gRPC vs RPC: What’s the Difference and Which One Should You Use on Solana?
Is gRPCgRPC es un framework de código abierto de alto rendimiento … More just a better version of RPC? Or is the cost of the gRPC not worth it?
If you are developing in Solana any dApp or web that needs to query the blockchain, you are probably wondering if you need an rpc or a grpc.
The answer to the rpc vs grpc dispute basically lies in your business needs.
An RPC can be as fast as money you are willing to pay for speed. Mind you, latencyThe delay between issuing an RPC call (or any network reques… More is a bottleneck.
On the other hand, if you need real-time information or token sniping or trading at a very high level, you will definitely need a gRPC.
This article breaks down gRPC vs traditional RPC, with a focus on blockchain infrastructure, how they behave in the Solana ecosystem, their implementation costs, and when each should be your go-to.
⚙️ Comparison Table: gRPC vs RPC in Solana
| Aspect | gRPC (Modern RPC via HTTP/2 + Protobuf) | RPC (Traditional, e.g., JSON-RPC in Solana) |
|---|---|---|
| Underlying Protocol | HTTP/2 + Protobuf (binary format) | HTTP/1.1 + JSON-RPC |
| Data Format | Protobuf (compact and fast) | JSON (human-readable, but heavier) |
| Bidirectional | Yes — supports client, server, and bidirectional streaming | No — only request-response |
| Multiplexing | Yes — multiple streams over a single connection | No — each request opens its own connection |
| API Contract | Strongly typed .proto files | No native type enforcement (manual documentation) |
| Auto-generated SDKs | Yes — stubs for multiple languages | No — developers manually craft requests |
| Browser Compatibility | Requires gRPC-Web + proxy (e.g. Envoy) | Fully compatible with fetch/XHR |
| Fully compatible with fetch/XHR | Emerging — used in custom high-performance infrastructures | Standard — used across all RPC nodes |
| Streaming Support | Built-in — ideal for backend pipelines | Not supported |
| Setup Complexity | Higher — requires .proto files, HTTP/2, and proxy | Low — easy to use with cURL or fetch |
| Maintenance Cost | Higher initially, but scalable long-term | Low — but can be inefficient for large-scale pipelines |
🔍 What Is RPC?
RPC (Remote Procedure Call) is a fundamental communication model where the client invokes procedures located on a remote server as if they were local functions.
In Solana, JSON-RPC is the primary way applications interact with the blockchain. Example:
{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "getBalance",
"params": ["YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS"]
}
This approach is simple, widely supported, and extremely useful for most DApps. But it has limitations when performance, data volume, or architecture becomes complex.
❌ JSON-RPC Limitations
- No streaming — polling is required to get updates.
- No strict typing — developers must manually handle structures.
- No connection reuse — each call is an isolated HTTP request.
- Doesn’t scale well under high event frequency (e.g. mempool watchers, analytics dashboards).
🚀 What Is gRPC and Why Use It?
gRPC is a modern take on the RPC concept, designed by Google to handle communication between services efficiently and at scale.
It leverages:
- HTTP/2 for transport (multiplexing, header compression, low latency).
- Protocol Buffers (binary format) for payload serialization.
- .proto files to define API contracts — ensuring compatibility and strong typing.
🧠 Conceptual gRPC Example
Instead of crafting a JSON request manually, you define the service like this:
service WalletService {
rpc GetBalance (BalanceRequest) returns (BalanceResponse);
}
Then you use the generated client to call it like a regular function in your backend code (Rust, Go, Node.js, etc.).
📈 When gRPC Shines in Solana
Use gRPC in scenarios like:
- High-frequency indexers.
- Real-time trading bots.
- Backend microservices that need to exchange structured data efficiently.
- Custom RPC services built on top of Solana validator nodes.
Some advanced infrastructure providers already expose custom gRPC endpoints as faster, binary alternatives to traditional JSON-RPC.
💰 Cost and Setup Considerations
| Factor | gRPC | JSON-RPC (Traditional) |
|---|---|---|
| Infra Requirements | Proxy for HTTP/2 (e.g. Envoy), Load Balancer config, TLS | Basic HTTP server or existing node RPC |
| Setup Effort | Needs .proto definitions, stub generation | Simple HTTP/JSON endpoints |
| Browser Support | Needs gRPC-Web + proxy | Native with fetch, Axios, etc. |
| DevOps Complexity | Medium to high — more moving parts | Low |
| Learning Curve | Medium — but long-term payoff in structure and scale | Very low — great for quick integration |
Try our gRPC for FREE for 24hs!
🤔 Which One Should You Use for Solana Development?
✅ Choose J-SON RPC if:
- You’re building a frontend DApp or wallet interface.
- You rely on existing Solana SDKs like @solana/web3.js.
- Your data needs are not real-time intensive.
- You want to get started quickly with minimal setup.
✅ Choose J-SON RPC if:
- You’re building an infrastructure-level service or indexer.
- You need high performance and typed contracts across languages.
- You process thousands of events per second.
- You’re scaling beyond what JSON-RPC can offer efficiently.
🧵 Final Thoughts
The term RPC is everywhere in Solana, but it’s important to understand the difference between the traditional JSON-RPC pattern and the modern gRPC protocol.
While JSON-RPC is easy to use and well-supported across the Solana ecosystem, gRPC offers significant advantages for high-performance, scalable, and structured backends.
Use JSON-RPC for public APIs, web integrations, and quick access.
Use gRPC to scale your infrastructure, reduce overhead, and gain full control over service communication.
If you need to try a gRPC for 24 hs for free, check out our discord server.
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