APIs · head to head
Lithic vs Prisma
Lithic
APIs
API-first card issuing platform with direct Visa, Mastercard and Amex network connections
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Prisma has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Lithic pricing is entirely undisclosed, so a company cannot compare total cost against Marqeta, Galileo or Highnote without a sales conversation.; Prisma prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage
- They diverge on capability: Lithic covers Direct network connections, Prisma covers ORM.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lithic and Prisma actually diverge.
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 Lithic
- Direct network connections
- Processor Client mode
- Lithic Program Management
- Card lifecycle APIs
- Sandbox environment
- Real-time authorization controls
Only in Prisma
- ORM
- Query builder
- Auto-migrations
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- GraphQL
- REST APIs
- Node.js support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lithic
- A fintech wanting direct Visa or Mastercard network access rather than routing through a third-party processornot Prisma
- A company that already holds its own issuing licence and wants API access without full programme managementnot Prisma
- A neobank or expense platform wanting Lithic to manage bank and network relationships end to endnot Prisma
- A product team prototyping a card programme in sandbox before committing to a launchnot Prisma
Prisma
- Using a type safe ORM and query layer against a Postgres databasenot Lithic
- Adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing databasenot Lithic
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lithic
- Pricing is entirely undisclosed, so a company cannot compare total cost against Marqeta, Galileo or Highnote without a sales conversation.
- Choosing Processor Client mode still leaves the company responsible for holding its own issuing licence and managing the regulatory relationship, which is a substantial undertaking many teams underestimate.
- As with any card infrastructure provider, an outage or network issue at Lithic becomes a direct outage for every card programme built on it, and a customer has limited visibility into root cause during an incident.
- Building a card programme on API infrastructure requires real engineering investment; it is not a plug-and-play product for a non-technical team.
- Switching card infrastructure providers after launch is a major undertaking involving card reissuance and programme migration, so the initial choice carries lasting lock-in.
Prisma
- Prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage
- Starter at $10 a month includes 1M operations then charges $0.0080 per 1,000
- Storage overage runs from $2.00 per GB on Starter down to $1.00 per GB on Business, so the unit cost depends on the plan
- Accelerate charges separately per operation and per GiB of query egress beyond the first 1 KiB
- Cache tag invalidations are not included below the Pro plan and are billed per thousand above it
Pricing, plan by plan
Lithic
On request- Lithic$undefined/year
- Volume and interchange-based pricing, not published
- Separate Processor Client and Program Management pricing tracks
- Custom quote required via sales
Prisma
Free- FreeFree
- 1M requests/month
- 360 GB-hours memory
- 4 vCPU-hours
- Starter$10/month
- 5M requests/month
- 1M database operations ($8 per million overage)
- 10 GB storage ($2/GB overage)
- Pro$49/month
- 20M requests/month
- 10M operations ($2 per million overage)
- 50 GB storage ($1.50/GB overage)
- Business$129/month
- 100M requests/month
- 50M operations ($1 per million overage)
- 100 GB storage
Which should you pick?
Choose Lithic if
- You need direct network connections.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want processor client mode.
Choose Prisma if
- You need orm.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Node.js, TypeScript.
- You also want query builder.
Questions people ask
- Is Lithic or Prisma better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lithic starts at On request and Prisma at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lithic or Prisma?
- Prisma has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Lithic and Free for Prisma.
- Does Lithic or Prisma run on more platforms?
- Lithic runs on Web, API. Prisma runs on Node.js, TypeScript.
- Can I use Prisma for free?
- Yes. Prisma has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lithic starts at On request.
- What is Lithic best used for?
- Lithic is most often used for a fintech wanting direct visa or mastercard network access rather than routing through a third-party processor, a company that already holds its own issuing licence and wants api access without full programme management, a neobank or expense platform wanting lithic to manage bank and network relationships end to end, a product team prototyping a card programme in sandbox before committing to a launch. Of those, a fintech wanting direct visa or mastercard network access rather than routing through a third-party processor and a company that already holds its own issuing licence and wants api access without full programme management are not what Prisma is typically brought in for.
- What can Lithic do that Prisma cannot?
- Lithic covers Direct network connections, Processor Client mode, Lithic Program Management, Card lifecycle APIs. Prisma covers ORM, Query builder, Auto-migrations, Node.js.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Lithic: Does Lithic publish pricing?
No, pricing is volume-based and requires a sales conversation.
Prisma: How much does Prisma cost?
Prisma is free to start with 1M requests/month. The Starter plan costs $10/month with 5M requests, the Pro plan $49/month with 20M requests, and the Business plan $129/month with 100M requests. All plans have usage-based overages.
SourceLithic: What is the difference between Processor Client and Program Management?
Processor Client suits companies with their own issuing licence and bank relationships; Program Management is for companies wanting Lithic to coordinate those relationships on their behalf.
Prisma: What is Prisma's overage pricing?
Prisma charges $1 per million requests over the included amount (Starter), $2 per million database operations overage (Pro and Starter), and $1.50-$2 per GB for storage overages depending on the plan. All plans include a hard spend limit on by default.
SourceLithic: Which networks does it connect to?
Visa, Mastercard and American Express directly.
Prisma: Does Prisma include data transfer costs?
No, Prisma includes unlimited data transfer with no egress fees on all plans. Prisma ORM remains free across all tiers.
SourceRelated pages
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