APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Sensedia
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
- -
Sensedia
APIs
Full lifecycle API management and integration platform
- From
- $1000/monthly
- 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.; Sensedia specific pricing is not disclosed; enterprise custom pricing model requires direct contact with Sensedia.
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Sensedia covers API Gateway.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Sensedia actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Sensedia |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | $1000/monthly |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | subscription |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid |
| Founded | Unknown | 2007 |
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 Sensedia
- API Gateway
- Integration Platform
- Real-time Analytics
- SAP
- Salesforce
- AWS
- Azure
- Cloud 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 Sensedia
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Sensedia
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Sensedia
- 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 Sensedia
Sensedia
- 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.
Sensedia
- Specific pricing is not disclosed; enterprise custom pricing model requires direct contact with Sensedia.
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
Sensedia
$1000/monthly- Starter$1000/monthly
- API Gateway
- Basic monitoring
- Standard support
- Professional$3000/monthly
- Advanced analytics
- Integration flows
- Priority support
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- Open banking modules
- Dedicated 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.
Choose Sensedia if
- You need api gateway.
- You work on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
- You also want integration platform.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Sensedia better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Sensedia at $1000/monthly, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Sensedia?
- Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Sensedia at $1000/monthly.
- Does Basis Theory or Sensedia run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Sensedia runs on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
- 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 Sensedia is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Sensedia cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Sensedia covers API Gateway, Integration Platform, Real-time Analytics, SAP.
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.
Sensedia: How much does Sensedia cost?
Sensedia does not publish pricing on their website. The company offers custom pricing and supports 3 levels of support tailored to different business needs and complexity. Customers must contact Sensedia directly or schedule a demo to receive pricing.
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.
Sensedia: Does Sensedia offer a free trial?
Sensedia offers a free trial for API Management. Interested customers can request a trial through the Contact us or free trial links on their website.
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.
Sensedia: What support levels does Sensedia provide?
Sensedia offers 3 levels of support tailored to business needs and complexity. Specific features and pricing for each support tier are available by contacting Sensedia directly.
SourceBasis 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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- Sensedia vs Stoplight
- Sensedia vs Sanity
- Sensedia vs Hasura
- Sensedia vs PocketBase
- Sensedia vs Appwrite
- Sensedia vs Boomi API Management
- Sensedia vs Ozone API
- Sensedia vs Akana
- Sensedia vs Apigee
- Sensedia vs MuleSoft Anypoint
- Sensedia vs TIBCO Mashery
- Sensedia vs Yodlee
- Sensedia vs i2c
- Sensedia vs KeystoneJS
- Sensedia vs Kong
- Sensedia vs Liveblocks
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