Helius Overhauls Solana WebSockets with LaserStream, Slashes Data Streaming Costs

Today, we're announcing changes to how streaming works at Helius. All WebSocket streaming is now powered by LaserStream infrastructure, reducing latency for Standard WSS methods by up to 200ms.

We’re also:

1. Expanding access to streaming products across plans
2. Lowering prices on data streaming add-ons
3. Unifying our credit rate across gRPC and WSS

These changes take effect for all customers, including legacy plans.

State of Data Streaming on Solana

Before diving in, let's review the data streaming options on Solana:

1. Standard Solana WebSockets

Standard WSS are the native Solana RPC WebSocket methods (e.g., logsSubscribe, signatureSubscribe, etc.) exposed through any Solana RPC node. They work, but they inherit filtering limitations from the base Solana RPC node.

2. Enhanced WebSockets

Enhanced WebSockets are Helius-specific WSS methods (e.g., transactionSubscribe, accountSubscribe with advanced filtering options like accountInclude and accountExclude) that extend what the native Solana RPC offers. Enhanced WebSockets provide richer filtering and faster delivery compared to Standard WebSockets.

3. LaserStream

LaserStream is Helius's next-generation gRPC streaming service, built on shred-level ingestion with multi-region redundancy, 24-hour historical replay, and automatic failover. LaserStream is the fastest and most reliable way to stream Solana data.

LaserStream-powered WebSockets

Last year, we upgraded Enhanced WSS to run on LaserStream’s infrastructure. We've now extended those same performance improvements to Solana's Standard WebSocket methods to deliver faster event delivery and more reliable data streams.

Every WebSocket connection at Helius — Standard and Enhanced — now benefits from LaserStream's multi-node ingestion, automatic failover, and optimized data pipeline. The result is faster, more reliable event delivery across the board:

1. Standard WSS methods are up to 200ms faster
2. Enhanced WSS deliver the lowest-latency JSON streams on Solana
3. 24-hour replay and automatic reconnects ensure you never miss a slot or data

If you're currently using Standard WSS for account or slot subscriptions, you'll see the improvement immediately — no code changes required.

Ordering Guarantees

One of the subtle problems with Standard Solana WSS is that all methods with confirmed and finalized latency (e.g., accountSubscribe, programSubscribe, etc.) deliver updates in a random order. There's no guarantee that the sequence of events you see in one connection matches what you'd see if you reconnected, or what another node sends. If your app processes events in order — an indexer, a trading bot, a risk system — this can cause real challenges.

LaserStream WebSockets fixes this.

LaserStream WSS updates arrive at the processed commitment level in the order the validator produced them. When a slot is confirmed, LaserStream WSS replays that same sequence of events for confirmed subscribers as a batch. The order is generally consistent between the two commitment levels.

There is one difference:

At the processed commitment level you may see multiple updates for the same account within a slot. At confirmed you only get the final state. The relative order between different accounts stays the same. So if you want confirmed finality without giving up ordering guarantees, LaserStream WSS gives you both.

Streaming Credits Cost 33% Less

On April 7th, 2026, we're reducing the credit rate for all streaming traffic to 20 credits per 1 MB. This is a 33% reduction from the previous rate (30 credits/MB), bringing the effective base cost of streaming to approximately $100/TB — down from $150/TB previously.

Unifying Credit Rates for gRPC & WSS

The new 20 credits per 1 MB data streaming rate will apply uniformly across both LaserStream gRPC and WebSockets. This change applies to all customers, including those on grandfathered plans. WSS traffic that was previously unmetered will be metered at the same unified rate.

We're providing a 30-day grace period before we activate metering. We'll also be reaching out directly to affected customers to help with the transition and minimize any disruption.

For more details, read our updated docs on data streaming credits.

Why unified pricing?

A single credit rate across gRPC and WSS eliminates confusion, simplifies billing, and lets you choose the right protocol for your use case without worrying about cost differences. This pricing change also ensures that our infrastructure investments — like powering WebSockets with LaserStream — are sustainable as we continue optimizing Solana data streaming performance.

Expanding Access to Data Streaming

We're lowering the barrier to entry for both gRPC and Enhanced WebSocket streaming services.

LaserStream gRPC for Business Plans

Previously, LaserStream gRPC required a $999/month Professional plan, and only Devnet access was available to Business plan subscribers. Starting April 7th, 2026, all customers on the $499/month Business plan will be able to connect to LaserStream with up to 10 concurrent gRPC connections, lowering the cost to access gRPC by 50%.

For developers evaluating gRPC for trading use cases, MEV strategies, or latency-sensitive applications, this removes the need to commit to a Professional plan before benchmarking. Start on Business, validate your setup, and scale when you're ready.

Enhanced WSS for Developer Plans

Starting April 7th, 2026, Enhanced WSS with transactionSubscribe will be available on all Developer plans. Developer tier customers will be able to access enhanced transaction streaming with up to 100 subscriptions per connection — opening up low-latency data for early-stage projects and indie devs.

Data Add-on Prices Reduced

Starting April 7th, 2026, we're lowering prices by up to 20% on data streaming add-ons. This applies to both LaserStream gRPC and Enhanced WebSocket usage.

Combined with the lower credit rate, the effective cost per TB drops significantly across every tier. For example, the 10 TB add-on will cost $750/month (~$75/TB), which is competitive with every other Solana streaming provider on the market.

Summary of Changes

Here is a concise breakdown of what these pricing changes mean for existing customers:

Professional Plan Users

If you're on a Professional or Business plan with existing streaming usage, your effective cost per TB decreases. If you're using LaserStream gRPC, your rate drops from 30 credits/MB to 20 credits/MB. If you're using add-ons, your prices are lower at the same traffic levels.

Business Plan Users

If you've been considering gRPC but the Professional plan was too high a commitment, you will be able to access LaserStream on the Business plan at $499/month. No enterprise sales call required.

Developer Plan Users

If you're on a Developer plan building with standard WSS, you will be able to access the Enhanced WSS transactionSubscribe method for real-time, low-latency transaction streaming.

WSS Users

If you're using WSS on a legacy plan, WSS streaming will be metered starting 30 days from today’s announcement (May 1st, 2026), and will be billed at the same 20 credits/MB rate as gRPC. Please review your dashboard to check current WebSockets usage, and reach out to our team for help.

Timeline

Here’s a quick summary of what’s changing over the next 30 days:

Day 0 (March 31st)

All changes announced. WSS metering grace period begins.

Day 7 (April 7th)

Unified credit rate, expanded access, and add-on improvements begin.

Day 30 (May 1st)

WSS metering activates for all projects. The 30-day grace period ends.

Questions?

If you have questions about how these changes affect your project or how to select the right data add-on, contact our team on Telegram, Discord, or by email at sales@helius.xyz. For more details, please read our updated billing docs and pricing page.