Strapi vs Wagtail
Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that you can host yourself or run on the vendor's cloud. Wagtail is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 15.
- Strapi Headless · Open source · 15 of 28 built in
- Wagtail Traditional · Open source · 18 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Strapi on 29 Sept 2026, Wagtail 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 CMS built on Django. Content types are Python models, and you host it yourself on any Python stack. |
| 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 | Wagtail 8, open source Version 8.0, released 25 Aug 2026 |
| Vendor | Strapi strapi.io | Wagtail core team (created by Torchbox) wagtail.org |
| Licence | Open source MIT | Open source BSD-3-Clause |
| Hosting | Self-hosting Vendor cloud Strapi Cloud removed its free plan in 2026. Hosting starts at the Starter plan. | Self-hosting No vendor cloud The Wagtail project runs no managed hosting. Deploy it like any Django app. |
| Built with | TypeScript, Node.js, React | Python, Django |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite | PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, 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 and open source. No licence fee. |
| 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 | Built in Page and snippet types are Django models. 2 |
| 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 | Not available Developers define content types in Python only. |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Components and dynamic zones. 216 | Built in StreamField blocks. 2 |
| 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 Core i18n with simple_translation. The wagtail-localize package adds a translation workflow. 3 |
| 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 Renditions with resize, crop and format filters. 4 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in 2 | Built in Read-only v2 API. Writable v3 API in preview since 8.0. 51 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Plugin or add-on Official GraphQL plugin. 14 | Plugin or add-on wagtail-grapple, maintained by Torchbox. 6 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in 218 | Not available Django signals such as page_published. No webhook settings. 18 |
| 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 |
| 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 Go-live and expiry dates. 7 |
| 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 Editors can compare and revert revisions. 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 20 |
| 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 | Limited Preview panel beside the edit form. No click-to-edit on the page. 20 |
| 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 | Built in Moderation workflows with tasks assigned to groups. 8 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Paid tier Releases on Growth and Enterprise. 6 | Not available |
| 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 Concurrent editing notifications warn editors. No live co-editing. 12 |
| 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 Groups with page, collection and model permissions. 9 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Built in 8 | Built in Set in code with the permission argument on panels. 10 |
| 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 | Plugin or add-on django-allauth supports SAML and OpenID Connect. 19 |
| 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 | Built in Site-wide history report of logged actions. 11 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Not available | Built in Several sites in one installation with shared users. 9 |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in 20 | Built in Hooks, viewsets and custom panels. |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Strapi Marketplace. 2 | Built in Wagtail packages directory on wagtail.org. 17 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Built in wagtail.contrib.forms form builder. 13 |
| 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 | Limited Login for private pages is built in. Public sign-up needs a package such as django-allauth. 14 |
| 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 Wagtail AI, an officially supported package. 15 |
| 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 | Limited Experimental wagtail-mcp package, announced September 2026. 16 |
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
Wagtail sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Wagtail 8, open source.
- Wagtail 8.0 release notes
- How to use StreamField for mixed content
- Wagtail docs: Internationalization
- Wagtail docs: Images
- Wagtail API v2 usage guide
- wagtail-grapple on GitHub
- Wagtail guide: Scheduled publishing
- Wagtail guide: Configure workflows for moderation
- Wagtail docs: Permissions
- Wagtail docs: Panels reference
- Wagtail docs: Audit log
- Wagtail 6.2: content metrics and concurrent editing
- Wagtail docs: Form builder
- Wagtail docs: Private pages
- Wagtail AI
- Experiments with MCP in Wagtail
- Wagtail docs: Packages
- Wagtail docs: Signals
- django-allauth: SAML provider
- Wagtail 4.0 release notes: live preview panel
Considering more platforms? Compare Strapi and Wagtail with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Strapi and Wagtail get a different status on 15 of the 28 features and the same status on 13. Strapi has 15 built in on its baseline edition, Wagtail 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.
- Vendor cloud
- Strapi has a vendor-run cloud. Wagtail has no vendor-run cloud.
Built in on Strapi, a different answer on Wagtail 4
- Content model in the UI Strapi: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
- Webhooks Strapi: Built in. Wagtail: Not available.
- Site member accounts Strapi: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
- Official MCP server Strapi: Built in. Wagtail: Limited.
Built in on Wagtail, a different answer on Strapi 7
- Renders the website Strapi: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
- Scheduled publishing Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Version history Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Approval workflows Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Audit log Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Built in.
- Multiple sites Strapi: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
- Form builder Strapi: Not available. Wagtail: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- Visual editing Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Limited.
- Content releases Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Not available.
- Single sign-on Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
- AI writing assistant Strapi: Paid tier. Wagtail: Plugin or add-on.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Strapi vs Payload.
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Wagtail against other platforms
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- Decap CMS vs Wagtail
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- Drupal vs Wagtail
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- Ghost vs Wagtail
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- Instatic vs Wagtail
- Joomla vs Wagtail
- Keystone vs Wagtail
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- Liferay DXP vs Wagtail
- Optimizely CMS vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Payload
- Prismic vs Wagtail
- Progress Sitefinity vs Wagtail
- Sanity vs Wagtail
- Sitecore vs Wagtail
- Squarespace vs Wagtail
- Statamic vs Wagtail
- Storyblok vs Wagtail
- TYPO3 vs Wagtail
- Umbraco vs Wagtail
- Wagtail vs Webflow
- Wagtail vs Wix
- Wagtail vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Wagtail
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