# Hardhat vs Infura

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Hardhat

| Attribute | Hardhat | Infura |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 61.7 (59% (medium)) | 55.2 (48% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 36,669 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 8,514 | - |
| content.faq | - | `[{"answer":"Provides scalable infrastructure and API endpoints for building applications on Ethereum and IPFS networks, along with related development tools and libraries. It is indexed under Blockchain Dev Tools.","source":"https://www.infura.io","question":"What is Infura?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Infura offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $50 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.infura.io/pricing","question":"Is Infura free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Infura. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.infura.io/pricing","question":"What platforms does Infura support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Infura, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.infura.io","question":"Can Infura be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 7 integrations for Infura, including MetaMask, Linea, Gas API, OpenZeppelin, Kleros, Hemi Network and Sei Network. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.infura.io/pricing","question":"What does Infura integrate with?","confidence":0.6}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A development environment that enables engineers to write, test, deploy, and debug Ethereum smart contracts using Solidity and TypeScript, with support for fuzzing, code analysis, and multi-chain simulation. | Provides scalable infrastructure and API endpoints for building applications on Ethereum and IPFS networks, along with related development tools and libraries. |
| features.capabilities | `{"open_source":true,"tooling_type":"framework","trace_debugger":true,"mainnet_forking":true,"local_dev_network":true,"maintenance_status":"active","evm_compatible_only":true,"native_fuzzing_invariant_testing":true}` | `{"open_source":true,"tooling_type":"rpc-node-infra"}` |
| integrations.count | 2 | 8 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Optimism OP Stack"},{"name":"Base"},{"name":"Mocha"},{"name":"OP Stack","native":true}]` | `[{"name":"MetaMask"},{"name":"MetaMask SDK"},{"name":"Linea"},{"name":"Gas API"},{"name":"OpenZeppelin"},{"name":"Kleros"},{"name":"Hemi Network"},{"name":"Sei Network"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://hardhat.org","retrievedAt":"2026-09-11T19:19:38.016Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free","features":["Access to 40+ supported networks","Expansion APIs (Gas API)","Full archive data","Community Forums"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"credits":"6M/day","throughput":"2K credits/second"}},{"free":false,"name":"Developer","summary":"$50/month","features":["Debug / Trace API","Settings Override","Ticketed Support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"credits":"15M/day","throughput":"5K credits/second"}},{"free":false,"name":"Team","summary":"$225/month","features":["Higher throughput","Prioritized ticket support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":225,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"credits":"75M/day","throughput":"40K credits/second"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing. Contact sales.","features":["Auto-scaling","Enhanced Support SLA","24/7 engineering support","Dedicated account team"],"contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Additional Credits","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":200,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free tier. From $50/month for Developer plan. Credits-based usage model.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.infura.io/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-20T12:19:44.488Z","startingPrice":{"amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":50,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.19.0","date":"2026-10-08T16:49:44Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-zod-utils%403.0.7","date":"2026-10-08T16:17:34Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-zod-utils@3.0.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers-chai-matchers%403.0.12","date":"2026-10-08T16:17:37Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers-chai-matchers@3.0.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors%403.1.2","date":"2026-10-08T16:17:32Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors@3.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.18.1","date":"2026-10-01T14:51:27Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.18.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/ignition-core%403.1.10","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:19Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/ignition-core@3.1.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify%403.1.2","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:17Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify@3.1.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils%404.4.0","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:11Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils@4.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-keystore%403.1.1","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:15Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-keystore@3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors%403.1.1","date":"2026-10-01T14:43:13Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors@3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.18.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:38:20Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify%403.1.1","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:57Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-verify@3.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils%404.3.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:48Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-utils@4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-toolbox-mocha-ethers%404.0.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:58Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-toolbox-mocha-ethers@4.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-slang-solx%403.0.4","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:56Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-slang-solx@3.0.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-mocha%404.0.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:54Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-mocha@4.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers%404.2.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:52Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-ethers@4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors%403.1.0","date":"2026-09-24T17:17:49Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/hardhat-errors@3.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/hardhat%403.17.0","date":"2026-09-17T15:22:02Z","type":"stable","version":"hardhat@3.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/NomicFoundation/hardhat/releases/tag/%40nomicfoundation/ignition-ui%403.2.0","date":"2026-09-17T14:36:50Z","type":"stable","version":"@nomicfoundation/ignition-ui@3.2.0"}]` | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=hardhat&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Blockchain Dev Tools)

| Capability | Hardhat | Infura |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Tooling type | Framework | Rpc node infra |
| Evm compatible only | ✓ | - |
| Local dev network | ✓ | - |
| Native fuzzing invariant testing | ✓ | - |
| Mainnet forking | ✓ | - |
| Contract verification integration | - | - |
| Trace debugger | ✓ | - |
| Gas profiling | - | - |
| Archive node access | - | - |
| Graphql indexing | - | - |
| Static analysis security tool | - | - |
| Open source | ✓ | ✓ |
| Maintenance status | Active | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:18:38.953Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*