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APIs · head to head

Basis Theory vs TIBCO Mashery

Basis Theory logo

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
-
TIBCO Mashery logo

TIBCO Mashery

APIs

Cloud-native API management for digital business

From
$2000/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.; TIBCO Mashery lack of support for open API standards requires workarounds
  • They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, TIBCO Mashery covers Cloud-native Gateway.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and TIBCO Mashery actually diverge.

Attributes where Basis Theory and TIBCO Mashery differ
AttributeBasis TheoryTIBCO Mashery
Starting price$995/month$2000/monthly
Pricing modelPer month by token volumesubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, LinuxCloud, Hybrid, Multi-cloud
FoundedUnknown1997

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 TIBCO Mashery

  • Cloud-native Gateway
  • Developer Portal
  • API Analytics
  • TIBCO Cloud
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • GCP
  • 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 TIBCO Mashery
  • A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot TIBCO Mashery
  • A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot TIBCO Mashery
  • 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 TIBCO Mashery

TIBCO Mashery

  • 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.

TIBCO Mashery

  • Lack of support for open API standards requires workarounds
  • Policy management is difficult and sometimes requires support intervention for configuration changes
  • Monetization and customization features are inadequate for some enterprise use cases
  • Delays under heavy load conditions; stability issues reported affecting performance
  • Logging and monitoring limitations; logs are hard to follow when calls cannot be filtered by keys

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

TIBCO Mashery

$2000/monthly
  • Standard$2000/monthly
    • API Gateway
    • Developer Portal
    • Standard support
  • Professional$5000/monthly
    • Advanced analytics
    • Multi-region
    • Priority support
  • Enterprise$undefined/monthly
    • Custom solutions
    • Dedicated support
    • Premium SLA

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 TIBCO Mashery if

  • You need cloud-native gateway.
  • You work on Cloud, Hybrid, Multi-cloud.
  • You also want developer portal.

Questions people ask

Is Basis Theory or TIBCO Mashery better?
Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and TIBCO Mashery at $2000/monthly, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or TIBCO Mashery?
Basis Theory starts at $995/month and TIBCO Mashery at $2000/monthly.
Does Basis Theory or TIBCO Mashery run on more platforms?
Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. TIBCO Mashery runs on Cloud, Hybrid, Multi-cloud.
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 TIBCO Mashery is typically brought in for.
What can Basis Theory do that TIBCO Mashery cannot?
Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. TIBCO Mashery covers Cloud-native Gateway, Developer Portal, API Analytics, TIBCO Cloud.

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.

TIBCO Mashery: What is TIBCO Cloud API Management (Mashery)?

TIBCO Cloud API Management, formerly known as TIBCO Cloud Mashery, is an enterprise platform delivering full lifecycle API management capabilities including API creation, productization, security, analytics, and support for API development, mediation, and event-driven initiatives.

Source
Basis 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.

TIBCO Mashery: What is the pricing structure?

TIBCO Mashery pricing starts at $2000/monthly for cloud-hosted deployments based on capacity and throughput. Annual maintenance for on-premises perpetual licenses typically ranges from 18-22% of license cost. Custom plans are available based on customer requirements.

Source
Basis 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.

TIBCO Mashery: Does Mashery support OpenAPI standards?

TIBCO Mashery supports native OpenAPI specifications. The platform provides contract-first modeling with native OpenAPI Spec support and native Node.js hosting of API implementations.

Basis Theory: Is data stored outside the United States?

Not on Starter, which is US only. Other regions require a Scale or Enterprise agreement.

TIBCO Mashery: What's the current status of TIBCO Mashery?

Mashery, formerly sold as TIBCO Cloud API Management, has had its capabilities integrated into Boomi's enterprise platform. Users should verify current product status and support roadmap with TIBCO's sales team, as the product landscape has undergone significant changes.

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