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APIs · head to head

Griffin vs Spring Cloud Gateway

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
Spring Cloud Gateway logo

Spring Cloud Gateway

APIs

API gateway built on Project Reactor for building microservices

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Spring Cloud Gateway 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.; Spring Cloud Gateway released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier
  • They diverge on capability: Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Griffin and Spring Cloud Gateway actually diverge.

Attributes where Griffin and Spring Cloud Gateway differ
AttributeGriffinSpring Cloud Gateway
Starting price£100/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month with usage drawdownopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, REST APIJava, Spring Boot
FoundedUnknown1998

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 Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Routing
  • Path Rewriting
  • Circuit Breaker
  • Spring Boot
  • Spring Security
  • Spring Cloud
  • Java support
  • Spring Boot support

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 Spring Cloud Gateway
  • A lender wanting UK accounts and payment rails without becoming a bank itselfnot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • A fintech burned by sponsor bank instability that wants the deposit holder and the API provider to be the same entitynot Spring Cloud Gateway
  • A platform needing sub-account ledgering for pooled client funds with a clean audit trailnot Spring Cloud Gateway

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • API Developmentnot Griffin
  • API Gatewaynot Griffin
  • API Testingnot Griffin
  • API Documentationnot Griffin
  • Microservicesnot 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.

Spring Cloud Gateway

  • Released under the Apache 2.0 license, free and open source with no commercial tier

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

Spring Cloud Gateway

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Core Spring Cloud Gateway
    • Community support

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 Spring Cloud Gateway if

  • You need routing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Java, Spring Boot.
  • You also want path rewriting.
Spring Cloud Gateway review

Questions people ask

Is Griffin or Spring Cloud Gateway better?
Neither clearly leads. Griffin starts at £100/month and Spring Cloud Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Griffin or Spring Cloud Gateway?
Spring Cloud Gateway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £100/month for Griffin and Free for Spring Cloud Gateway.
Does Griffin or Spring Cloud Gateway run on more platforms?
Griffin runs on Web, REST API. Spring Cloud Gateway runs on Java, Spring Boot.
Can I use Spring Cloud Gateway for free?
Yes. Spring Cloud Gateway 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 Spring Cloud Gateway is typically brought in for.
What can Griffin do that Spring Cloud Gateway cannot?
Griffin covers Bank accounts by API, UK payment rails, Integrated ledger, Automated onboarding. Spring Cloud Gateway covers Routing, Path Rewriting, Circuit Breaker, Spring Boot.

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.

Spring Cloud Gateway: Is Spring Cloud Gateway free?

Yes, Spring Cloud Gateway is free and open-source software. It is part of the Spring ecosystem and available through GitHub repositories with open-source dependencies like spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webflux and spring-cloud-starter-gateway-server-webmvc.

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.

Spring Cloud Gateway: What enterprise support is available for Spring Cloud Gateway?

Tanzu Spring provides optional enterprise support including Day 0 access to security patches for organizations requiring guaranteed support, but specific pricing is not published on the Spring Cloud Gateway project page.

Source
Griffin: Does it cover Europe?

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

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