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APIs · head to head

Basis Theory vs GraphQL Playground

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
GraphQL Playground logo

GraphQL Playground

APIs

GraphQL IDE and documentation tool for building GraphQL APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only GraphQL Playground 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.; GraphQL Playground apollo's own documentation states GraphQL Playground is officially retired and no longer recommended, directing users to Apollo Sandbox instead
  • They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, GraphQL Playground covers Query building.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and GraphQL Playground actually diverge.

Attributes where Basis Theory and GraphQL Playground differ
AttributeBasis TheoryGraphQL Playground
Starting price$995/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month by token volumeopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, LinuxWeb, Electron, Self-hosted
FoundedUnknown2018

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 GraphQL Playground

  • Query building
  • Schema introspection
  • Real-time testing
  • GraphQL servers
  • Apollo Studio
  • Custom servers
  • Web support
  • Electron support

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

GraphQL Playground

  • API Developmentnot Basis Theory
  • API Gatewaynot Basis Theory
  • API Testingnot Basis Theory
  • API Documentationnot Basis Theory
  • Microservicesnot 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.

GraphQL Playground

  • Apollo's own documentation states GraphQL Playground is officially retired and no longer recommended, directing users to Apollo Sandbox instead

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

GraphQL Playground

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full GraphQL IDE
    • Community support

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 GraphQL Playground if

  • You need query building.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Electron, Self-hosted.
  • You also want schema introspection.
GraphQL Playground review

Questions people ask

Is Basis Theory or GraphQL Playground better?
Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and GraphQL Playground at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or GraphQL Playground?
GraphQL Playground has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $995/month for Basis Theory and Free for GraphQL Playground.
Does Basis Theory or GraphQL Playground run on more platforms?
Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. GraphQL Playground runs on Web, Electron, Self-hosted.
Can I use GraphQL Playground for free?
Yes. GraphQL Playground 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 GraphQL Playground is typically brought in for.
What can Basis Theory do that GraphQL Playground cannot?
Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. GraphQL Playground covers Query building, Schema introspection, Real-time testing, GraphQL servers.

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.

GraphQL Playground: Is GraphQL Playground free to use?

GraphQL Playground is a testing tool for Apollo Server and is free to use as part of the Apollo Server documentation. However, the broader Apollo GraphQL platform has various paid tiers available for production use.

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.

GraphQL Playground: Is GraphQL Playground part of a paid product?

GraphQL Playground is a testing tool within the Apollo ecosystem. While Playground itself is free, Apollo offers paid tiers starting at $5 per million requests for the Developer tier, with Standard and Enterprise plans available at custom pricing.

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.

GraphQL Playground: What is the cost structure for Apollo GraphQL's paid plans?

Apollo uses volume-based tiered pricing for requests: first 250M operations cost $5.00 per million plus $2.00 for performance add-on; next 750M operations are $4.25 per million plus $1.50 add-on; additional tiers scale down to $3.00 per million plus $0.50 add-on for operations over 5 billion.

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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