Learn about the services that provide access to real-time Stellar network data

| Features                | RPC | Horizon |
| ----------------------- | --- | ------- |
| Real-time Data          | ✅  | ✅      |
| Historical Data         | ❌  | ❌\*    |
| Smart Contracts         | ✅  | ❌      |
| Transaction Simulation  | ✅  | ❌      |
| Curated and Parsed Data | ❌  | ✅      |

\*_Please note that Horizon can provide full historical data but is not the recommended tool for full historical data access. Please use [Hubble](https://developers.stellar.org/docs/data/analytics/hubble.md) or [Galexie](https://developers.stellar.org/docs/data/indexers/build-your-own/galexie.md) instead._

## [RPC](https://developers.stellar.org/docs/data/apis/rpc.md)

The RPC provides real-time access to the current state of the Stellar network, including account balances, smart contract states, and recent transaction queries (within a seven-day retention window), while also allowing transaction submission. It is designed to be simple, minimal, and scalable, making it ideal for applications and wallets that require live data availability.

:::note

RPC is the recommended API for accessing and interacting with Stellar network data in real-time.

:::

## [Horizon](https://developers.stellar.org/docs/data/apis/horizon.md)

:::warning

Horizon is nearing end-of-life and will eventually be deprecated in favor of Stellar RPC and [Portfolio APIs](https://developers.stellar.org/docs/data/indexers.md#portfolio-apis). While it will continue to receive updates to maintain compatibility with upcoming protocol releases, it won't receive new feature development.

:::

Horizon is an API for accessing and interacting with Stellar network data.