APIs · head to head
Basis Theory vs Zimpler
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
- -
Zimpler
APIs
Nordic and Brazilian account-to-account payments for regulated high-risk sectors
- From
- On request
- 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.; Zimpler pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
- They diverge on capability: Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Zimpler covers Bank payments.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Basis Theory and Zimpler actually diverge.
| Attribute | Basis Theory | Zimpler |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $995/month | On request |
| Pricing model | Per month by token volume | quote |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Linux | Web, REST 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 Zimpler
- Bank payments
- BankID identity
- Payouts
- Recurring payments
- Risk screening
- Brazil coverage
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 Zimpler
- A merchant locked into a processor by that processor vault that wants to hold its own tokens and route to more than one acquirernot Zimpler
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity data that needs it isolated from its application database before an enterprise security reviewnot Zimpler
- 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 Zimpler
Zimpler
- A Swedish gambling operator needing deposit and verified identity in a single customer flownot Basis Theory
- A Nordic merchant wanting instant bank payouts rather than card refundsnot Basis Theory
- A trading platform where confirming account ownership before funding is a regulatory requirementnot Basis Theory
- A European operator expanding into Brazil and wanting one provider across both marketsnot 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.
Zimpler
- Pricing is not published and is set by industry and risk profile, so smaller merchants cannot benchmark a quote and often discover they are paying well above a general-purpose provider.
- As a payment facilitator carrying merchant risk, it declines or offboards merchants on risk grounds, which makes it a dependency you cannot assume will persist.
- Its strength is concentrated in the Nordics, and coverage in southern and eastern Europe is thinner than pan-European account-to-account specialists.
- Revenue concentration in iGaming ties the provider to a sector under constant regulatory change, so licence changes in one market affect the supplier as well as the merchant.
- Bank transfers have no chargeback protection, so disputes are handled commercially and consumers used to card protections may resist the payment method.
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$undefined/month
- Quoted
- Additional compliance options for PII and PHI
- Responses for 95 percent of PCI SAQ D
Zimpler
On request- Zimpler payments$undefined/year
- Per-transaction pricing quoted by industry, risk and volume
- Separate pricing for payouts and identity verification
- Merchant underwriting required, with sector restrictions
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 Zimpler if
- You need bank payments.
- You work on Web, REST API.
- You also want bankid identity.
Questions people ask
- Is Basis Theory or Zimpler better?
- Neither clearly leads. Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Zimpler at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Basis Theory or Zimpler?
- Basis Theory starts at $995/month and Zimpler at On request.
- Does Basis Theory or Zimpler run on more platforms?
- Basis Theory runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux. Zimpler runs on Web, REST 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 Zimpler is typically brought in for.
- What can Basis Theory do that Zimpler cannot?
- Basis Theory covers Tokenisation API, Hosted elements, Outbound proxy, PCI attestation of compliance. Zimpler covers Bank payments, BankID identity, Payouts, Recurring payments.
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.
Zimpler: Which markets does Zimpler cover?
Sweden and the Nordics primarily, plus the wider EU and Brazil. It is strongest where national electronic identity schemes exist.
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.
Zimpler: Does it handle identity verification?
Yes. In the Nordics it captures BankID identity alongside the payment, which removes a separate verification step.
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.
Zimpler: Is pricing published?
No. It is quoted per merchant based on sector, risk and volume, and merchants must pass underwriting first.
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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