APIs · head to head
Apidog vs Basis Theory
Apidog
APIs
All-in-one platform for API design, documentation, testing, and mocking
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
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
- -
The short version
- Only Apidog has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Apidog free plan is capped at 4 users, limiting larger teams from using it at no cost.; 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: Apidog covers API design and documentation, Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Apidog and Basis Theory actually diverge.
| Attribute | Apidog | Basis Theory |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $995/month |
| Pricing model | freemium | Per month by token volume |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | web, windows, mac, linux | Web, iOS, Android, Linux |
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 Apidog
- API design and documentation
- Mock servers
- Automated testing
- Team collaboration
- Scheduled imports
- Branded documentation
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.
Apidog
- Designing and documenting APIs in a shared team workspacenot Basis Theory
- Mocking API responses for frontend development before backend is readynot Basis Theory
- Running automated API test suitesnot Basis Theory
- Replacing separate Postman, Swagger, and mock-server tools with one platformnot 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 Apidog
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Apidog
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Apidog
- 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 Apidog
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Apidog
- Free plan is capped at 4 users, limiting larger teams from using it at no cost.
- Faster scheduled imports and unlimited projects require the Professional tier or higher.
- Smaller community and plugin ecosystem compared to long-established tools like Postman.
- Advanced enterprise security controls require the top-tier Enterprise plan.
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
Apidog
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 4 users
- Core design, mock, and testing features
- Basic$9/month
- Per-seat pricing billed annually
- Expanded team collaboration
- Professional$18/month
- Unlimited projects
- Team-level shared variables
- Faster scheduled imports
- Enterprise$27/month
- Advanced admin and security controls
- Priority support
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 Apidog if
- You need api design and documentation.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, windows, mac, linux.
- You also want mock servers.
Choose Basis Theory if
- You need tokenisation api.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
- You also want hosted elements.
Questions people ask
- Is Apidog or Basis Theory better?
- Neither clearly leads. Apidog 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, Apidog or Basis Theory?
- Apidog has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Apidog and $995/month for Basis Theory.
- Does Apidog or Basis Theory run on more platforms?
- Apidog runs on web, windows, mac, linux. Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
- Can I use Apidog for free?
- Yes. Apidog has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Basis Theory starts at $995/month.
- What is Apidog best used for?
- Apidog is most often used for designing and documenting apis in a shared team workspace, mocking api responses for frontend development before backend is ready, running automated api test suites, replacing separate postman, swagger, and mock-server tools with one platform. Of those, designing and documenting apis in a shared team workspace and mocking api responses for frontend development before backend is ready are not what Basis Theory is typically brought in for.
- What can Apidog do that Basis Theory cannot?
- Apidog covers API design and documentation, Mock servers, Automated testing, Team collaboration. Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Apidog: What does Apidog cost?
Apidog offers a free plan for up to 4 users, with paid per-seat plans at roughly $9/month for Basic, $18/month for Professional, and $27/month for Enterprise when billed annually.
SourceBasis 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.
Apidog: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
The free plan supports up to 4 users with access to core design, documentation, mocking, and testing features.
SourceBasis 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.
Apidog: Can I try paid plans before subscribing?
Paid plans include a 14-day free trial, giving teams full access to premium features before committing to a subscription.
SourceBasis 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.
Basis Theory: Is data stored outside the United States?
Not on Starter, which is US only. Other regions require a Scale or Enterprise agreement.
Related pages
More on Basis Theory
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- Basis Theory vs GraphQL Playground
- Basis Theory vs Swagger/OpenAPI
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- Basis Theory vs Swan
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- Basis Theory vs Sila
- Basis Theory vs Backbase
- Basis Theory vs Enfuce
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