Plaid

What Plaid is

Plaid helps people connect financial accounts to apps and services they choose, then manage those connections. Its financial products cover payments, fraud and risk, financial management, and onboarding. Plaid Link connects users to more than 12,000 financial institutions. Transactions provides up to 24 months of categorized transaction data, and Plaid Transfer processes bank payments through ACH, RTP, and FedNow. Supported data includes account and routing numbers, balances, identity, transactions, investments, liabilities, income, and statements. Account connections can use credentials, OAuth, app-to-app OAuth, or manual and micro-deposit flows, with refreshes available on demand; statements are in PDF format. Developers can use official API libraries for Node, Python, Ruby, Java, and Go, as well as Link SDKs for web and mobile. Plaid Portal gives people a way to review connected apps, manage permissions, and disconnect accounts. Plaid lists SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, and ISO 27701 certifications. The service supports Android, iOS, web, and API. Pricing is on request and there is no general free plan, though a Trial plan is available to eligible US and Canada teams created on or after April 15, 2026, with up to 10 Production Items and most OAuth institutions. Plaid does not connect every financial institution, and access to an institution may end if its data cannot be reliably accessed.

Who it suits

Plaid describes Pay as You Go as suited to individuals and developers, Growth for small teams and startups, and Custom for businesses looking to scale. It also serves app developers and businesses that need account connections, financial data, or bank payment processing.

Limits

The Trial plan is limited to eligible US and Canada teams created on or after April 15, 2026, and allows up to 10 Production Items. Plaid does not connect every financial institution, and an institution can be removed if its data can no longer be reliably accessed.

Getting started

1. Visit https://plaid.com/
2. Choose a plan based on whether you are an individual or developer, a small team or startup, or a business needing to scale
3. Use the official API libraries or Link SDKs for your development platform
4. Connect accounts using Plaid Link and an available credentials, OAuth, app-to-app OAuth, or manual or micro-deposit flow
5. Use Plaid Portal to review connected apps, manage permissions, or disconnect accounts

Verdict

Choose Plaid if your app or service needs financial account connections, financial data, or bank payment processing across its listed products. Look elsewhere if you require guaranteed access to every financial institution, since Plaid does not connect them all and may remove an institution when its data is no longer reliably accessible.