| Control plane architecture | Novacula provides a managed cloud Hub, while customer-side Agents and Operators run nodes on supported Linux hosts, virtual machines, or Kubernetes. | Chainstack runs its Control Panel, authentication, database, orchestration, and blockchain workloads inside the customer’s Kubernetes environment. | Novacula operates the management service, while Chainstack gives the customer responsibility for hosting the complete management layer. |
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| Deployment environments | Use the Agent on supported Linux hosts and virtual machines, or the Operator in Kubernetes. | The Control Panel and blockchain workloads run in Kubernetes, whether the cluster is hosted on dedicated servers, virtual machines, cloud infrastructure, or on-premises hardware. | Novacula can manage standalone hosts without requiring Kubernetes. Chainstack uses a Kubernetes-native operating model. |
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| Supported deployments | Novacula supports multiple blockchain networks, clients, node types, and deployment combinations through chain-specific adapters and executors. | Chainstack currently publishes a broader catalog covering 24 protocols across 40 documented network and client configurations. | Chainstack has the broader catalog today. Novacula focuses on a consistent operating workflow across its supported chains and deployment environments. |
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| Monitoring model | Node health, synchronization, peers, RPC activity, resource usage, metrics, and recent process logs are available through the Novacula control plane. Available metrics depend on the blockchain client. | Chainstack provides an optional integrated observability stack using Grafana, VictoriaMetrics, Alertmanager, and node and Kubernetes exporters. | Both provide node-level visibility. Novacula keeps routine deployment, monitoring, and log inspection in one interface, while Chainstack runs its observability stack inside the customer’s cluster. |
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| Operational overhead | Novacula operates the Hub. Customers operate their infrastructure, executors, storage, networking, and blockchain workloads. | Customers operate the Kubernetes cluster, Control Panel, storage, observability components, upgrades, and blockchain workloads. | Novacula reduces the management infrastructure your team must operate. Chainstack provides more direct control with greater operational responsibility. |
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| Control-plane availability | Executors connect outbound to the Hub. Existing nodes continue running and serving configured endpoints if the Hub is temporarily unavailable. | Management remains available while the customer-operated Kubernetes cluster and Control Panel remain healthy. | Novacula separates blockchain runtime availability from temporary Hub availability. |
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