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APIs · head to head

Basis Theory vs Enable Banking

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
Enable Banking logo

Enable Banking

APIs

European bank API aggregation with a free restricted production tier for your own accounts

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Enable Banking 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.; Enable Banking production pricing is quoted per connected account and call volume with no published rate card, so a free proof of concept gives you no idea of cost at scale.
  • They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Enable Banking covers European bank coverage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Enable Banking actually diverge.

Attributes where Basis Theory and Enable Banking differ
AttributeBasis TheoryEnable Banking
Starting price$995/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by token volumePer connected account per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, LinuxWeb, REST API

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 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 Enable Banking

  • European bank coverage
  • Free sandbox
  • Restricted production
  • TPP infrastructure as a service
  • Consent handling
  • Payment initiation

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

Enable Banking

  • A small fintech that needs to operate as an agent rather than wait a year for its own AISP authorisationnot Basis Theory
  • An accounting software vendor pulling bank transactions across several European countriesnot Basis Theory
  • A treasury tool building and testing a real integration before committing to a contractnot Basis Theory
  • A lender verifying applicant income from bank data across the Nordics and the EUnot 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.

Enable Banking

  • Production pricing is quoted per connected account and call volume with no published rate card, so a free proof of concept gives you no idea of cost at scale.
  • Coverage is European, which rules it out as a single supplier for anyone needing UK plus North American bank data as well.
  • Operating as an agent under the Enable Banking licence means your regulatory permission depends on another company remaining authorised and willing to sponsor you.
  • Bank API quality varies widely across Europe, and outages or degraded endpoints at individual institutions surface as failures in your own product.
  • It is a small Finnish company selling into regulated financial services, so enterprise procurement and vendor resilience reviews are a recurring obstacle.

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

Enable Banking

Free
  • Sandbox and restricted productionFree
    • Mock and real bank sandbox access
    • Production access limited to accounts you link yourself
    • Full API surface for development and certification
  • Production$undefined/year
    • Quoted by connected accounts per month and call volume
    • Priced by number of institutions and markets in scope
    • Different rates under your own licence or as an agent

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 Enable Banking if

  • You need european bank coverage.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want free sandbox.
Enable Banking review

Questions people ask

Is Basis Theory or Enable Banking better?
Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Enable Banking at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Enable Banking?
Enable Banking has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $995/month for Basis Theory and Free for Enable Banking.
Does Basis Theory or Enable Banking run on more platforms?
Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Enable Banking runs on Web, REST API.
Can I use Enable Banking for free?
Yes. Enable Banking 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 Enable Banking is typically brought in for.
What can Basis Theory do that Enable Banking cannot?
Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Enable Banking covers European bank coverage, Free sandbox, Restricted production, TPP infrastructure as a service.

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.

Enable Banking: Is there really a free tier?

Yes, sandbox plus restricted production against accounts you link yourself. Commercial third-party access is quoted separately.

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.

Enable Banking: Do I need my own AISP licence?

No. Enable Banking offers third-party provider infrastructure as a service so you can operate as an agent under its authorisation.

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.

Enable Banking: How is production priced?

By connected accounts per month and call volume, adjusted for markets in scope and whether you use your own licence.

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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