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APIs · head to head

Enable Banking vs Strands

Enable Banking logo

Enable Banking

APIs

European bank API aggregation with a free restricted production tier for your own accounts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Strands logo

Strands

Personal Finance

Personal and business financial management modules for banks, owned by CRIF

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Enable Banking has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Enable Banking production pricing is quoted per connected account and call volume with no published rate card, so a free proof of concept gives you no idea of cost at scale.; Strands transaction categorisation accuracy depends on local merchant data, and banks in smaller markets face months of tuning before customers trust the categories shown.
  • They diverge on capability: Enable Banking covers European bank coverage, Strands covers Transaction categorisation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Enable Banking and Strands actually diverge.

Attributes where Enable Banking and Strands differ
AttributeEnable BankingStrands
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer connected account per monthquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, REST APIWeb, iOS, Android, REST API
CategoryAPIsPersonal Finance

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Enable Banking

  • European bank coverage
  • Free sandbox
  • Restricted production
  • TPP infrastructure as a service
  • Consent handling
  • Payment initiation

Only in Strands

  • Transaction categorisation
  • Personal financial management
  • Business financial management
  • Lighthouse
  • Automated savings
  • Account aggregation

What people use each for

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

Enable Banking

  • A small fintech that needs to operate as an agent rather than wait a year for its own AISP authorisationnot Strands
  • An accounting software vendor pulling bank transactions across several European countriesnot Strands
  • A treasury tool building and testing a real integration before committing to a contractnot Strands
  • A lender verifying applicant income from bank data across the Nordics and the EUnot Strands

Strands

  • A retail bank adding budgeting and spending insight without building a categorisation enginenot Enable Banking
  • A bank wanting personalised product offers driven by observed spending and credit datanot Enable Banking
  • A credit union offering small business customers cash flow forecasting inside online bankingnot Enable Banking
  • A Nordic institution combining Strands insight with open banking account aggregationnot Enable Banking

Where each one falls short

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

Enable Banking

  • Production pricing is quoted per connected account and call volume with no published rate card, so a free proof of concept gives you no idea of cost at scale.
  • Coverage is European, which rules it out as a single supplier for anyone needing UK plus North American bank data as well.
  • Operating as an agent under the Enable Banking licence means your regulatory permission depends on another company remaining authorised and willing to sponsor you.
  • Bank API quality varies widely across Europe, and outages or degraded endpoints at individual institutions surface as failures in your own product.
  • It is a small Finnish company selling into regulated financial services, so enterprise procurement and vendor resilience reviews are a recurring obstacle.

Strands

  • Transaction categorisation accuracy depends on local merchant data, and banks in smaller markets face months of tuning before customers trust the categories shown.
  • It is now a product line inside CRIF, a credit bureau, so roadmap priorities follow group data strategy rather than standalone software competition.
  • Commercial terms are often bundled with other CRIF services, which makes a standalone comparison against a pure PFM vendor harder to run.
  • Money management features have weak measurable impact on bank revenue, so the business case relies on engagement metrics that are difficult to tie to profit.
  • It is a white-label component, so the bank still owns design, support and customer communication, and a poor in-app implementation reflects on the bank rather than the vendor.

Pricing, plan by plan

Enable Banking

Free
  • Sandbox and restricted productionFree
    • Mock and real bank sandbox access
    • Production access limited to accounts you link yourself
    • Full API surface for development and certification
  • Production$undefined/year
    • Quoted by connected accounts per month and call volume
    • Priced by number of institutions and markets in scope
    • Different rates under your own licence or as an agent

Strands

On request
  • Strands AI Finance Suite$undefined/year
    • Licence scaled by end customers or active users
    • Modules licensed separately for personal, business and Lighthouse
    • Implementation and categorisation tuning charged as a project

Which should you pick?

Choose Enable Banking if

  • You need european bank coverage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want free sandbox.
Enable Banking review

Choose Strands if

  • You need transaction categorisation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want personal financial management.
Strands review

Questions people ask

Is Enable Banking or Strands better?
Neither clearly leads. Enable Banking starts at Free and Strands at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Enable Banking or Strands?
Enable Banking has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Enable Banking and On request for Strands.
Does Enable Banking or Strands run on more platforms?
Enable Banking runs on Web, REST API. Strands runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
Can I use Enable Banking for free?
Yes. Enable Banking has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Strands starts at On request.
What is Enable Banking best used for?
Enable Banking is most often used for a small fintech that needs to operate as an agent rather than wait a year for its own aisp authorisation, an accounting software vendor pulling bank transactions across several european countries, a treasury tool building and testing a real integration before committing to a contract, a lender verifying applicant income from bank data across the nordics and the eu. Of those, a small fintech that needs to operate as an agent rather than wait a year for its own aisp authorisation and an accounting software vendor pulling bank transactions across several european countries are not what Strands is typically brought in for.
What can Enable Banking do that Strands cannot?
Enable Banking covers European bank coverage, Free sandbox, Restricted production, TPP infrastructure as a service. Strands covers Transaction categorisation, Personal financial management, Business financial management, Lighthouse.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Enable Banking: Is there really a free tier?

Yes, sandbox plus restricted production against accounts you link yourself. Commercial third-party access is quoted separately.

Strands: Who owns Strands?

CRIF, the Italian credit bureau and information services group, which acquired it to combine money management software with credit data.

Enable Banking: Do I need my own AISP licence?

No. Enable Banking offers third-party provider infrastructure as a service so you can operate as an agent under its authorisation.

Strands: Is it sold to consumers?

No. It is licensed to banks and credit unions who embed it in their own applications under their own brand.

Enable Banking: How is production priced?

By connected accounts per month and call volume, adjusted for markets in scope and whether you use your own licence.

Strands: Does it include account aggregation?

It supports aggregated external accounts, with CRIF and partners such as Enable Banking supplying the open banking connectivity.

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