APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Treblle
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
- -
Treblle
APIs
API observability, security, and governance platform
- From
- $233/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.; Treblle no free tier is offered; the entry-level Core plan starts at $233/month billed yearly.
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Treblle covers API discovery.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Treblle actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Treblle |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | $233/month |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | subscription |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | web, api |
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 Treblle
- API discovery
- Runtime security
- API governance
- Compliance monitoring
- API documentation and analytics
- Agentic AI 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 Treblle
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Treblle
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Treblle
- 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 Treblle
Treblle
- Gaining full visibility into API traffic across multi-cloud environmentsnot Basis Theory
- Detecting shadow APIs and runtime security risksnot Basis Theory
- Meeting compliance audit requirements such as HIPAA or GDPRnot Basis Theory
- Governing API design standards through CI/CDnot 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.
Treblle
- No free tier is offered; the entry-level Core plan starts at $233/month billed yearly.
- Growth and Enterprise pricing is custom and not published, requiring a sales conversation to budget.
- Core plan is limited to 1 workspace and only 30 days of data retention.
- SSO and on-prem/BYO cloud deployment are reserved for the top Enterprise tier.
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
Treblle
$233/month- Core$233/month
- Billed yearly
- 5 APIs
- 500 requests/min
- Growth$undefined/month
- Custom APIs and request limits
- 50M requests/month baseline
- API security
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Unlimited workspaces, APIs, and requests/min
- API governance and compliance
- SSO
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 Treblle if
- You need api discovery.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want runtime security.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Treblle better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Treblle at $233/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Treblle?
- Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Treblle at $233/month.
- Does Basis Theory or Treblle run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Treblle runs on web, api.
- 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 Treblle is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Treblle cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Treblle covers API discovery, Runtime security, API governance, Compliance monitoring.
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.
Treblle: What does Treblle cost?
Treblle's Core plan costs $233/month billed yearly and covers 5 APIs and 5M requests/month; Growth and Enterprise plans use custom pricing for larger request volumes and advanced features.
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.
Treblle: Is there a free plan?
Treblle does not offer a free tier; it instead offers a no-credit-card demo rather than free ongoing access.
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.
Treblle: How is usage metered?
Plans are metered by number of APIs monitored and requests per minute/month, with the Core plan capped at 500 requests/min and 5M requests/month.
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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