Data anchoring and timestamping · Comparison
Bernstein vs Hedera Consensus Service vs OriginStamp vs Truestamp
4 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Bernstein | Hedera Consensus Service | OriginStamp | Truestamp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Compliance includedCourt-oriented proof of authorship for IP files: Bitcoin anchoring plus EU qualified timestamps, without the vendor seeing your files. | Worth the priceOrdered, consensus-timestamped records on a public ledger at a published $0.0008 per message, with no contract or vendor account. | Saves engineering timeAnchor your hashes to Bitcoin and Ethereum through one REST call, without running wallets, nodes or Merkle batching yourself. | Saves engineering timeProofs that verify offline with an open-source CLI, committed to two public chains, and free for 50 items a month. |
| Overall score | 3.7 | 4.8Best | 3.8 | 3.5 |
| Free option | Paid only | Paid only | –Not measured | Free plan |
| Card to start | –Not measured | –Not measured | –Not measured | No card needed |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve | Sales call required | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $54/mo | $0.0008/message | –Not measured | $0 |
| Pricing model | Tiered | Usage-based | Custom quote | Tiered |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices | Prices hidden | Prices hidden |
| What it anchors to | Bitcoin, plus EU and China timestamp authorities | Hedera public ledger (messages on a topic) | Bitcoin and Ethereum (Merkle root per batch) | Stellar and Bitcoin (epoch roots of its own ledger) |
| Billing unit | Registration credit (one project version, up to 99 files) | $0.0008 per message, paid in HBAR | Offer based on timestamps and proofs | Items a month per plan; paid tiers not on sale |
| Free option | None; certificate validation is free | Testnet only | Free web tool for single proofs; test API key on request | 50 items a month, 90-day retention |
| Reference scenario (100,000 hashes/mo) | Not offered (no API) | $80, one hash per message, computed | Priced by sales | No plan on sale |
| Proof you keep | PDF certificate | No proof file; records on mirror nodes | Downloadable certificate or raw proof | Self-contained proof bundle (JSON or binary) |
| Verify without the vendor | Manual steps documented; browser validator | Open-source mirror node you can run | Manual steps documented | Open-source CLI, offline |
| Only the hash leaves your systems | No; files uploaded encrypted | Yes, you choose the message content | Yes | Yes; content can also be redacted |
| Qualified timestamps (eIDAS) | EU qualified on Scale and Enterprise | No | eIDAS compatibility on request | No (terms say not qualified) |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Not stated | Node data centres must be SOC 2 Type 2 | Not stated | Not stated |
| API and webhooks | None | SDKs, mirror node REST and gRPC; no webhooks | REST API, batch hashes, webhooks | REST, GraphQL, CLI, MCP; webhooks on paid tiers |
| SSO | Enterprise plan, one-time setup fee | Not applicable (key-based accounts) | Not listed | Not listed |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, Bernstein is the most legally oriented option here, with EU qualified timestamps on a self-serve plan. It is a web app for IP files, not an anchoring API, from $54 a month. | From its public pages, HCS is the cheapest way here to put hashes on a public ledger at a price you can compute. You build the proof handling yourself, and there is no plan, contract or vendor audit report. | From its public pages, OriginStamp is a long-running anchoring API with two chains, batching and webhooks. The price is an offer, and a few docs pages describe an older anchoring method. | From its public pages, Truestamp has the strongest proof portability here: two chains, self-contained bundles and an open-source offline verifier. Only the free plan can be used today. |
Evidence: Bernstein: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Hedera Consensus Service: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; OriginStamp: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; Truestamp: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Bernstein review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Bernstein when
- You certify IP files by hand and want EU qualified timestamps and published plans.
- Pick OriginStamp when
- You need an API to anchor hashes from logs or systems, on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
From our Bernstein review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Bernstein when
- You want qualified timestamps and a plan you can buy today.
- Pick Truestamp when
- You want to start free with hash-only submission and an open-source offline verifier.
From our Hedera Consensus Service review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Hedera Consensus Service when
- You want a published per-message price and full control of what you anchor.
- Pick OriginStamp when
- You want Merkle batching, Bitcoin and Ethereum anchors and a proof per hash handled by the vendor.
From our Hedera Consensus Service review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Hedera Consensus Service when
- You need volumes beyond a small free plan at a price you can compute today.
- Pick Truestamp when
- You want a self-contained proof bundle and an offline verifier with no keys or tokens to manage.
From our OriginStamp review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick OriginStamp when
- You want Bitcoin and Ethereum anchors with Merkle batching handled for you, plus a proof per hash.
- Pick Hedera Consensus Service when
- You want a published per-message fee ($0.0008) and can manage HBAR and your own batching.
From our OriginStamp review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick OriginStamp when
- You need an API and webhooks to anchor hashes from your own systems.
- Pick Bernstein when
- You want a web app with published plans, PDF certificates and EU qualified timestamps for IP files.
From our OriginStamp review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick OriginStamp when
- You need a paid production contract today, with anchors on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Pick Truestamp when
- You want to start on a free plan with an open-source offline verifier and redaction.
From our Truestamp review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Truestamp when
- You want to start free with an open-source offline verifier and redaction.
- Pick OriginStamp when
- You need a production contract today for larger volumes, on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
From our Truestamp review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Truestamp when
- You want a ready proof bundle with no keys or tokens to manage.
- Pick Hedera Consensus Service when
- You need more than 50 items a month at a price you can compute ($0.0008 per message).
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- BernsteinStarter$54/mo1 credit a month; $540 a year (2 months free); extra credits from $39
- Up to 99 files and 10 GB per project
- Credits roll over for 3 months
- Secure sharing
- No SSO
- Hedera Consensus ServiceMainnet, pay per transaction$0.0008/messageConsensusSubmitMessage; first 100 payload bytes included; paid in HBAR at the live rate
- Topic creation $0.01
- Account creation $0.05
- Messages up to 1,024 bytes
- BatchTransaction $0.001 plus each inner transaction
- OriginStampTimestamping APIContact salesPrice depends on the number of timestamps and proofs
- Free test API key on request
- Several SHA-256 hashes per request
- Webhooks for tree and proof events
- Development API server
- TruestampStarterComing soon750 items a month; not on sale yet
- 5 teams, 5 members per team
- 5 webhook endpoints
- Unlimited retention
- Email support
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Bernstein 2026-10-15, Hedera Consensus Service 2026-10-15, OriginStamp 2026-10-15, Truestamp 2026-10-15.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Hedera Consensus ServiceSelf-serve sign-up; the highest score of the 3 self-serve products here (4.8/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- TruestampFree plan, no card needed; scored 3.5/10.
- Lowest starter price
- Bernstein$54/mo for the Starter plan. Hedera Consensus Service, OriginStamp and Truestamp list no comparable paid price.
- Highest overall score
- Hedera Consensus Service4.8/10 (Fair). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score