Strapi vs Umbraco
Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Umbraco is an open-source traditional 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 14.
- Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in
- Umbraco Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Strapi on 29 Sept 2026, Umbraco 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 | Open-source Node.js headless CMS with a visual content-type builder, self-hosted or run on Strapi Cloud. Paid plans add governance features. | Open-source .NET CMS that renders sites with Razor or serves content headless. Self-hosted or run on Umbraco Cloud. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Strapi 5 CMS, free Community edition with paid Growth and Enterprise plans for self-hosted projects Version 5.55.1, released 24 Sept 2026 | Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release. Version 17.7.0, released 17 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Strapi strapi.io | Umbraco A/S umbraco.com |
| Licence | Open source MIT | Open source MIT |
| Hosting | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan. | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Forms and Deploy are paid add-ons when self-hosted. Umbraco Cloud includes both. |
| Built with | TypeScript, Node.js, React | C#, ASP.NET Core on .NET 10, TypeScript backoffice |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite | SQL Server, SQLite |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Community free. Growth $45 per month with 3 seats, then $15 per seat. Cloud from $35 per project per month. | Free to start Free to self-host. Umbraco Cloud Starter €45, Standard €280, Professional €730 per month. Enterprise on request. |
| 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 are schema.json files in the project. 19 | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Deploy saves document types as .uda files in Git. Paid on-premises, included on Umbraco Cloud. 45 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Built in Content-type Builder works in development mode only. 16 | Built in Document types are built in the backoffice. |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Components and dynamic zones. 216 | Built in Block List and Block Grid editors. 6 |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Built in | Built in Culture variants per property. |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in Generates small, medium and large sizes on upload. No crops on request. 15 | Built in ImageSharp crops and resizes images from query string parameters. 9 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in 2 | Built in Content Delivery API. 7 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14 | Not available No official GraphQL. Community package Nikcio.UHeadless adds one. 20 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in 218 | Built in 8 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available | Built in Razor templates. |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in Draft & Publish. 2 | Built in |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Paid tier Growth plan, by scheduling a Release. 6 | Built in 10 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Paid tier Content History keeps 14 days on Growth, 30 to 90 days on Enterprise. 7 | Built in Rollback compares and restores earlier versions. 11 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in Basic preview is free. Side-by-side Live Preview needs Growth. 5 | Built in |
| Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. | Paid tier On Growth, editors double-click content in Live Preview to edit it. 5 | Not available |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Paid tier Review Workflows on Enterprise. 9 | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Workflow add-on. Its free version is capped at five approval groups. Full use is paid. 1221 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Paid tier Releases on Growth and Enterprise. 6 | Plugin or add-on Release Sets in a licensed Umbraco Workflow. 13 |
| 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 | Not available |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Built in Unlimited admin roles on Community. 28 | Built in User groups with granular permissions. |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Built in 8 | Limited Per-property read and write limits per user group, enforced in the UI only. 14 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Paid tier Enterprise, or a $150 per month add-on on Growth. 211 | Built in OpenID Connect providers such as Entra ID, configured in code. 15 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Paid tier Enterprise plan. 10 | Limited Audit trail per item plus a log viewer. No installation-wide audit screen in core. 16 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | Built in Several root nodes, each with its own domains. |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in 20 | Built in Backoffice extensions. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2 | Built in Umbraco Marketplace. |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Plugin or add-on Umbraco Forms, paid licence. Included on Umbraco Cloud. 217 |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Built in Users & Permissions feature for end users. 17 | Built in Members, separate from backoffice users. |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Paid tier AI translation and image alt text on Growth. Not yet available on Enterprise. 212 | Plugin or add-on Free Umbraco.AI packages add prompts and an editor copilot. 18 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Built in. Developers switch it on in the server config. 13 | Built in Umbraco CMS Developer MCP server. 19 |
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
Umbraco sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Umbraco CMS 17 LTS, open source. Umbraco 18.2.0 is the latest short-term release..
- Umbraco releases
- Umbraco pricing
- Umbraco 18 release
- Umbraco Deploy licensing
- Umbraco Cloud: UDA files
- Umbraco docs: Block Grid
- Umbraco docs: Content Delivery API
- Umbraco docs: Webhooks
- Umbraco docs: Image Cropper
- Umbraco docs: Scheduled Publishing
- Umbraco docs: Rollback to a previous version
- Umbraco Workflow
- Umbraco Workflow docs: Release Sets
- Umbraco docs: Property Level UI Permissions
- Umbraco docs: External Login Providers
- Umbraco docs: Log Viewer
- Umbraco Forms licensing
- Umbraco.AI on GitHub
- Umbraco MCP on GitHub
- Nikcio.UHeadless on Umbraco Marketplace
- Umbraco Workflow docs: Licensing
Considering more platforms? Compare Strapi and Umbraco with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Strapi and Umbraco get a different status on 14 of the 28 features and the same status on 14. Strapi has 15 built in on its baseline edition, Umbraco has 18. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Umbraco 2
- Content model in code Strapi: Built in. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Field-level permissions Strapi: Built in. Umbraco: Limited.
Built in on Umbraco, a different answer on Strapi 5
- Renders the website Strapi: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
- Version history Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
- Single sign-on Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Built in.
- Multiple sites Strapi: Not available. Umbraco: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 7
- GraphQL API Strapi: Plugin or add-on. Umbraco: Not available.
- Visual editing Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Not available.
- Approval workflows Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Content releases Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- Audit log Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Limited.
- Form builder Strapi: Not available. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
- AI writing assistant Strapi: Paid tier. Umbraco: Plugin or add-on.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Strapi vs Payload.
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Umbraco against other platforms
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- TYPO3 vs Umbraco
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- Umbraco vs Webflow
- Umbraco vs Wix
- Umbraco vs WordPress
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