APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Strapi
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
- -
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.; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Strapi covers REST API.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Strapi actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Strapi |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | $35/month |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | subscription |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker |
| Founded | Unknown | 2015 |
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 Strapi
- REST API
- GraphQL API
- Content management
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- MongoDB
- AWS
- Webhooks
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 Strapi
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Strapi
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Strapi
- 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 Strapi
Strapi
- Running a self hosted headless CMS with a REST or GraphQL APInot Basis Theory
- Giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content modelnot 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.
Strapi
- Cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
- Starter at $35 a month allows 100,000 API requests, and overage is $1.50 per 25,000
- Extra bandwidth is $30 per 100 GB and extra asset storage $0.60 per GB
- Backups start at the Pro plan, weekly, and only become daily at Business
- An uptime SLA is Business only, at $450 a month per project
- Additional environments cost $60 a month on Pro and $300 a month on Business
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
Strapi
$35/month- Starter$35/month
- 100k API requests
- 50 GB asset storage
- 50 GB asset bandwidth
- Pro$90/month
- 1M API requests
- 250 GB asset storage
- 500 GB asset bandwidth
- Business$450/month
- 10M API requests
- 1000 GB asset storage
- 1000 GB asset bandwidth
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 Strapi if
- You need rest api.
- You work on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
- You also want graphql api.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Strapi better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Strapi at $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Strapi?
- Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Strapi at $35/month.
- Does Basis Theory or Strapi run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
- 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 Strapi is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Strapi cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL.
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.
Strapi: How much do API request overages cost?
Additional API requests beyond the plan limit cost $1.50 per 25000 requests. Extra asset storage costs $0.60 per GB, and additional bandwidth costs $30 per 100 GB.
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.
Strapi: Is yearly billing available?
Yes, yearly billing saves up to 17% compared to monthly billing on Strapi Cloud plans.
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.
Strapi: What is included with the Pro plan?
The Pro plan costs $90 per month per project and includes 1M API requests, 250 GB asset storage, 500 GB bandwidth, multi-environment support, weekly backups, and manual backups.
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
More on Basis Theory
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- Strapi vs Vodeno
- Strapi vs TrueLayer
- Strapi vs Paymentology
- Strapi vs Akoya
- Strapi vs Sila
- Strapi vs Backbase
- Strapi vs Enfuce
- Strapi vs Griffin
- Strapi vs Stoplight
- Strapi vs PocketBase
- Strapi vs Appwrite
- Strapi vs Hasura
- Strapi vs Sanity
- Strapi vs Directus
- Strapi vs KeystoneJS
- Strapi vs Payload CMS
- Strapi vs Parse Server
- Strapi vs GraphQL Apollo
- Strapi vs Gravitee
- Strapi vs Kong Gateway
- Strapi vs Spring Cloud Gateway
- Strapi vs Swagger
- Strapi vs TIBCO Mashery
- Strapi vs Zeplo
- Strapi vs Pusher
- Strapi vs Salt Edge
- Strapi vs Kong