Strapi

Open Source

Strapi is the next-gen headless CMS, open-source, JavaScript/TypeScript, enabling content-rich…

Unlimited Free TierOpen Sourcefrom $45/mo

Free plan checked against Strapi's pricing page on 2 September 2026. Re-checked monthly.

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About Strapi

Strapi is a headless CMS written in JavaScript and TypeScript that gives you an admin panel for modelling content and a REST or GraphQL API to deliver it to any frontend. Developers building marketing sites, mobile app backends and documentation portals use it to avoid writing their own content admin. The Community edition is free forever under the MIT licence and runs on your own infrastructure.

What the free plan gives you

Open-source code under MIT, with no usage limits on entries or API calls
Unlimited content types, roles and locales
Role-based access control for admin users
REST and GraphQL APIs generated from your content model
Custom fields and a plugin system for extending the admin
Community support through the forum and Discord

Because it is self-hosted, the only running cost is the server and database you deploy it on.

Where the free plan stops

The Community edition has no SSO, no audit logs, no content history and no built-in preview or release scheduling. The Growth plan, at $45 per month for 3 seats with extra seats at $15 each, adds Live Preview, Releases, 30 days of Content History, Strapi AI with 1,000 credits a month and basic support. SSO is a $150-per-month add-on on top of that. Strapi Cloud, the managed hosting product, is priced separately from the self-hosted plans.

Who it suits

A developer or agency that is comfortable deploying a Node app and a Postgres database can run production sites on the Community edition indefinitely, and many do. Editorial teams who need content previews, scheduled releases and version history, or organisations that require SSO and audit trails for compliance, will need Growth or above, and the SSO add-on more than triples the monthly cost.

Key Features

Content Type Builder

Custom Fields

Customize everything

Self-host anywhere

Compliant by default

Full governance

Enterprise support

Pros & Cons

Open source — self-host it for nothing

Free tier has no hard usage ceiling

Covers content Type Builder on the free plan

Free plan verified against the vendor's pricing page

Vendor does not publish a clear free-plan breakdown

The free plan in practice

What you can actually do on Strapi's free plan (Free and open source self-hosted CMS, unlimited usage), where it stops, and when it's worth paying.

What you can do free

Open-source under MIT, no entry or API-call limits
Unlimited content types, roles and locales
REST and GraphQL APIs
Role-based access control
Custom fields and plugin system
Self-host anywhere

Where it stops

No SSO, audit logs or content history
No Live Preview or Releases
Community support only

When to upgrade to a paid plan

Strapi is open source, so self-hosting is free and unlimited. The only reason to pay is convenience: choose a hosted or cloud option when you'd rather not run and maintain it yourself, or need official support.