APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Swagger
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
- -
Swagger
APIs
API design and documentation platform for building, testing, and managing APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Swagger 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.; Swagger specific pricing details not published on main website; requires accessing pricing page or contacting sales
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Swagger covers API Specification.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Swagger actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Swagger |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | Free |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | Web, CLI, Desktop |
| Founded | Unknown | 2011 |
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 Swagger
- API Specification
- Interactive Documentation
- Code Generation
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Azure DevOps
- Jira
- Web 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 Swagger
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Swagger
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Swagger
- 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 Swagger
Swagger
- 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.
Swagger
- Specific pricing details not published on main website; requires accessing pricing page or contacting sales
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
Swagger
Free- FreeFree
- OpenAPI specification
- Swagger UI
- API documentation
- Professional$20/monthly
- Advanced features
- Team collaboration
- API testing
- Enterprise$undefined/monthly
- Custom deployment
- Advanced security
- 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 Swagger if
- You need api specification.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, CLI, Desktop.
- You also want interactive documentation.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Swagger better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Swagger at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Swagger?
- Swagger has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $995/month for Basis Theory and Free for Swagger.
- Does Basis Theory or Swagger run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Swagger runs on Web, CLI, Desktop.
- Can I use Swagger for free?
- Yes. Swagger 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 Swagger is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Swagger cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Swagger covers API Specification, Interactive Documentation, Code Generation, GitHub.
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.
Swagger: How much does Swagger cost?
Swagger does not publish specific pricing details on its main website. A free tier is available with a Start Free Trial option. For detailed pricing information, users must visit the dedicated pricing page or contact Swagger sales directly.
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.
Swagger: Does Swagger offer a free plan?
Yes, Swagger offers a free tier described as simple, useful, and easy to master for API client functionality. Exact feature details and limitations are not specified on the homepage.
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.
Basis 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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- Swagger vs Trustly
- Swagger vs Vodeno
- Swagger vs TrueLayer
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- Swagger vs Akoya
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- Swagger vs Appwrite
- Swagger vs Hasura
- Swagger vs PocketBase
- Swagger vs Sanity
- Swagger vs Apidog
- Swagger vs Stainless
- Swagger vs Thunder Client
- Swagger vs Prisma
- Swagger vs RapidAPI
- Swagger vs WSO2 API Manager
- Swagger vs Asyncapi
- Swagger vs Astra
- Swagger vs AWS API Gateway
- Swagger vs Microsoft Azure API Management