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APIs · head to head

Column vs Zeplo

Column logo

Column

APIs

A nationally chartered US bank that ships its own API, with no middleware in between

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zeplo logo

Zeplo

APIs

Message queue as a URL prefix, adding retries and delays to any HTTP request

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zeplo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Column column publishes no pricing whatsoever, so there is no way to model cost before a sales process, and terms are negotiated per programme which favours larger, more sophisticated buyers.; Zeplo zeplo sits directly in the execution path of your background work, so an outage at a very small vendor means your jobs do not run at all, and there is no published SLA below Enterprise.
  • They diverge on capability: Column covers National bank charter, Zeplo covers URL prefix interface.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Column and Zeplo actually diverge.

Attributes where Column and Zeplo differ
AttributeColumnZeplo
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer month by request count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Cloud

Identical on both: 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 Column

  • National bank charter
  • Direct Federal Reserve access
  • Ledger and accounts
  • International wires
  • Real-time payments
  • Lending
  • Cheque handling
  • Correspondent banking

Only in Zeplo

  • URL prefix interface
  • Retries with backoff
  • Delayed delivery
  • Cron scheduling
  • Concurrency limits
  • Deduplication keys
  • Request logs
  • Team workspaces

What people use each for

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

Column

  • A fintech that has been burned by a middleware provider failing and wants its deposits held by the same entity that provides the APInot Zeplo
  • A payments company needing direct Fedwire and Swift access rather than routing through a correspondent it cannot seenot Zeplo
  • A lender that wants origination, funding and deposit accounts from one chartered institution instead of three counterpartiesnot Zeplo
  • A payroll or treasury platform where same-day settlement certainty matters more than fast onboardingnot Zeplo

Zeplo

  • A Vercel or Cloudflare Workers application that needs retried background jobs without deploying a separate always-on workernot Column
  • A team that wants a webhook receiver protected by a concurrency limit so a burst does not overwhelm a downstream APInot Column
  • A small product needing cron jobs against HTTP endpoints without adding a scheduler to its infrastructurenot Column
  • A developer adding idempotent retries to an unreliable third-party API call with a one-line URL changenot Column

Where each one falls short

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

Column

  • Column publishes no pricing whatsoever, so there is no way to model cost before a sales process, and terms are negotiated per programme which favours larger, more sophisticated buyers.
  • Onboarding is bank diligence rather than vendor sign-up, and programmes routinely spend several months on compliance review, flow of funds documentation and volume forecasting before the first live transaction.
  • Column selects its customers and declines many, so the charter advantage is only available to programmes it considers acceptable risk, which excludes most early-stage teams.
  • It is United States only, so any programme with international account or local payment needs must add a second banking relationship and reconcile across both.
  • Being the bank means Column also carries the bank's regulatory constraints, so product changes that affect risk, such as new customer segments or higher-risk flows, need approval rather than a configuration change.

Zeplo

  • Zeplo sits directly in the execution path of your background work, so an outage at a very small vendor means your jobs do not run at all, and there is no published SLA below Enterprise.
  • The free Developer tier includes only 500 requests a month and one team member, so it is a demonstration allowance rather than a usable free plan for anything real.
  • Overage on the Developer tier is 20 US dollars per 100,000 requests, two hundred times the marginal rate on the Company tier, so exceeding the free allowance without upgrading is expensive.
  • Team members cost 15 US dollars each beyond the plan allowance, which is an odd charge on an infrastructure product billed by request volume.
  • Log retention is 30 days on both published tiers, so anything requiring longer audit trails on job execution has to be logged separately.

Pricing, plan by plan

Column

On request
  • Column Bank Platform$undefined/year
    • Deposit accounts and ledger
    • ACH, wire, RTP and cheque rails
    • International wires over Swift

Zeplo

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • 500 requests a month included
    • $20 per additional 100,000 requests
    • 1 team member
  • Company$39/month
    • 1,000,000 requests a month included
    • $10 per additional million requests
    • Up to 3 team members
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Volume discounts
    • Custom team size
    • Support with SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Column if

  • You need national bank charter.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want direct federal reserve access.
Column review

Choose Zeplo if

  • You need url prefix interface.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want retries with backoff.
Zeplo review

Questions people ask

Is Column or Zeplo better?
Neither clearly leads. Column starts at On request and Zeplo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Column or Zeplo?
Zeplo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Column and Free for Zeplo.
Does Column or Zeplo run on more platforms?
Column runs on Web, API. Zeplo runs on Web, Cloud.
Can I use Zeplo for free?
Yes. Zeplo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Column starts at On request.
What is Column best used for?
Column is most often used for a fintech that has been burned by a middleware provider failing and wants its deposits held by the same entity that provides the api, a payments company needing direct fedwire and swift access rather than routing through a correspondent it cannot see, a lender that wants origination, funding and deposit accounts from one chartered institution instead of three counterparties, a payroll or treasury platform where same-day settlement certainty matters more than fast onboarding. Of those, a fintech that has been burned by a middleware provider failing and wants its deposits held by the same entity that provides the api and a payments company needing direct fedwire and swift access rather than routing through a correspondent it cannot see are not what Zeplo is typically brought in for.
What can Column do that Zeplo cannot?
Column covers National bank charter, Direct Federal Reserve access, Ledger and accounts, International wires. Zeplo covers URL prefix interface, Retries with backoff, Delayed delivery, Cron scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Column: Is Column actually a bank?

Yes. It is a nationally chartered, FDIC-insured bank, which is why there is no sponsor bank behind it.

Zeplo: How does Zeplo work?

You prefix your endpoint URL with zeplo.to and add query parameters for retries, delay, cron or concurrency. No SDK or broker is needed.

Column: How is that different from Synctera or Unit?

Those are technology providers that connect you to a separate sponsor bank. With Column the API provider and the depository institution are the same company.

Zeplo: What does it cost?

Free for 500 requests a month; 39 US dollars a month for a million requests, then 10 dollars per additional million.

Column: What does Column cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is negotiated per programme.

Zeplo: Is it suitable for critical jobs?

It is a small vendor in your execution path with no published SLA below Enterprise, so weigh that against the convenience.

Column: How long does onboarding take?

Expect months. This is bank-grade diligence on your compliance programme, not a vendor sign-up.

Zeplo: Does it work with serverless platforms?

Yes, that is its main use, covering Vercel, Cloudflare Workers, Netlify and similar environments that lack long-running workers.

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