find block range)  →    1 CU  [L1]
POST /evm/raw/logs                (filter events)     →    1 CU  [L1]
POST /evm/entities/reserves       (pool snapshot)     →   80 CU  [L3]
POST /evm/prices/spot/crypto/ohlc (crypto OHLC)       →   80 CU  [L4]
POST /evm/prices/spot/fiat/vwap   (fiat benchmark)    →  100 CU  [L5]
POST /evm/tvl                     (pool TVL USD)      →  200 CU  [L6]
POST /evm/arb/opportunities       (arb opportunities) →  1000 CU  [L8]
                                                Total: 1462 CU

Documentation Index

​Compute Unit (CU) Pricing Model

​How Compute Units Work

​CU Billing & Tracking

​How CU Consumption is Tracked

​Overage Handling

​Pricing Examples

​Example 1: Raw block query (L1)

​Example 2: ERC-20 token lookup (L2)

​Example 3: Fiat VWAP price (L5, dataset 0605, b0605_token_to_fiat_vwap)

​Example 4: Multi-step analysis workflow

​See Also

Compute Unit (CU) Pricing Model

How Compute Units Work

CU Billing & Tracking

How CU Consumption is Tracked

Overage Handling

Pricing Examples

Example 1: Raw block query (L1)

Example 2: ERC-20 token lookup (L2)

Example 3: Fiat VWAP price (L5, dataset `0605`, `b0605_token_to_fiat_vwap`)

Example 4: Multi-step analysis workflow

See Also