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APIs · head to head

Griffin vs Liveblocks

Griffin logo

Griffin

APIs

UK banking-as-a-service from a company that holds its own full banking licence

From
£100/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Liveblocks logo

Liveblocks

APIs

Realtime collaboration infrastructure for building multiplayer features

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Liveblocks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Griffin platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.; Liveblocks on the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.
  • They diverge on capability: Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Griffin and Liveblocks actually diverge.

Attributes where Griffin and Liveblocks differ
AttributeGriffinLiveblocks
Starting price£100/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month with usage drawdownfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, REST APIweb, api

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 Griffin

  • Bank accounts by API
  • UK payment rails
  • Integrated ledger
  • Automated onboarding
  • Debit cards
  • Interest on balances

Only in Liveblocks

  • Realtime presence and cursors
  • Comments
  • Version history
  • Custom notifications
  • SSO and SOC 2
  • Management API

What people use each for

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

Griffin

  • A wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an EMI safeguarding accountnot Liveblocks
  • A lender wanting UK accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itselfnot Liveblocks
  • A fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the API provider to be the same entitynot Liveblocks
  • A platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trailnot Liveblocks

Liveblocks

  • Adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editornot Griffin
  • Building threaded comments on documents or designsnot Griffin
  • Sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actionsnot Griffin
  • Restoring previous versions of collaborative contentnot Griffin

Where each one falls short

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

Griffin

  • Platform banking carries a one-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds and a 3,500 pound monthly minimum, which prices out early-stage companies entirely.
  • It is UK-only, so a business with European or US operations needs a second banking provider and a second integration for those entities.
  • It is a young bank with a small balance sheet relative to incumbents, and enterprise counterparties still ask hard questions about concentration risk.
  • Holding a banking licence means Griffin applies bank-grade due diligence to its own clients, so onboarding is slower and more selective than an EMI-based provider.
  • Feature breadth is narrower than long-established providers, particularly in card programme management and in payment types beyond core UK rails.

Liveblocks

  • On the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.
  • The jump from Pro ($30/month) to Team (starting at $600/month) is steep for teams that outgrow Pro but don't need full Team scale.
  • Multi-region hosting and SCIM provisioning are Enterprise-only and require custom pricing.

Pricing, plan by plan

Griffin

£100/month
  • Business Banking$100/month
    • From 100 pounds per month
    • Interest or commission from around 1.75 percent AER variable
    • Operational accounts and UK payment rails
  • Platform Banking$3500/month
    • One-off onboarding fee from 15,000 pounds
    • Minimum monthly spend of 3,500 pounds, drawn down by usage
    • Higher committed tiers at 5,000 and 10,000 pounds with discounts
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing
    • Bespoke account structures and volumes
    • Negotiated interest or commission share

Liveblocks

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10 projects
    • 3 dashboard seats
    • 10 simultaneous connections per room
  • Pro$30/month
    • $30 monthly credits
    • Removes Liveblocks branding
    • 3 dashboard seats
  • Team$600/month
    • SSO and SOC 2
    • 10 dashboard seats
    • 50 connections/room

Which should you pick?

Choose Griffin if

  • You need bank accounts by api.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want uk payment rails.
Griffin review

Choose Liveblocks if

  • You need realtime presence and cursors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want comments.
Liveblocks review

Questions people ask

Is Griffin or Liveblocks better?
Neither clearly leads. Griffin starts at £100/month and Liveblocks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Griffin or Liveblocks?
Liveblocks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £100/month for Griffin and Free for Liveblocks.
Does Griffin or Liveblocks run on more platforms?
Griffin runs on Web, REST API. Liveblocks runs on web, api.
Can I use Liveblocks for free?
Yes. Liveblocks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Griffin starts at £100/month.
What is Griffin best used for?
Griffin is most often used for a wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an emi safeguarding account, a lender wanting uk accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itself, a fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the api provider to be the same entity, a platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trail. Of those, a wealth platform that must hold client money in a licensed bank rather than an emi safeguarding account and a lender wanting uk accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itself are not what Liveblocks is typically brought in for.
What can Griffin do that Liveblocks cannot?
Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, UK payment rails, Integrated ledger, Automated onboarding. Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors, Comments, Version history, Custom notifications.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Griffin: Is Griffin actually a bank?

Yes. It received a UK banking licence with restrictions in March 2023 and a full licence in March 2024 after exiting mobilisation.

Liveblocks: What does Liveblocks cost?

Liveblocks offers a Free plan with hard usage caps, a Pro plan at $30/month ($25/month billed annually) including $30 in monthly credits, a Team plan from $600/month, and custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
Griffin: What does it cost?

Business banking from 100 pounds a month; platform banking from a 15,000 pound onboarding fee plus a 3,500 pound monthly minimum drawn down by usage.

Liveblocks: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the Free plan includes 10 projects, 3 dashboard seats, 10 simultaneous connections per room, 3,000 collaboration minutes, 200 comments, and 1GB of realtime data storage, with features pausing once a cap is hit.

Source
Griffin: Does it cover Europe?

No. Griffin is a UK bank serving UK accounts and UK payment rails.

Liveblocks: How is usage metered?

Paid plans include monthly credits covering collaboration minutes, comments, and storage; usage beyond the credit is billed at metered rates such as $0.002 per collaboration minute and $0.01 per comment, with credits resetting each billing cycle without rollover.

Source
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