CMS comparison Optimizely CMS vs Strapi

Optimizely CMS vs Strapi

Optimizely CMS 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 15.

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Optimizely CMS Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in
Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Optimizely 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

Optimizely CMS vs Strapi feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform	Optimizely CMS Enterprise DXP	Strapi Headless
Overview
What it is	Optimizely's .NET CMS for rendered and headless sites, hosted on Optimizely's DXP cloud or self-hosted, with Optimizely Graph for delivery.	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.	Optimizely CMS 13 PaaS, the current flagship. CMS SaaS is a separate hosted variant. Version 13.1.3, released 9 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	Optimizely optimizely.com	Strapi strapi.io
Licence	Closed source Proprietary	Open source MIT
Hosting	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Self-hosted installs lose Opti ID features such as Opal and the DAM.	Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan.
Built with	.NET 10, ASP.NET Core	TypeScript, Node.js, React
Database	SQL Server, Azure SQL on DXP	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 Content types as C# classes. 3	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 Content types and properties in Settings. 4	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 in content areas and Visual Builder elements.	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 branches per content item. 5	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 DXP CDN resizes, crops and converts images by URL parameters. 6	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 Content Delivery API 13 and a management REST API. 1 2	Built in 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content.	Built in Optimizely Graph, included in the CMS 13 licence. 2 8	Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published.	Limited Graph webhooks fire on sync batches and expired content only. Per-item hooks need code. 7 2	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 ASP.NET Core MVC and Razor rendering, or headless. 2	Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then.	Built in 9	Built in Draft & Publish. 2
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish.	Built in 9	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 Visual Builder. 2	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 Approval sequences. 10	Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 9
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release.	Built in Projects publish or schedule grouped items together. 11	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 Comments and notifications only. 12	Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set.	Built in Access rights for roles and virtual roles. 13	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.	Not available Access rights apply per content item. Not documented per property. 13	Built in 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider.	Built in Opti ID with an external identity provider, or OpenID Connect in code. 2	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 Change Log in Settings. 14	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 sites and hosts in one installation. 15	Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface.	Built in Shell modules, gadgets and custom editor widgets. 16	Built in 20
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions.	Built in Optimizely connectors directory and NuGet add-ons. 17	Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code.	Plugin or add-on Optimizely Forms package. No extra licence. 18	Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors.	Limited Visitor login uses ASP.NET Core authentication set up in code. 2	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 Opal, billed through Opal credits. Needs Opti ID on DXP. 2 19	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 MCP server in the Optimizely.Cms.Opal.Tools package. 20	Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13

Optimizely CMS sources

Checked 29 Sept 2026. Optimizely CMS 13 PaaS, the current flagship. CMS SaaS is a separate hosted variant..

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 Optimizely CMS and Strapi with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

Optimizely CMS and Strapi get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Optimizely CMS has 22 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: Optimizely CMS is closed source (Proprietary). Strapi is open source (MIT).
Free option: Optimizely CMS has no free option. Strapi has a free option.

Built in on Optimizely CMS, a different answer on Strapi 10

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

Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Optimizely CMS 3

Webhooks Optimizely CMS: Limited. Strapi: Built in.
Field-level permissions Optimizely CMS: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
Site member accounts Optimizely CMS: Limited. Strapi: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 2

Form builder Optimizely CMS: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Not available.
AI writing assistant Optimizely CMS: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Optimizely CMS against other platforms

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