Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Craft CMS vs Strapi

Craft CMS vs Strapi

Craft CMS is a closed-source traditional CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 17.

Book a call
  • Craft CMS Traditional · Closed source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Craft CMS on 29 Sept 2026, Strapi on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.

WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.

Feature comparison

Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
Craft CMS vs Strapi feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Craft CMS Traditional
Strapi Headless
Overview
What it is Self-hosted PHP CMS with custom fields and Twig templates. Pixel & Tonic sells licences per project and runs Craft Cloud hosting.Open-source Node.js headless CMS with a visual content-type builder, self-hosted or run on Strapi Cloud. Paid plans add governance features.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Craft CMS 5 in Solo, Team and Pro editions. Craft 6 is in alpha. Version 5.11.3, released 18 Sept 2026 Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects Version 5.55.1, released 24 Sept 2026
Vendor Pixel & Tonic craftcms.com Strapi strapi.io
Licence Closed source Proprietary Craft License, source available Open source MIT
Hosting Self-hosting Vendor cloud Craft Cloud starts at $120 per month per project and includes a Team licence. Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan.
Built with PHP, Yii 2, TwigTypeScript, Node.js, React
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Solo free for one user. Team $279, Pro $399 per project, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise on request. Free to start Community free. Growth $45 per month with 3 seats, then $15 per seat. Cloud from $35 per project per month.
Content modelling
Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. Built in Project config YAML records sections, entry types and fields for Git. 7 Built in Content types are schema.json files in the project. 19
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Built in 6 Built in Content-type Builder works in development mode only. 16
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Matrix fields with nested entry types. 8 Built in Components and dynamic zones. 216
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Built in Per-site and per-language field translation on every edition. 61 Built in
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in 10 Built in Generates small, medium and large sizes on upload. No crops on request. 15
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Element API plugin. 12 Built in 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in 111 Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Webhooks plugin. 13 Built in 218
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Built in Twig templates. Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 14 Built in Draft & Publish. 2
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Post date and expiry date on entries. 15 Paid tier Growth plan, by scheduling a Release. 6
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Built in Editors can view and restore revisions. 14 Paid tier Content History keeps 14 days on Growth, 30 to 90 days on Enterprise. 7
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 1 Built in Basic preview is free. Side-by-side Live Preview needs Growth. 5
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 14 Paid tier On Growth, editors double-click content in Live Preview to edit it. 5
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Plugin or add-on Workflow plugin by Verbb, $49. 16 Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 9
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Not available Paid tier Releases on Growth and Enterprise. 6
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. Not available Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Pro. Team allows one user group. Solo has one user. 51 Built in Unlimited admin roles on Community. 28
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Paid tier Per-field Current User Condition. Rules by user group need Pro. 65 Built in 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier First-party SAML SSO on Enterprise. 13 Paid tier Enterprise, or a $150 per month add-on on Growth. 211
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Not available No core log. Craft 5 audit plugins exist but are niche. 20 Paid tier Enterprise plan. 10
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Included on every edition. 19 Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in 18 Built in 20
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Craft Plugin Store. 1 Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Formie by Verbb, $99. Pricing page lists forms as plugin-only. 171 Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Paid tier Public registration needs Pro. 5 Built in Users & Permissions feature for end users. 17
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI feature. Paid tier AI translation and image alt text on Growth. Not yet available on Enterprise. 212
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Not available Third-party Craft CMS MCP plugin by Stimmt Digital. 19 Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13

Considering more platforms? Compare Craft CMS and Strapi with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Craft CMS and Strapi get a different status on 17 of the 28 features and the same status on 11. Craft CMS has 14 built in on its baseline edition, Strapi has 15. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence
Craft CMS is closed source (Proprietary Craft License, source available). Strapi is open source (MIT).

Built in on Craft CMS, a different answer on Strapi 5

  • GraphQL API Craft CMS: Built in. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
  • Renders the website Craft CMS: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Craft CMS: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Version history Craft CMS: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Multiple sites Craft CMS: Built in. Strapi: Not available.

Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Craft CMS 6

  • REST API Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Built in.
  • Webhooks Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Built in.
  • Custom roles Craft CMS: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Craft CMS: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Craft CMS: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Craft CMS: Not available. Strapi: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 6

  • Visual editing Craft CMS: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Approval workflows Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Craft CMS: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Audit log Craft CMS: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Form builder Craft CMS: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Craft CMS: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Craft CMS vs Payload and Strapi vs Payload.

Craft CMS against other platforms

Strapi against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead