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CMS comparison Statamic vs Strapi

Statamic vs Strapi

Statamic 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 18.

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  • Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in
  • Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Statamic 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
Statamic vs Strapi feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Statamic Traditional
Strapi Headless
Overview
What it is Laravel-based PHP CMS that stores content in flat files by default. Free Core edition. Pro adds users, APIs and multi-site. You host it.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. Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 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 Statamic, LLC statamic.com Strapi strapi.io
Licence Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use. 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, Laravel, VueTypeScript, Node.js, React
Database Flat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent DriverPostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year. 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 and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 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. Built in Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 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 Replicator and Bard sets. 5 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. Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 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 Glide resizes and crops on request. 7 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. Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8 Built in 2
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 9 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 Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core. 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 Antlers or Blade templates. Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101 Built in Draft & Publish. 2
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Limited Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11 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. Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10 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 121 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. 12 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 Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19 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. Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18 Not available
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Roles and permissions need Pro. 131 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 Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4 Built in 8
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521 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. Paid tier Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121 Paid tier Enterprise plan. 10
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Paid tier Pro. 61 Not available
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17 Built in 20
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18 Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Limited Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116 Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Paid tier Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416 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 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 addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20 Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13

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

Where they differ

Statamic and Strapi get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Statamic has 8 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
Statamic is closed source (Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use.). Strapi is open source (MIT).
Vendor cloud
Statamic has no vendor-run cloud. Strapi has a vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Statamic, a different answer on Strapi 1

  • Renders the website Statamic: Built in. Strapi: Not available.

Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Statamic 8

  • Localization Statamic: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • REST API Statamic: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • Webhooks Statamic: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
  • Drafts Statamic: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • Custom roles Statamic: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Statamic: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Statamic: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Statamic: Not available. Strapi: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 9

  • GraphQL API Statamic: Paid tier. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
  • Scheduled publishing Statamic: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Visual editing Statamic: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Approval workflows Statamic: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Statamic: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.
  • Real-time co-editing Statamic: Plugin or add-on. Strapi: Not available.
  • Multiple sites Statamic: Paid tier. Strapi: Not available.
  • Form builder Statamic: Limited. Strapi: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Statamic: Not available. Strapi: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Statamic against other platforms

Strapi against other platforms

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

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