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APIs · head to head

Codat vs Swan

Codat logo

Codat

APIs

One API for small business accounting, banking and commerce data

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Swan logo

Swan

APIs

European banking-as-a-service platform for embedding accounts, cards and payments into other products

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Codat the accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.; Swan its regulatory base and strongest local account coverage are French and European, so companies needing US, UK-post-Brexit-specific, or broader global banking-as-a-service need an additional provider.
  • They diverge on capability: Codat covers Normalised accounting API, Swan covers Embedded business accounts.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Codat and Swan actually diverge.

Attributes where Codat and Swan differ
AttributeCodatSwan
PlatformsAPI, WebWeb, API

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Codat

  • Normalised accounting API
  • Banking and commerce data
  • Lending products
  • Write-back
  • Business verification
  • Supplier onboarding
  • Connection management
  • Data quality handling

Only in Swan

  • Embedded business accounts
  • Card issuing
  • SEPA payments
  • Local account localisation
  • ACPR regulation
  • Usage-based pricing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Codat

  • A business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported PDF accountsnot Swan
  • A commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterlynot Swan
  • A payment company verifying a merchant trading history before extending working capitalnot Swan
  • A B2B platform writing bills and payments back into a customer accounting system so reconciliation happens automaticallynot Swan

Swan

  • A vertical SaaS platform wanting to embed business bank accounts under its own brandnot Codat
  • A marketplace wanting to issue cards to sellers or partners without becoming a licensed banknot Codat
  • A company wanting SEPA payment initiation embedded directly into its own productnot Codat
  • A European fintech wanting to avoid a six-figure setup fee and long lock-in typical of legacy banking-as-a-service dealsnot Codat

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Codat

  • The accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.
  • Pricing is opaque and enterprise shaped for a product developers expect to evaluate technically first, so build decisions get made before anyone knows the unit economics.
  • Normalisation hides but does not remove the underlying differences between accounting systems, and edge cases in multi-currency, journals and tax handling surface as data quality problems that your team must reason about in each source system anyway.
  • Data quality depends on the small business keeping its books properly, so a lender using ledger data for underwriting inherits the bookkeeping standard of its worst borrower and needs its own validation layer regardless.
  • Connection breakage from expired tokens and platform API changes is an ongoing operational load, and a borrower whose connection lapses stops being monitored silently, which is the failure mode that matters most in a lending portfolio.

Swan

  • Its regulatory base and strongest local account coverage are French and European, so companies needing US, UK-post-Brexit-specific, or broader global banking-as-a-service need an additional provider.
  • Pricing is described only philosophically (usage-based, no big setup fee) rather than published as an actual rate card, so a company still needs a sales conversation to get real numbers.
  • Embedding banking features into a product is a substantial compliance and design undertaking regardless of the vendor, and Swan handling the licence does not remove a platform's own KYC, AML and customer support obligations for the accounts it offers.
  • As a comparatively young, single-country-licensed e-money institution, its balance sheet and regulatory standing carry more concentration risk than a banking-as-a-service offering backed by an established, multi-jurisdiction bank.
  • Local account depth is explicitly limited to France, Germany and Spain, so a platform needing native local accounts in other European countries may find coverage thinner than expected.

Pricing, plan by plan

Codat

On request
  • Codat Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by connected companies, data types and products
    • Lending and verification products priced above core data access
    • Annual enterprise agreements

Swan

On request
  • Swan$undefined/month
    • Usage-based pricing, no published rate card
    • No long-term contract or large setup fee required
    • Custom quote based on current, not forecast, usage

Which should you pick?

Choose Codat if

  • You need normalised accounting api.
  • You work on API, Web.
  • You also want banking and commerce data.
Codat review

Choose Swan if

  • You need embedded business accounts.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want card issuing.
Swan review

Questions people ask

Is Codat or Swan better?
Neither clearly leads. Codat starts at On request and Swan at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Codat or Swan?
Codat starts at On request and Swan at On request.
Does Codat or Swan run on more platforms?
Codat runs on API, Web. Swan runs on Web, API.
What is Codat best used for?
Codat is most often used for a business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported pdf accounts, a commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterly, a payment company verifying a merchant trading history before extending working capital, a b2b platform writing bills and payments back into a customer accounting system so reconciliation happens automatically. Of those, a business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported pdf accounts and a commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterly are not what Swan is typically brought in for.
What can Codat do that Swan cannot?
Codat covers Normalised accounting API, Banking and commerce data, Lending products, Write-back. Swan covers Embedded business accounts, Card issuing, SEPA payments, Local account localisation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Codat: What is changing with Xero in 2026?

Xero is introducing a tiered, usage based developer pricing model effective 2 March 2026, with tiers based on the number of customer connections an app holds. That is a new cost in the chain for anyone reading Xero data at scale, whether directly or through Codat.

Swan: Which countries does Swan offer local accounts in?

France, Germany and Spain specifically, alongside broader SEPA payment coverage.

Codat: Can Codat write data back?

Yes. It supports pushing bills, payments and journal entries into accounting systems, not only reading from them.

Swan: Is pricing published?

No, Swan describes a usage-based, no-large-setup-fee philosophy but requires a quote for actual numbers.

Codat: Is pricing published?

No. It is quoted by connected companies, data types and products, and users consistently describe it as opaque.

Swan: Who regulates Swan?

France's ACPR (Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution), as a licensed e-money institution.

Codat: Does it replace bank data aggregation?

Not entirely. It covers banking alongside accounting and commerce, but lenders commonly run it beside a bank aggregator for transaction level cash flow.

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