CMS comparison FirstSpirit vs Strapi

FirstSpirit vs Strapi

FirstSpirit is a closed-source enterprise DXP 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 16.

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FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: FirstSpirit 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

FirstSpirit vs Strapi feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	FirstSpirit Enterprise DXP	Strapi Headless
Overview
What it is	Java-based enterprise CMS with in-preview editing and a CaaS layer for headless delivery. Runs as FirstSpirit Cloud or on-premises.	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.	FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises Version 2026.10 (5.2.261011), released 15 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	Crownpeak Technology GmbH, part of Rezolve Ai since December 2025 firstspirit.com	Strapi strapi.io
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Open source MIT
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan.
Built with	Java, ContentCreator web client, SiteArchitect desktop app	TypeScript, Node.js, React
Database	Built-in repository, plus SQL databases such as PostgreSQL for data sources	PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere.	No free option Pricing 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 Templates sync to files in Git through external synchronization and FSDevTools. 3 4	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.	Limited Developers build templates in SiteArchitect but write their forms as XML. 4 12	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 Pages consist of sections based on section templates.	Built in Components and dynamic zones. 2 16
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language.	Built in Language-dependent fields per project language.	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 FirstSpirit automatically generates the image resolutions defined per project.	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.	Built in CaaS REST API. 5 6	Built in 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in CaaS GraphQL API generated from the FirstSpirit data model. 5 6	Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Limited CaaS Change Streams push change events over WebSocket. 6	Built in 2 18
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no.	Built in Generates pages from templates. CaaS covers headless delivery.	Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in Changes stay unreleased until the release workflow runs. 8	Built in Draft & Publish. 2
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Limited Admins set up timed schedule entries. Editors have no per-item publish date. 10	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	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	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.	Built in ContentCreator in-preview editing. Omnichannel Manager for headless frontends. 7	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.	Built in 8	Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 9
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Limited Release with dependencies publishes a page with its linked media and parents. 9	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 The Collaboration module adds comments on fields. No co-editing. 11	Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Groups with permissions per store and node.	Built in Unlimited admin roles on Community. 2 8
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries.	Limited Form rules hide or lock single fields per user group. 12	Built in 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in SAML and OpenID Connect login modules. 13 14	Paid tier Enterprise, or a $150 per month add-on on Growth. 2 11
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log.	Built in Audit logging to the server log once enabled. 15	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 Several projects per server. Multisite Management shares content between them. 16	Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in ContentCreator and SiteArchitect plug-ins.	Built in 20
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in FirstSpirit Marketplace. 17	Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Plugin or add-on Formcentric for FirstSpirit, a partner product. 18	Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Not available	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.	Plugin or add-on AI Suite module: Content, Analyze and Image assistants. 1 17	Paid tier AI translation and image alt text on Growth. Not yet available on Enterprise. 2 12
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content.	Built in CaaS Platform MCP server builds and runs CaaS GraphQL queries. 19	Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13

FirstSpirit sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. FirstSpirit 5.2 monthly release line, FirstSpirit Cloud and on-premises.

Strapi sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects.

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

Where they differ

FirstSpirit and Strapi get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. FirstSpirit has 19 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: FirstSpirit is closed source (Proprietary). Strapi is open source (MIT).
Free option: FirstSpirit has no free option. Strapi has a free option.

Built in on FirstSpirit, a different answer on Strapi 8

GraphQL API FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
Renders the website FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
Version history FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Visual editing FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Approval workflows FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Single sign-on FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Audit log FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Multiple sites FirstSpirit: Built in. Strapi: Not available.

Built in on Strapi, a different answer on FirstSpirit 4

Content model in the UI FirstSpirit: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Webhooks FirstSpirit: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Field-level permissions FirstSpirit: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Site member accounts FirstSpirit: Not available. Strapi: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

Scheduled publishing FirstSpirit: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
Content releases FirstSpirit: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
Form builder FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Not available.
AI writing assistant FirstSpirit: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

FirstSpirit against other platforms

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