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APIs · head to head

Salt Edge vs Thunder Client

Salt Edge logo

Salt Edge

APIs

Independent open banking aggregator covering Europe by PSD2 API and other markets by direct connection

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thunder Client logo

Thunder Client

APIs

Lightweight REST API client built as VSCode extension

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Thunder Client has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Salt Edge coverage outside regulated open banking markets is not all direct bank API, and connections that are not regulated interfaces break when a bank changes its systems, so a headline country count overstates the reliability you will actually experience.; Thunder Client paid plans are billed annually only: Starter is $3 per user per month and capped at a maximum of 10 seats, Business is $7 per user per month with 500 monthly collection runs per user, and Enterprise is $16 per user per month for unlimited runs
  • They diverge on capability: Salt Edge covers Account information, Thunder Client covers REST Client.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Salt Edge and Thunder Client actually diverge.

Attributes where Salt Edge and Thunder Client differ
AttributeSalt EdgeThunder Client
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIVSCode extension, Web
FoundedUnknown2021

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 Salt Edge

  • Account information
  • Payment initiation
  • Wide country coverage
  • Open Banking Gateway
  • Categorisation and enrichment
  • Consent management
  • Partner and white label
  • Sandbox

Only in Thunder Client

  • REST Client
  • Environment variables
  • Response testing
  • VSCode
  • GitHub
  • Webhook support
  • VSCode extension support
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Salt Edge

  • A lender operating across several European and non-EU markets that needs one aggregation contract rather than a different provider per countrynot Thunder Client
  • A fintech that wants an aggregator not owned by a card network because its use case competes with card productsnot Thunder Client
  • An accounting or treasury product that needs bank feeds in markets the large aggregators do not servenot Thunder Client
  • A bank that must publish PSD2-compliant APIs and would rather buy the compliance layer than build itnot Thunder Client

Thunder Client

  • API Developmentnot Salt Edge
  • API Gatewaynot Salt Edge
  • API Testingnot Salt Edge
  • API Documentationnot Salt Edge
  • Microservicesnot Salt Edge

Where each one falls short

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

Salt Edge

  • Coverage outside regulated open banking markets is not all direct bank API, and connections that are not regulated interfaces break when a bank changes its systems, so a headline country count overstates the reliability you will actually experience.
  • Pricing is not published and is usage-based, so two providers cannot be compared without running both sales processes, and cost grows with the connected user base rather than with revenue.
  • Support and engineering are distributed across Eastern Europe and Canada, and buyers in other time zones report slower turnaround on connection-specific breakages than they get from a domestic provider.
  • PSD2 consent rules require customers to reauthenticate periodically, and Salt Edge cannot change that, so any product depending on continuous data must design for consent expiry and the drop-off it causes.
  • United States coverage is weaker than Plaid or Mastercard Open Banking, so a company with meaningful US volume ends up running two aggregators and normalising between them.

Thunder Client

  • Paid plans are billed annually only: Starter is $3 per user per month and capped at a maximum of 10 seats, Business is $7 per user per month with 500 monthly collection runs per user, and Enterprise is $16 per user per month for unlimited runs

Pricing, plan by plan

Salt Edge

On request
  • Salt Edge Open Banking API$undefined/year
    • Account information and payment initiation
    • Coverage across 50 plus countries
    • Consent management and enrichment

Thunder Client

Free
  • FreeFree
    • REST client
    • Collection management
    • Local testing
  • Pro$8/monthly
    • Cloud sync
    • Team collaboration
    • Advanced features

Which should you pick?

Choose Salt Edge if

  • You need account information.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want payment initiation.
Salt Edge review

Choose Thunder Client if

  • You need rest client.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on VSCode extension, Web.
  • You also want environment variables.
Thunder Client review

Questions people ask

Is Salt Edge or Thunder Client better?
Neither clearly leads. Salt Edge starts at On request and Thunder Client at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Salt Edge or Thunder Client?
Thunder Client has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Salt Edge and Free for Thunder Client.
Does Salt Edge or Thunder Client run on more platforms?
Salt Edge runs on Web, API. Thunder Client runs on VSCode extension, Web.
Can I use Thunder Client for free?
Yes. Thunder Client has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Salt Edge starts at On request.
What is Salt Edge best used for?
Salt Edge is most often used for a lender operating across several european and non-eu markets that needs one aggregation contract rather than a different provider per country, a fintech that wants an aggregator not owned by a card network because its use case competes with card products, an accounting or treasury product that needs bank feeds in markets the large aggregators do not serve, a bank that must publish psd2-compliant apis and would rather buy the compliance layer than build it. Of those, a lender operating across several european and non-eu markets that needs one aggregation contract rather than a different provider per country and a fintech that wants an aggregator not owned by a card network because its use case competes with card products are not what Thunder Client is typically brought in for.
What can Salt Edge do that Thunder Client cannot?
Salt Edge covers Account information, Payment initiation, Wide country coverage, Open Banking Gateway. Thunder Client covers REST Client, Environment variables, Response testing, VSCode.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Salt Edge: Who owns Salt Edge?

It is independently owned, unlike Tink (Visa), Finicity (Mastercard) or Yodlee (Envestnet), which matters if your use case competes with the owner.

Thunder Client: How much does Thunder Client cost?

Thunder Client publishes a free plan at no cost, then Starter at $3, Business at $7 and Enterprise at $16, all priced annually.

Source
Salt Edge: Is all coverage direct bank API?

No. Inside PSD2 markets connections use regulated APIs; elsewhere coverage relies on direct connections whose reliability depends on the bank not changing its systems. Ask for a per-institution answer.

Thunder Client: Is Thunder Client free?

Yes, there is a free plan. It is used through the Thunder Client extension for VS Code, available from the marketplace, with limits applied compared with the paid tiers.

Source
Salt Edge: Does it do payments as well as data?

Yes, payment initiation is supported in European markets where PSD2 applies.

Salt Edge: What does it cost?

Not published. Pricing is usage-based and quoted, though the sandbox is free.

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