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E-Commerce · head to head

Algolia vs Basis Theory

Algolia logo

Algolia

E-Commerce

The best Search and Discovery Platform for your business

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Basis Theory logo

Basis Theory

APIs

Developer tokenisation platform that holds card and sensitive data inside a PCI Level 1 environment you do not operate

From
$995/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Algolia has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Algolia the free tier allows 10,000 search requests and 50,000 records a month; Basis Theory the Starter plan is 995 US dollars a month before any volume, which is a real floor for an early stage company and puts the product out of reach of teams tokenising a few thousand records.
  • They diverge on capability: Algolia covers Instant search, Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Algolia and Basis Theory actually diverge.

Attributes where Algolia and Basis Theory differ
AttributeAlgoliaBasis Theory
Starting priceFree$995/month
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by token volume
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android, Linux
CategoryE-CommerceAPIs
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Algolia

  • Instant search
  • Typo tolerance
  • Faceted search
  • Geo search
  • AI recommendations
  • Analytics
  • A/B testing
  • Multi-language

Only in Basis Theory

  • Tokenisation API
  • Hosted elements
  • Outbound proxy
  • PCI attestation of compliance
  • Processor portability
  • Reactors
  • Access controls and audit
  • PII and PHI options

What people use each for

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

Algolia

  • Site searchnot Basis Theory
  • Mobile app searchnot Basis Theory
  • Voice searchnot Basis Theory
  • Product discoverynot Basis Theory
  • Federated searchnot Basis Theory

Basis Theory

  • A payments company that wants card on file without bringing its own infrastructure into PCI scope and paying for the assessment that followsnot Algolia
  • A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Algolia
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Algolia
  • A team that needs to send stored card data to a third party for a one-off integration without that data traversing its own serversnot Algolia

Where each one falls short

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

Algolia

  • The free tier allows 10,000 search requests and 50,000 records a month
  • Billing is metered on two axes at once, search requests and indexed records, so a large catalogue with light traffic still costs
  • AI features require Grow Plus, where additional searches cost $1.75 per 1,000 against $0.50 on Grow
  • The Elevate tier requires an annual contract and is quote-only

Basis Theory

  • The Starter plan is 995 US dollars a month before any volume, which is a real floor for an early stage company and puts the product out of reach of teams tokenising a few thousand records.
  • Starter is limited to the US region, so a company with European data residency requirements is pushed into a quoted Scale or Enterprise agreement immediately.
  • Log retention on Starter is 24 hours, which is well below what most security teams expect for a system holding cardholder data and forces an upgrade for reasons unrelated to volume.
  • Migrating away means moving card data out of the vault, which requires processor and assessor involvement and is slow, so the portability argument that attracts buyers cuts against them at exit.
  • An attestation of compliance covers the vendor environment, not your assessment; your assessor still decides what is in scope, and buyers occasionally discover their integration pattern pulled systems back into scope anyway.

Pricing, plan by plan

Algolia

Free
  • BuildFree
    • Free tier
  • Grow$0.5/month minimum
    • 10k searches and 100k records included
    • Usage-based overage pricing
  • Grow Plus$undefined/mo
    • AI features
    • 10k searches per month
    • $1.75 per 1k search overages
  • Elevate$50000/year
    • Enterprise tier
    • Annual commitment

Basis Theory

$995/month
  • Starter$995/month
    • 20,000 tokens included
    • Production PCI Level 1 environment
    • US region only
  • Scale$undefined/month
    • Quoted
    • Higher token volumes
    • Additional regions
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Quoted
    • Additional compliance options for PII and PHI
    • Responses for 95 percent of PCI SAQ D

Which should you pick?

Choose Algolia if

  • You need instant search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want typo tolerance.
Algolia review

Choose Basis Theory if

  • You need tokenisation api.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want hosted elements.
Basis Theory review

Questions people ask

Is Algolia or Basis Theory better?
Neither clearly leads. Algolia starts at Free and Basis Theory at $995/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Algolia or Basis Theory?
Algolia has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Algolia and $995/month for Basis Theory.
Does Algolia or Basis Theory run on more platforms?
Algolia runs on Web. Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
Can I use Algolia for free?
Yes. Algolia has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Basis Theory starts at $995/month.
What is Algolia best used for?
Algolia is most often used for site search, mobile app search, voice search, product discovery. Of those, site search and mobile app search are not what Basis Theory is typically brought in for.
What can Algolia do that Basis Theory cannot?
Algolia covers Instant search, Typo tolerance, Faceted search, Geo search. Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Algolia: What are Algolia's pricing tiers?

Algolia offers a free Build plan, Grow starts at $0.50/month with usage-based pricing, Grow Plus adds AI features at higher cost, and Enterprise (Elevate) requires annual commitments starting around $50k/year.

Source
Basis Theory: Does this make us PCI compliant?

It removes cardholder data from your systems and gives you an AOC plus documented responses for most of a SAQ D. Your assessor still determines your scope, and a careless integration can pull systems back in.

Algolia: Does Algolia include AI-powered search features?

Yes. Algolia's AI mode enables natural language search queries where customers can type conversational questions and AI recognizes intent. Premium plans include AI Synonyms, AI Ranking, and Advanced Personalization.

Source
Basis Theory: What does it cost to start?

995 US dollars a month on Starter, including 20,000 tokens, a production PCI Level 1 environment and US hosting. Higher tiers are quoted.

Algolia: What platforms and services integrate with Algolia?

Algolia integrates with Shopify, Contentful, WordPress, Adobe Commerce/Magento, BigCommerce, commercetools, and Salesforce. Direct payment integrations like Stripe are limited.

Source
Basis Theory: Can we switch payment processors without re-collecting cards?

Yes, that is the main non-compliance reason to buy it. You hold the tokens and detokenise into whichever processor you route to.

Algolia: How many customers does Algolia serve?

Algolia serves more than 18,000 customers across 150+ countries, processing over 50 billion monthly search queries.

Source
Basis Theory: Is data stored outside the United States?

Not on Starter, which is US only. Other regions require a Scale or Enterprise agreement.

Algolia: What are Algolia's rate limiting policies?

Algolia has a limit of 10,000 indexing operations per unit. Exceeding limits returns HTTP 429 errors. Backend implementations must handle their own rate limiting as Algolia cannot provide per-user rate limiting.

Source
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