Storyblok vs Strapi
Storyblok is a closed-source headless CMS that runs 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 9.
- Storyblok Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
- Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Storyblok 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 | Hosted headless CMS with a Visual Editor where editors compose pages from developer-defined blocks. Run by Storyblok GmbH. | 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. | Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans SaaS, continuously updated | 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 | Storyblok GmbH storyblok.com | Strapi strapi.io |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud Spaces run in Storyblok's EU, US, Canada or Australia regions. | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan. |
| Built with | SaaS, JavaScript SDKs and CLI | TypeScript, Node.js, React |
| Database | Managed by Storyblok | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Starter free. Growth $99, Growth Plus $349 per space per month. Premium and Elite 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 The CLI pulls and pushes JSON component schemas. Typed @storyblok/schema is in preview. 234 | 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 1 | 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 Nestable blocks inside stories. 1 | 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 Starter includes 2 locales. Growth adds locales at $20 each per month. 1 | 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 Image Optimization Service on all plans. 1 | 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 and Management API. 1 | Built in 2 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Paid tier GraphQL Content Delivery API on Premium and Elite. 1 | Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in 3 webhooks on Starter, 5 on Growth, 15 on Premium. 1 | Built in 218 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in | Built in Draft & Publish. 2 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Paid tier Single story scheduling from Growth. Growth allows 2 scheduled stories, Premium 100. 1 | 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. | Limited Starter keeps 1 day of versions. Growth 30 days, Premium 180, Elite unlimited. 1 | 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. | Built in Visual Editor on all plans. 1 | 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. | Paid tier Custom workflows and stages on Premium and Elite. Lower plans get fixed default stages. 1 | Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 9 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Paid tier 20 releases on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1 | 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 content locking. No simultaneous editing of one story. 110 | Not available |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Paid tier 10 custom roles on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 15 | 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 Field permissions come with custom roles on Premium and Elite. 15 | Built in 8 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Paid tier Premium and Elite. 1 | 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. | Limited Activity log on all plans. Starter keeps 1 day, Growth 30 days, Elite unlimited. 1 | 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 One account can own many spaces, each on its own plan. 6 | Not available |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Field plugins on all plans. Tool and space plugins on Premium and Elite. 17 | Built in 20 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Storyblok App Directory. 8 | Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | 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. | Built in AI content generation and translation on all plans, metered by AI credits. 1 | 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. | Built in Hosted server over the Management API. 9 | Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13 |
Storyblok sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans.
- Storyblok pricing and plan comparison
- Storyblok CLI documentation
- Sneak peek: type-safe schemas with @storyblok/schema (July 2026)
- Storyblok CLI: components push
- Storyblok roles manual
- Storyblok spaces concept
- Storyblok plugins introduction
- Storyblok App Directory
- Storyblok MCP server documentation
- Storyblok tutorial: building real-time collaboration with Tiptap and Yjs
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 Storyblok and Strapi with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Storyblok and Strapi get a different status on 9 of the 28 features and the same status on 19. Storyblok has 15 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
- Storyblok is closed source (Proprietary). Strapi is open source (MIT).
- Self-hosting
- Storyblok cannot be self-hosted. Strapi can be self-hosted.
Built in on Storyblok, a different answer on Strapi 3
- Visual editing Storyblok: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Multiple sites Storyblok: Built in. Strapi: Not available.
- AI writing assistant Storyblok: Built in. Strapi: Paid tier.
Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Storyblok 3
- Custom roles Storyblok: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
- Field-level permissions Storyblok: Paid tier. Strapi: Built in.
- Site member accounts Storyblok: Not available. Strapi: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- GraphQL API Storyblok: Paid tier. Strapi: Plugin or add-on.
- Version history Storyblok: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
- Audit log Storyblok: Limited. Strapi: Paid tier.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Storyblok vs Payload and Strapi vs Payload.
Storyblok against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Storyblok
- Contentful vs Storyblok
- Contentstack vs Storyblok
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Storyblok
- Craft CMS vs Storyblok
- DatoCMS vs Storyblok
- Decap CMS vs Storyblok
- Directus vs Storyblok
- Drupal vs Storyblok
- EmDash vs Storyblok
- FirstSpirit vs Storyblok
- Framer vs Storyblok
- Ghost vs Storyblok
- HubSpot CMS vs Storyblok
- Hygraph vs Storyblok
- Instatic vs Storyblok
- Joomla vs Storyblok
- Keystone vs Storyblok
- Kirby vs Storyblok
- Liferay DXP vs Storyblok
- Optimizely CMS vs Storyblok
- Storyblok vs Payload
- Prismic vs Storyblok
- Progress Sitefinity vs Storyblok
- Sanity vs Storyblok
- Sitecore vs Storyblok
- Squarespace vs Storyblok
- Statamic vs Storyblok
- Storyblok vs TYPO3
- Storyblok vs Umbraco
- Storyblok vs Wagtail
- Storyblok vs Webflow
- Storyblok vs Wix
- Storyblok vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Storyblok
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
- Kirby 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
- Strapi vs TYPO3
- Strapi vs Umbraco
- Strapi vs Wagtail
- Strapi vs Webflow
- Strapi vs Wix
- Strapi vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Strapi
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.