Etherscan indexes the public ledger of Ethereum and presents it as searchable pages for transactions, addresses, blocks, tokens, NFTs and smart contracts. Enter a transaction hash, address, block number, token name or domain name to inspect onchain data without creating an account.
What you can inspect
Transaction pages show execution status, block confirmations, sender, recipient, value and gas-related fields. Address pages collect ETH and token balances, transfers, internal transactions and other public activity. Token pages include supply, holders and transfer history. For verified contracts, Etherscan can display submitted source code, the ABI, compiler details, read functions and interfaces that can initiate contract transactions.
Access requirements and fit
Useful for: confirming an Ethereum transaction, tracing public transfers, checking an address or token, reviewing published contract code, monitoring gas and filtering indexed activity.
Less suited to: managing private keys, reversing transactions or treating contract verification as a security review. Etherscan is an explorer, not a wallet or recovery service.
Account required: no for public searches and explorer pages. An account is needed for API keys, private name tags and notes, watchlists, and Premium features.
Wallet required: no for reading public data. A wallet is optional for actions such as writing to a contract, revoking a token approval, proving address ownership or signing a message.
Free access, Premium and API
The core explorer remains free. Etherscan Premium is optional and is currently listed at US$10.99 per month or US$99 per year; it raises private tag and note limits and removes ads. The developer API has a free tier and paid plans with different rate limits, endpoint access and chain availability. API use requires an Etherscan account and API key, but ordinary web searches do not.
Scope and operational limits
Etherscan.io is centered on Ethereum. The Etherscan API supports more than 60 EVM chains through a chain ID, while separate Etherscan-powered explorers cover other networks. The cross-chain transaction view is limited to activity detected through supported bridges and should not be read as a complete record of every action on other chains.
Contract verification publishes code and compiler information but does not mean that Etherscan audited the contract or guarantees its safety. Wallet actions still require approval, and transactions that change blockchain state can incur Ethereum network gas fees and are generally irreversible after confirmation.