APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Codat
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
- -
Codat
APIs
One API for small business accounting, banking and commerce data
- 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.; Codat the accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Codat covers Normalised accounting API.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Codat actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Codat |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | On request |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | quote |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | API, Web |
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 Codat
- Normalised accounting API
- Banking and commerce data
- Lending products
- Write-back
- Business verification
- Supplier onboarding
- Connection management
- Data quality handling
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 Codat
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Codat
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Codat
- 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 Codat
Codat
- A business lender that wants live ledger data for underwriting rather than a borrower emailing exported PDF accountsnot Basis Theory
- A commercial bank monitoring covenant compliance across a portfolio of small business borrowers continuously rather than quarterlynot Basis Theory
- A payment company verifying a merchant trading history before extending working capitalnot Basis Theory
- A B2B platform writing bills and payments back into a customer accounting system so reconciliation happens automaticallynot 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.
Codat
- The accounting platforms are metering developer access themselves, with Xero introducing tiered connection based developer pricing from 2 March 2026, so a cost you do not control has been inserted between you and the data and it scales with the number of customers you connect.
- Pricing is opaque and enterprise shaped for a product developers expect to evaluate technically first, so build decisions get made before anyone knows the unit economics.
- Normalisation hides but does not remove the underlying differences between accounting systems, and edge cases in multi-currency, journals and tax handling surface as data quality problems that your team must reason about in each source system anyway.
- Data quality depends on the small business keeping its books properly, so a lender using ledger data for underwriting inherits the bookkeeping standard of its worst borrower and needs its own validation layer regardless.
- Connection breakage from expired tokens and platform API changes is an ongoing operational load, and a borrower whose connection lapses stops being monitored silently, which is the failure mode that matters most in a lending portfolio.
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$undefined/month
- Quoted
- Additional compliance options for PII and PHI
- Responses for 95 percent of PCI SAQ D
Codat
On request- Codat Platform$undefined/year
- Priced by connected companies, data types and products
- Lending and verification products priced above core data access
- Annual enterprise agreements
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 Codat if
- You need normalised accounting api.
- You work on API, Web.
- You also want banking and commerce data.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Codat better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Codat at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Codat?
- Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Codat at On request.
- Does Basis Theory or Codat run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Codat runs on API, Web.
- 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 Codat is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Codat cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Codat covers Normalised accounting API, Banking and commerce data, Lending products, Write-back.
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.
Codat: What is changing with Xero in 2026?
Xero is introducing a tiered, usage based developer pricing model effective 2 March 2026, with tiers based on the number of customer connections an app holds. That is a new cost in the chain for anyone reading Xero data at scale, whether directly or through Codat.
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.
Codat: Can Codat write data back?
Yes. It supports pushing bills, payments and journal entries into accounting systems, not only reading from them.
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.
Codat: Is pricing published?
No. It is quoted by connected companies, data types and products, and users consistently describe it as opaque.
Basis Theory: Is data stored outside the United States?
Not on Starter, which is US only. Other regions require a Scale or Enterprise agreement.
Codat: Does it replace bank data aggregation?
Not entirely. It covers banking alongside accounting and commerce, but lenders commonly run it beside a bank aggregator for transaction level cash flow.
Related pages
More on Basis Theory
Other head to heads
- Basis Theory vs Skyflow
- Basis Theory vs Increase
- Basis Theory vs Lithic
- Basis Theory vs Volt
- Basis Theory vs Swan
- Basis Theory vs Moov
- Basis Theory vs Trustly
- Basis Theory vs Vodeno
- Basis Theory vs TrueLayer
- Basis Theory vs Paymentology
- Basis Theory vs Akoya
- Basis Theory vs Sila
- Basis Theory vs Backbase
- Basis Theory vs Enfuce
- Basis Theory vs Griffin
- Basis Theory vs Stoplight
- Basis Theory vs Rutter
- Basis Theory vs Fintech Farm
- Basis Theory vs Treasury Prime
- Basis Theory vs Synctera
- Basis Theory vs Solaris
- Basis Theory vs Column
- Basis Theory vs Unit
- Basis Theory vs Bruno
- Basis Theory vs Bud Financial
- Basis Theory vs Episode Six
- Basis Theory vs Kong Gateway
- Basis Theory vs Marqeta
- Basis Theory vs Meniga
- Codat vs Skyflow
- Codat vs Increase
- Codat vs Lithic
- Codat vs Volt
- Codat vs Swan
- Codat vs Moov
- Codat vs Trustly
- Codat vs Vodeno
- Codat vs TrueLayer
- Codat vs Paymentology
- Codat vs Akoya
- Codat vs Sila
- Codat vs Backbase
- Codat vs Enfuce
- Codat vs Griffin
- Codat vs Stoplight
- Codat vs Rutter
- Codat vs Fintech Farm
- Codat vs Treasury Prime
- Codat vs Synctera
- Codat vs Solaris
- Codat vs Column
- Codat vs Unit
- Codat vs Bruno
- Codat vs Bud Financial
- Codat vs Episode Six
- Codat vs Kong Gateway
- Codat vs Marqeta
- Codat vs Meniga