Kirby vs Strapi
Kirby is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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.
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
- Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Kirby 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
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site licence. | 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. | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 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 | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com | Strapi strapi.io |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary, source available | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan. |
| Built with | PHP, Vue for the Panel | TypeScript, Node.js, React |
| Database | Flat files, no database required | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates. | 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 Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5 | 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. | Not available You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 5 | 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 Blocks and Layout fields. 6 | 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 Multi-language content is built in. 7 | 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 Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 | 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 Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910 | Built in 2 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Not available | Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Not available PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. | 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 PHP templates and snippets. | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4 | Built in Draft & Publish. 2 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Not available | 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. | Not available Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4 | 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 Preview view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4 | 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. | Not available Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 4 | 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. | Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 | 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 Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 | Not available |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in Roles are user blueprints with permissions. 12 | 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. | Not available Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 13 | Built in 8 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Not available No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist. | 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 | Paid tier Enterprise plan. 10 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available One site per installation. | Not available |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15 | Built in 20 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 | Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 | Not available |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14 | 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. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 18 | 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 Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 | Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13 |
Kirby sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha..
- Kirby pricing
- Kirby releases
- Kirby 5 release overview
- Kirby 5: Preview your changes
- Kirby docs: Blueprints
- Kirby docs: Blocks field
- Kirby docs: Languages
- Kirby docs: $file->thumb()
- Kirby docs: REST API
- Kirby Query Language (KQL) plugin
- Kirby docs: Publishing workflow
- Kirby docs: Permissions
- Kirby cookbook: Extending permissions
- Kirby docs: Frontend login
- Kirby docs: Plugin extensions
- Kirby plugin directory
- DreamForm plugin
- Kirby Copilot plugin
- Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick
- Kirby docs: Content options (locking)
Strapi sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects.
- @strapi/strapi on the npm registry
- Strapi CMS pricing
- Strapi Cloud pricing
- We're removing the Free plan from Strapi Cloud
- Strapi docs: Preview
- Strapi docs: Releases
- Strapi docs: Content History
- Strapi docs: Role-Based Access Control
- Strapi docs: Review Workflows
- Strapi docs: Audit Logs
- Strapi docs: Single Sign-On
- Strapi docs: AI for content managers
- Strapi docs: MCP server
- Strapi docs: GraphQL plugin
- Strapi docs: Media Library
- Strapi docs: Content-type Builder
- Strapi docs: Users & Permissions
- Strapi docs: Webhooks
- Strapi docs: Models
- Strapi docs: Admin panel customization
Considering more platforms? Compare Kirby and Strapi with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Kirby and Strapi get a different status on 16 of the 28 features and the same status on 12. Kirby has 11 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
- Kirby is closed source (Proprietary, source available). Strapi is open source (MIT).
- Vendor cloud
- Kirby has no vendor-run cloud. Strapi has a vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- Kirby has no free option. Strapi has a free option.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Strapi 1
- Renders the website Kirby: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Kirby 5
- Content model in the UI Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
- Webhooks Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
- Site member accounts Kirby: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
- Official MCP server Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 10
- GraphQL API Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
- Scheduled publishing Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Version history Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Visual editing Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Approval workflows Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Content releases Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Single sign-on Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Audit log Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Form builder Kirby: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Not available.
- AI writing assistant Kirby: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Strapi vs Payload.
Kirby against other platforms
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Strapi against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Strapi
- Contentful vs Strapi
- Contentstack vs Strapi
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Strapi
- Craft CMS vs Strapi
- DatoCMS vs Strapi
- Decap CMS vs Strapi
- Directus vs Strapi
- Drupal vs Strapi
- EmDash vs Strapi
- FirstSpirit vs Strapi
- Framer vs Strapi
- Ghost vs Strapi
- HubSpot CMS vs Strapi
- Hygraph vs Strapi
- Instatic vs Strapi
- Joomla vs Strapi
- Keystone vs Strapi
- Liferay DXP vs Strapi
- Optimizely CMS vs Strapi
- Strapi vs Payload
- Prismic vs Strapi
- Progress Sitefinity vs Strapi
- Sanity vs Strapi
- Sitecore vs Strapi
- Squarespace vs Strapi
- Statamic vs Strapi
- Storyblok vs Strapi
- Strapi vs TYPO3
- Strapi vs Umbraco
- Strapi vs Wagtail
- Strapi vs Webflow
- Strapi vs Wix
- Strapi vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Strapi
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