APIs · head to head
Prisma vs Swan
Swan
APIs
European banking-as-a-service platform for embedding accounts, cards and payments into other products
- 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; Swan its regulatory base and strongest local account coverage are French and European, so companies needing US, UK-post-Brexit-specific, or broader global banking-as-a-service need an additional provider.
- They diverge on capability: Prisma covers ORM, Swan covers Embedded business accounts.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Prisma and Swan 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 Swan
- Embedded business accounts
- Card issuing
- SEPA payments
- Local account localisation
- ACPR regulation
- Usage-based pricing
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 Swan
- Adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing databasenot Swan
Swan
- A vertical SaaS platform wanting to embed business bank accounts under its own brandnot Prisma
- A marketplace wanting to issue cards to sellers or partners without becoming a licensed banknot Prisma
- A company wanting SEPA payment initiation embedded directly into its own productnot Prisma
- A European fintech wanting to avoid a six-figure setup fee and long lock-in typical of legacy banking-as-a-service dealsnot 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
Swan
- Its regulatory base and strongest local account coverage are French and European, so companies needing US, UK-post-Brexit-specific, or broader global banking-as-a-service need an additional provider.
- Pricing is described only philosophically (usage-based, no big setup fee) rather than published as an actual rate card, so a company still needs a sales conversation to get real numbers.
- Embedding banking features into a product is a substantial compliance and design undertaking regardless of the vendor, and Swan handling the licence does not remove a platform's own KYC, AML and customer support obligations for the accounts it offers.
- As a comparatively young, single-country-licensed e-money institution, its balance sheet and regulatory standing carry more concentration risk than a banking-as-a-service offering backed by an established, multi-jurisdiction bank.
- Local account depth is explicitly limited to France, Germany and Spain, so a platform needing native local accounts in other European countries may find coverage thinner than expected.
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 ($1 per million overage)
- 100 GB storage
Swan
On request- Swan$undefined/month
- Usage-based pricing, no published rate card
- No long-term contract or large setup fee required
- Custom quote based on current, not forecast, usage
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.
Choose Swan if
- You need embedded business accounts.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want card issuing.
Questions people ask
- Is Prisma or Swan better?
- Neither clearly leads. Prisma starts at Free and Swan at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Prisma or Swan?
- Prisma has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Prisma and On request for Swan.
- Does Prisma or Swan run on more platforms?
- Prisma runs on Node.js, TypeScript. Swan runs on Web, API.
- Can I use Prisma for free?
- Yes. Prisma has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Swan 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 Swan is typically brought in for.
- What can Prisma do that Swan cannot?
- Prisma covers ORM, Query builder, Auto-migrations, Node.js. Swan covers Embedded business accounts, Card issuing, SEPA payments, Local account localisation.
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.
SourceSwan: Which countries does Swan offer local accounts in?
France, Germany and Spain specifically, alongside broader SEPA payment coverage.
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.
SourceSwan: Is pricing published?
No, Swan describes a usage-based, no-large-setup-fee philosophy but requires a quote for actual numbers.
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.
SourceSwan: Who regulates Swan?
France's ACPR (Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution), as a licensed e-money institution.
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