> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://voltaire.tevm.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Comparison

> Voltaire request builders vs raw JSON-RPC and other libraries

# Comparison

How Voltaire's request builders compare to other Ethereum libraries.

## vs Raw EIP-1193

| Feature        | Raw EIP-1193                  | Voltaire Request Builders     |
| -------------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Method calls   | `request({ method, params })` | Request builder + `request()` |
| Parameters     | Plain strings/objects         | Branded primitive types       |
| Type safety    | None (manual typing)          | Full compile-time checking    |
| Errors         | Throws exceptions             | Throws exceptions             |
| Autocompletion | No                            | Yes                           |

### Example Comparison

```typescript theme={null}
// Raw EIP-1193 - no type safety
const balance = await provider.request({
  method: 'eth_getBalance',
  params: ['0x...', 'latest']  // Typos not caught!
});

// Voltaire - fully typed
import * as Rpc from '@tevm/voltaire/jsonrpc';
import * as Address from '@tevm/voltaire/Address';

const balance = await provider.request(
  Rpc.Eth.GetBalanceRequest(Address('0x...'), 'latest')
);
```

## vs ethers.js

| Feature      | ethers.js                 | Voltaire                           |
| ------------ | ------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| Method style | Abstracted (`getBalance`) | Direct JSON-RPC (`eth_getBalance`) |
| Types        | Runtime classes           | Branded primitives (zero overhead) |
| Type safety  | Good                      | Excellent (branded types)          |
| Tree-shaking | Limited                   | Full                               |

Voltaire provides lower-level JSON-RPC access with maximum type safety and tree-shaking.

## vs viem

| Feature        | viem         | Voltaire              |
| -------------- | ------------ | --------------------- |
| API style      | Actions      | Request builders      |
| Type system    | Narrow types | Branded primitives    |
| Tree-shaking   | ✅ Yes        | ✅ Yes                 |
| WASM           | ❌ No         | ✅ Yes (optional)      |
| Multi-language | ❌ No         | ✅ Yes (TS/Zig/Rust/C) |

Both provide excellent type safety. Voltaire adds multi-language support and optional WASM acceleration.

## When to Use Voltaire

* **Type safety** - Branded primitives catch errors at compile time
* **Tree-shaking** - Import only what you need
* **Multi-language** - Building for TypeScript + Zig/Rust/C
* **WASM acceleration** - Performance-critical crypto operations
* **Direct JSON-RPC** - Work directly with JSON-RPC spec

## Related

* [Getting Started](/jsonrpc-provider/getting-started) - Installation and setup
* [Method API](/jsonrpc-provider/method-api) - Request builders