APIs · head to head
Prisma vs Sila
Sila
APIs
US money movement API for ACH, RTP and FedNow with KYC and ledgering built in
- 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: Prisma prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage; Sila no pricing is published, so you cannot compare Sila against Moov or Dwolla without entering two sales processes, and small programmes frequently find the monthly minimum dominates their cost at low volume.
- They diverge on capability: Prisma covers ORM, Sila covers ACH origination.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Prisma and Sila 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 Prisma
- ORM
- Query builder
- Auto-migrations
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- GraphQL
- REST APIs
- Node.js support
Only in Sila
- ACH origination
- Instant rails
- KYC and KYB
- Virtual accounts
- Ledger
- Wallets and holds
- Webhooks
- Bank-side deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Prisma
- Using a type safe ORM and query layer against a Postgres databasenot Sila
- Adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing databasenot Sila
Sila
- A small fintech that needs ACH, identity verification and a ledger from one vendor because it has no compliance team to assemble threenot Prisma
- A marketplace paying out to sellers that wants same-day ACH and instant push options without becoming a money transmitter itselfnot Prisma
- A community bank replacing batch file ACH processing with an API so it can offer real-time payments to business customersnot Prisma
- A lending platform that must verify business identity, disburse funds and collect repayments on a schedule from a single integrationnot Prisma
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Sila
- No pricing is published, so you cannot compare Sila against Moov or Dwolla without entering two sales processes, and small programmes frequently find the monthly minimum dominates their cost at low volume.
- Sila is materially smaller and less well capitalised than the banking-as-a-service names it competes with, which matters because your customer funds and your payment rails depend on the vendor still trading in three years.
- The sponsor bank behind your programme determines what you can offer and how fast you can change it, and bank partnerships in this sector have been reshuffled repeatedly since 2023, so a bank change during your contract is a realistic risk rather than a theoretical one.
- Coverage is United States only, so any product with cross-border ambitions needs a second payments vendor and a second reconciliation process from the outset.
- Onboarding involves compliance diligence on your own programme, and teams routinely underestimate this, with weeks lost between signing and first live transaction while policies, flow of funds diagrams and BSA arrangements are reviewed.
Pricing, plan by plan
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 ($1 per million overage)
- 100 GB storage
Sila
On request- Sila Payments Platform$undefined/month
- ACH, RTP and FedNow
- KYC and KYB verification
- Virtual accounts and ledger
Which should you pick?
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 Prisma or Sila better?
- Neither clearly leads. Prisma starts at Free and Sila at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Prisma or Sila?
- Prisma has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Prisma and On request for Sila.
- Does Prisma or Sila run on more platforms?
- Prisma runs on Node.js, TypeScript. Sila runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Prisma for free?
- Yes. Prisma has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sila starts at On request.
- What is Prisma best used for?
- Prisma is most often used for using a type safe orm and query layer against a postgres database, adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing database. Of those, using a type safe orm and query layer against a postgres database and adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing database are not what Sila is typically brought in for.
- What can Prisma do that Sila cannot?
- Prisma covers ORM, Query builder, Auto-migrations, Node.js. Sila covers ACH origination, Instant rails, KYC and KYB, Virtual accounts.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
SourceSila: Does Sila require a sponsor bank?
Yes. Funds sit at a partner bank, and which bank that is affects your product features and your regulatory exposure, so ask before signing.
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.
SourceSila: Is Sila still operating?
Yes. It continues to trade and announced an API integration with GBank in 2025 covering ACH, RTP and FedNow.
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.
SourceSila: What does it cost?
Sila does not publish rates. Expect per-transaction pricing plus a monthly minimum, quoted after a compliance conversation.
Sila: Can I use it outside the United States?
No. Sila covers US rails only.
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