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APIs · head to head

Basis Theory vs Bill.com

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
Bill.com logo

Bill.com

Accounting

Automate your financial workflows

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Bill.com has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real 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.; Bill.com limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs
  • They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Bill.com covers AP automation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Bill.com actually diverge.

Attributes where Basis Theory and Bill.com differ
AttributeBasis TheoryBill.com
Starting price$995/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by token volumeUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, LinuxWeb
CategoryAPIsAccounting
FoundedUnknown2006

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 Basis Theory

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

Only in Bill.com

  • AP automation
  • AR automation
  • Payment processing
  • Approval workflows
  • Document management
  • Vendor management
  • Cash flow insights
  • Mobile approvals

What people use each for

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

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 Bill.com
  • A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Bill.com
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Bill.com
  • 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 Bill.com

Bill.com

  • Invoice processingnot Basis Theory
  • Bill paymentsnot Basis Theory
  • Vendor paymentsnot Basis Theory
  • Cash flow managementnot Basis Theory
  • Financial automationnot Basis Theory

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Bill.com

  • Limited customization of approval workflows and user permissions for complex business needs
  • Limited international payment capabilities compared to specialists like Tipalti
  • Customer support response times are slow, with agents often lacking product expertise

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Bill.com

Free
  • Essentials$49/month
    • Core AP and AR functionality
    • Manual CSV import/export
  • Team$65/month
    • Automatic 2-way sync with QuickBooks Online, Xero
  • Corporate$89/month
    • Procurement features
    • Custom approval policies
    • Sync with NetSuite, Dynamics

Which should you pick?

Choose Basis Theory if

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

Choose Bill.com if

  • You need ap automation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want ar automation.
Bill.com review

Questions people ask

Is Basis Theory or Bill.com better?
Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Bill.com at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Bill.com?
Bill.com has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $995/month for Basis Theory and Free for Bill.com.
Does Basis Theory or Bill.com run on more platforms?
Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Bill.com runs on Web.
Can I use Bill.com for free?
Yes. Bill.com has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Basis Theory starts at $995/month.
What is Basis Theory best used for?
Basis Theory is most often used for a payments company that wants card on file without bringing its own infrastructure into pci scope and paying for the assessment that follows, a merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirer, a fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security review, a team that needs to send stored card data to a third party for a one-off integration without that data traversing its own servers. Of those, a payments company that wants card on file without bringing its own infrastructure into pci scope and paying for the assessment that follows and a merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirer are not what Bill.com is typically brought in for.
What can Basis Theory do that Bill.com cannot?
Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Bill.com covers AP automation, AR automation, Payment processing, Approval workflows.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Bill.com: What payment methods does Bill.com support?

Bill.com supports ACH transfers, checks, corporate cards, and international transfers. ACH payments cost $0.59 per transaction, checks cost $1.99, and card payments incur a 2.9% fee.

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.

Bill.com: Does Bill.com offer a free tier?

Yes. Bill.com offers a free Spend & Expense plan for access to credit lines from $1,000-$5M with corporate cards, budgets, and expense tracking.

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.

Bill.com: Which accounting systems does Bill.com integrate with?

Bill.com integrates with QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Enterprise, Oracle NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, and Xero, with automatic two-way syncing on most plans.

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.

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