APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Moesif
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
- -
Moesif
APIs
API analytics and monitoring platform for tracking API usage and customers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Moesif 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.; Moesif free tier is aimed at hobbyists and small projects, limiting scale before paid usage-based pricing applies.
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Moesif covers API traffic monitoring.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Moesif actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Moesif |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | Free |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | usage-based |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | web, 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 Moesif
- API traffic monitoring
- Customer-level analytics
- Error tracking
- Usage-based billing support
- Alerting
- SDK and integration library
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 Moesif
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Moesif
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Moesif
- 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 Moesif
Moesif
- Monitoring API traffic and errors in productionnot Basis Theory
- Understanding customer-level API usage patternsnot Basis Theory
- Powering usage-based billing and monetizationnot Basis Theory
- Alerting on anomalous API behaviornot 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.
Moesif
- Free tier is aimed at hobbyists and small projects, limiting scale before paid usage-based pricing applies.
- Usage-based pricing on the Growth tier can make costs less predictable at high event volumes.
- Requires instrumenting APIs with SDKs, adding setup overhead compared to zero-config tools.
- Focused specifically on API analytics rather than full API gateway or design functionality.
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$undefined/month
- Quoted
- Additional compliance options for PII and PHI
- Responses for 95 percent of PCI SAQ D
Moesif
Free- FreeFree
- For hobbyists and small projects
- Core API analytics features
- Growth$undefined/month
- Usage-based pricing by event volume
- Full analytics and monitoring feature set
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 Moesif if
- You need api traffic monitoring.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want customer-level analytics.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Moesif better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Moesif at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Moesif?
- Moesif has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $995/month for Basis Theory and Free for Moesif.
- Does Basis Theory or Moesif run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Moesif runs on web, api.
- Can I use Moesif for free?
- Yes. Moesif 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 Moesif is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Moesif cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Moesif covers API traffic monitoring, Customer-level analytics, Error tracking, Usage-based billing support.
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.
Moesif: Is there a free plan for Moesif?
Moesif offers a free tier aimed at hobbyists and small projects; after a 14-day trial with full Growth-tier features and 10,000,000 events, accounts move to the free plan.
SourceBasis 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.
Moesif: How is usage metered?
Moesif's Growth tier is priced based on the volume of API events processed, supporting usage-based billing use cases for API providers.
SourceBasis 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.
Moesif: Can I try Moesif's paid features first?
New accounts get a 14-day trial with full access to Growth-plan features and a large event allowance before being converted to the free plan if not upgraded.
SourceBasis 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
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