APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Thunder Client
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
- -
Thunder Client
APIs
Lightweight REST API client built as VSCode extension
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Thunder Client 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.; Thunder Client paid plans are billed annually only: Starter is $3 per user per month and capped at a maximum of 10 seats, Business is $7 per user per month with 500 monthly collection runs per user, and Enterprise is $16 per user per month for unlimited runs
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Thunder Client covers REST Client.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Thunder Client actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Thunder Client |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | Free |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | VSCode extension, Web |
| Founded | Unknown | 2021 |
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 Thunder Client
- REST Client
- Environment variables
- Response testing
- VSCode
- GitHub
- Webhook support
- VSCode extension support
- 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 Thunder Client
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Thunder Client
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Thunder Client
- 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 Thunder Client
Thunder Client
- 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.
Thunder Client
- Paid plans are billed annually only: Starter is $3 per user per month and capped at a maximum of 10 seats, Business is $7 per user per month with 500 monthly collection runs per user, and Enterprise is $16 per user per month for unlimited runs
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
Thunder Client
Free- FreeFree
- REST client
- Collection management
- Local testing
- Pro$8/monthly
- Cloud sync
- Team collaboration
- Advanced features
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 Thunder Client if
- You need rest client.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on VSCode extension, Web.
- You also want environment variables.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Thunder Client better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Thunder Client at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Thunder Client?
- Thunder Client has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $995/month for Basis Theory and Free for Thunder Client.
- Does Basis Theory or Thunder Client run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Thunder Client runs on VSCode extension, Web.
- Can I use Thunder Client for free?
- Yes. Thunder Client 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 Thunder Client is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Thunder Client cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Thunder Client covers REST Client, Environment variables, Response testing, VSCode.
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.
Thunder Client: How much does Thunder Client cost?
Thunder Client publishes a free plan at no cost, then Starter at $3, Business at $7 and Enterprise at $16, all priced annually.
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.
Thunder Client: Is Thunder Client free?
Yes, there is a free plan. It is used through the Thunder Client extension for VS Code, available from the marketplace, with limits applied compared with the paid tiers.
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
More on Thunder Client
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