APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Brite Payments
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
- -
Brite Payments
APIs
Instant account to account payments and payouts across Europe
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- 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.; Brite Payments because Brite fronts settlement it underwrites the merchant, so higher risk sectors face volume caps, reserves or delayed settlement that undo the instant advantage they bought it for.
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Brite Payments covers Instant pay ins.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Brite Payments actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Brite Payments |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | On request |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | quote |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | Web, API |
Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 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 Brite Payments
- Instant pay ins
- Instant payouts
- Proprietary settlement network
- European bank coverage
- Recurring and one click
- Risk and verification
- Merchant reporting
- Hosted checkout
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 Brite Payments
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Brite Payments
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Brite Payments
- 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 Brite Payments
Brite Payments
- A gambling operator that needs deposits confirmed instantly and withdrawals paid out in seconds to retain playersnot Basis Theory
- A trading platform funding customer accounts without card chargeback exposurenot Basis Theory
- A marketplace paying sellers on demand rather than in weekly batchesnot Basis Theory
- A Nordic retailer replacing card acceptance on high value baskets to cut interchange costnot 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.
Brite Payments
- Because Brite fronts settlement it underwrites the merchant, so higher risk sectors face volume caps, reserves or delayed settlement that undo the instant advantage they bought it for.
- There is no chargeback scheme, so refunds, disputes and fraud recovery are processes the merchant has to build and staff itself.
- Coverage and instant capability differ markedly by country, with the Nordics far stronger than southern and eastern Europe, so a pan European rollout gives inconsistent customer experience.
- Conversion depends on each bank's authentication journey, and the merchant cannot fix a slow or unreliable bank redirect that is costing it sales.
- A large share of Brite's volume comes from gambling and trading, which concentrates regulatory exposure: a change in gambling payment rules in a key market would affect the provider as well as the merchant.
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$undefined/month
- Quoted
- Additional compliance options for PII and PHI
- Responses for 95 percent of PCI SAQ D
Brite Payments
On request- Brite instant payments$undefined/year
- Quoted per merchant, typically per transaction
- Pay ins and payouts priced separately
- Merchant underwriting may impose volume limits, reserves or delayed settlement
Which should you pick?
Choose Basis Theory if
- You need tokenisation api.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
- You also want hosted elements.
Choose Brite Payments if
- You need instant pay ins.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want instant payouts.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Brite Payments better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Brite Payments at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Brite Payments?
- Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Brite Payments at On request.
- Does Basis Theory or Brite Payments run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Brite Payments runs on Web, API.
- 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 Brite Payments is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Brite Payments cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Brite Payments covers Instant pay ins, Instant payouts, Proprietary settlement network, European bank coverage.
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.
Brite Payments: How is Brite different from a standard open banking initiator?
It settles on its own network, so the merchant sees funds as final in seconds rather than waiting for the bank transfer to clear.
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.
Brite Payments: Are payouts really instant?
In markets with mature instant payment schemes, yes. Elsewhere the speed depends on local rails, so check country by country.
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.
Brite Payments: What about disputes?
There is no chargeback framework on account to account payments. Refunds and disputes are entirely your own process.
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
More on Brite Payments
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