Polkadot node
A Polkadot node for where your DOT lives now. Polkadot Hub, not the relay chain.
Since 4 November 2025, DOT balances, transfers, staking and governance have run on Asset Hub, also called Polkadot Hub. A wallet or exchange that reads balances needs a Hub node. Ours follows Polkadot Hub with its own relay chain follower inside, and a backup node runs beside it.
Updated . Prices checked .
- Full
- $139/mo
- Archive
- $289/mo
- Ready
- 24 h
On this pageFull or archive
02Full or archive
A Polkadot Hub node: full or archive.
Both are Polkadot Hub nodes. A relay chain node is a different and rarer need, and we do not rent it.
Full node
$139/mo
- Does
- Follows Polkadot Hub and the relay chain, and answers Substrate RPC calls over HTTP and WebSocket
- Serves
- Balances, transfers, staking, governance, assets and contract state for recent blocks
- Keeps
- Recent state only. The docs publish no size for a pruned Hub node
- Relay chain
- A small follower inside the same node. Warp synced, about 23 to 40 GB
- Memory
- 64 GB at the least, and 128 GB for heavy traffic, per the docs
Archive node
$289/mo
- Does
- Everything the full node does, and keeps the whole history of Polkadot Hub
- Disk
- About 1.24 to 1.28 TB on the official snapshot service in October 2026. The docs say about 1.2 TB
- Good for
- Indexers, explorers and any query about an old block or old state
- Not included
- A relay chain archive. That one is about 4.2 TB on its own
The one-line test
Do you move DOT, show balances, or read staking and governance? You want a Hub node. Do you run a validator or a parachain? Those use the relay chain, which is a different node.
03How it works
Inside a Polkadot Hub node: Hub on top, relay chain beside it.
One program follows both chains. Hub holds your accounts. The relay chain provides the security behind them.
Relay chain follower
The node warp syncs the relay chain first, because a Hub node runs beside it.
Polkadot Hub
It then syncs Hub, where balances, staking and governance now live.
Ports
Peers use 30333 for Hub and 30334 for the relay side. Substrate RPC answers on 9944.
Your endpoint
RPC over HTTP and WebSocket through your own nodes.herorpc.com address and key.
Hub and the relay chain are two chains. The Hub node follows both, but you only ask it about Hub.
The old guides say relay chain. Since the move on 4 November 2025, that is no longer where balances are.
Your node also runs eth-rpc, the adapter that answers Ethereum-style calls for MetaMask and Hardhat. Substrate RPC stays the main door.
04Know the field
Polkadot disk sizes, dated, and where the docs disagree.
These come from the official snapshot service and the Polkadot docs, read on 28 October 2026. They do not all agree.
The snapshot service lists no pruned Hub snapshot, so there is no official size for a full Hub node. The units on that page are not stated.
Polkadot Hub node (what we run)
Relay chain node (we do not sell)
- Archive
- About 4.2 TB
The 40 GB figure
Current release
- Archive
- Same
The docs give about 40 GB for a pruned relay chain, while the snapshot service lists far larger pruned sets. Treat sizes as a moving target and read the dates.
CPU, memory and network figures for Polkadot nodes, from the official docs: see the node requirements index.
05Polkadot, specifically
What the Polkadot docs say about a Hub node.
From the Polkadot docs, wiki and snapshot service. They decide which node you need.
DOT moved on 4 November 2025
The wiki says balances, transfers, staking and governance now live on Asset Hub. The relay chain is used almost only by validators and parachain operators.
Two names, one chain
Asset Hub and Polkadot Hub mean the same system chain. The snapshot service and some endpoint names still say asset-hub.
It speaks Ethereum too
Polkadot Hub has a mainnet chain ID of 420420419 and public Ethereum-style HTTP endpoints. Its WebSocket address is not behind that proxy.
Big memory
The docs ask for 64 GB of memory, and 128 GB for heavy traffic. That is well above most chains.
The docs disagree on size
Hub archive is about 1.2 TB in the docs and about 1.24 to 1.28 TB on the snapshot service. A relay chain archive is about 4.2 TB.
Warp sync has limits
It only works on an empty database and cannot be combined with archive pruning. The docs say archive snapshots may be available instead.
06Who rents one
Why teams rent one.
Anyone whose app reads DOT, and cannot trust a public address to stay up.
Wallets and exchanges
Check DOT deposits and send withdrawals against Hub, where the balances are. The Polkadot forum says exchanges withdraw from Asset Hub after the move.
Staking dashboards
Staking now runs on Asset Hub, so nomination tools and reward trackers read Hub state.
Indexers and explorers
An archive plan keeps every Hub block for history queries. See every node price side by side.
Contract and parachain teams
Use Polkadot Hub's Ethereum-style side for contracts, or keep a Polkadot node beside your own chain.
07Price check
What other providers publish.
There is no like-for-like bar here. Nobody lists a Hub archive price that we could find, and the Allnodes Polkadot plan does not say whether it is a relay chain or Hub node. So these are cards, not a ranking.
Allnodes
A Polkadot full node plan. Its page does not say whether it follows the relay chain or Polkadot Hub.
Chainstack
Its dedicated pricing table for a Polkadot mainnet full node. It also needs a Pro plan at a further monthly fee.
GetBlock
A private Polkadot server with custom settings. Archive data is listed as available.
08What you get
Pick full or archive, then the term.
Pick the node type and how long to prepay. The price updates as you choose.
Your Polkadot node
Node type
Term
- A dedicated server sized for Polkadot
- A Polkadot Hub node with a relay chain follower, one endpoint
- A backup node, included
- A private endpoint on nodes.herorpc.com
- Your server logins
- No setup fee, ready within 24 hours
$139
a month, full node
Billed monthly
Pay in BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, BNB, SOL, TRX, LTC, DOGE or XMR.
10Questions
Polkadot node questions
Real questions from node operators, answered plainly.
Where is my DOT now?
On Asset Hub, also called Polkadot Hub. Since 4 November 2025, balances, transfers, staking and governance run there, not on the relay chain.
Do I still need a relay chain node?
Only to validate, run a parachain, or read relay chain data. For balances and transfers you need a Hub node. We rent the Hub kind.
What is the difference between Asset Hub and Polkadot Hub?
Nothing. They name the same system chain. Older guides, the snapshot service and some endpoint names still say Asset Hub.
What are the Polkadot node requirements?
The docs ask for an 8-core CPU or more and 64 GB of memory, with 128 GB for heavy traffic. Disk depends on pruned or archive.
How big is a Polkadot archive node?
A Hub archive is about 1.24 to 1.28 TB on the official snapshot service in October 2026, and about 1.2 TB in the docs. A relay chain archive is about 4.2 TB.
Does this node serve Ethereum-style calls?
Polkadot Hub has Ethereum-style JSON-RPC and a mainnet chain ID of 420420419. Your node runs the eth-rpc adapter beside it, so MetaMask, Hardhat and Hub contracts work through your endpoint, next to Substrate RPC.
Is there a Polkadot validator here?
No. Validators work on the relay chain, a different node. We rent Hub full and archive nodes only.
What does it cost?
Full costs $139 each month and archive costs $289. Nothing is charged to start, and paying for 12 months at once lowers either by 25 percent.
How fast is it ready?
Allow up to a day after paying. Sync progress is visible in your dashboard, and the endpoint appears there when the node is live.
Read DOT where it lives now.
Full $139 or archive $289, backup beside it, ready in a day.