# Compare Strapi vs Payload 2026 | Capterra

> Unsure of what to choose? Check Capterra to compare Strapi and Payload based on pricing, features, product details, and verified reviews.

Source: https://www.capterra.com/compare/170599-218666/Strapi-vs-Payload-CMS

---

# Strapi vs Payload Features and Cost Comparison

Last updated March 13th, 2026

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews  
moderated by our Reviews Verification team.[Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/)

Your comparison:

StrapiPayload2/4 selected

[Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/)[4.7 (65)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

[Payload](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/)[4.9 (48)](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

[## Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/)[4.7 (65)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

Starting Price

$99.00/month

Value-for-Money

4.7

Functionality

4.5

Ease of Use

4.5

Customer Service

4.3

Reviews Sentiment

Based on [65 reviews](#user-reviews)

Positive

63

Neutral

1

Negative

1

[## Payload](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/)[4.9 (48)](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

Starting Price

$35.00/month

Value-for-Money

4.9

Functionality

4.7

Ease of Use

4.8

Customer Service

4.8

Reviews Sentiment

LM

Based on [48 reviews](#user-reviews)

Positive

48

Neutral

0

Negative

0

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## Send this comparison chart to my inbox

### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.

## Summary

* * *

Features in Headless CMS Software

28 / 50

Only Strapi

-   Interactive Content

Best performer

43 / 50

Only Payload

-   A/B Testing
-   Approval Process Control
-   Categorization/Grouping

User satisfaction

User satisfaction

4.7

User reviews[65](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

Ease of use

4.5

Functionality

4.5

Value for money

4.7

Customer support

4.3

User satisfaction

4.9

User reviews[48](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

Ease of use

4.8

Functionality

4.7

Value for money

4.9

Customer support

4.8

Price starts from

Price starts from

$99Per User, Per Month

-   Free version
-   Free trial

Price starts from

$35Other, Per Month

-   Free version
-   Free trial

Best for

Best for

Strapi is for all sized companies, from freelancers to larger organizations. Strapi brings together an ecosystem of 150 000+ enthusiasts, 700+ contributors, and companies like IBM, NASA, Walmart, eBay

Best for

Organizations, developers, and teams who need complete control over their content.

## User reviews

Pros & cons

Vasilis K.

Web Developer

> "I'm using Strapi for two projects of mine and the overall experience so far is very positive. Although, I..."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6638776)

Vasilis K.

Web Developer

> "If you decide to host Strapi on your own server it's not very easy."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6638776)

JW

Jeremy W.

Senior Software Engineer

> "Third party integrations make Strapi an extremely flexible solution for many project types"

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6408641)

GL

Guillaume L.

Full-Stack Developer

> "The only other thing, is the lack of Responsive on the admin panel."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6029658)

NB

Nestor B.

Senior Software Engineer

> "Very well documented."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___7072132)

YY

Yekta Y.

Frontend Developer

> "Some parts of the Strapi documentation are not clear."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6094840)

GO

Gabriele O.

Founder, CEO, FullStack Dev.

> "Perfect product for any developer or entrepreneur jumping from idea to testing."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6444422)

Rikki T.

Principal Engineer

> "v4 itself doesn't feel like a big enough upgrade or a robust enough product for it to have been worth it,..."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___4517911)

Sangam K.

Full Stack Web Developer

> "I really loved it. And now as a freelancer I can create almost any type of web-apps - be it CRM, HRM,..."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___5089046)

VR

Verified Reviewer

Software Developer

> "Upgrading between major versions is very hard, but this is true of most software. Because its free,..."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___4594572)

BT

Brandon T.

Senior Web Developer

> "Strapi could easily paywall their entire software like many do, but instead contributed an amazing..."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6045746)

LA

Lisa A.

Software Engineer

> "The tool doesn't support the typescript backend language which is quite disappointing."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___3570139)

Jakub H.

Founder Product Designer

> "Good thing is the Strapi authentification layer and CDN for images."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6176396)

Jakub H.

Founder Product Designer

> "This can very frustrating."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6176396)

Jakub H.

Founder Product Designer

> "Generally Strapi is a great tool with the aim to be a robust CMS for large projects."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6176396)

VR

Verified Reviewer

Principal Software Development Engineer

> "No support for typescript we have to use javascript"

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___3533554)

JW

Jeremy W.

Senior Software Engineer

> "Easy to setup, does what you need without being complicated"

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___6408641)

PAB

Peter Aleksander B.

Senior software developer

> "Sometimes, the UI shows an error when updating the component, even though the operation was successful."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#Capterra___2592181)

[View Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

LM

Lou M.

Software Developer

> "The documentation was clear and effective, there were many examples that could be found on their own GitHub, and they have a very active discord community that are always willing to..."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/#Capterra___6710547)

CP

Cameron P.

CEO

> "There are not as may enterprise-grade features built-in and there is a lack of third-party plugins compared to something like strapi or contentfulReview collected by and hosted on..."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/#Capterra___4812400)

LM

Lou M.

Software Developer

> "It's a very modern and sleek workflow, and can solve many of the required tasks out of the box."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/#Capterra___6710547)

Seth S.

Founder & President

> "Doesn't have enough traction in the community at the moment, and still missing some features that I'd love to see."

[See full review](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/#Capterra___3287888)

[View Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

## User interface

[Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/)

4.69 (65)

[Payload](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/)

4.88 (48)

## Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation

Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs.

### Features

Strapi

28/50

-   A/B Testing
-   Access Controls/Permissions
-   Activity Dashboard
-   AI Copilot
-   API
-   Approval Process Control
-   Asset Lifecycle Management
-   Categorization/Grouping
-   Collaboration Tools
-   Compliance Management
-   Configurable Workflow
-   Content Library
-   Content Management
-   Content Publishing Options
-   Customizable Forms
-   Customizable Templates
-   De-Coupled Front & Back Ends
-   Document Management
-   Drag & Drop
-   Filtering
-   For Developers
-   For Marketers
-   Full Text Search
-   Generative AI
-   Historical Reporting
-   Image Editing
-   Interactive Content
-   Mobile Access
-   Multi-Channel Distribution
-   Multi-Channel Management
-   Multi-Channel Marketing
-   Multi-Language
-   Preview Functionality
-   Reporting/Analytics
-   Rich Text Editor
-   Role-Based Permissions
-   Rule Based Publishing
-   Scheduling
-   SDKs
-   SEO Management
-   Single Sign On
-   Tagging
-   Template Management
-   Text Editing
-   Third-Party Integrations
-   Two-Factor Authentication
-   User Management
-   Version Control
-   Web Forms
-   Website Analytics

[See all features](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/#features)

Payload

Top features

43/50

-   A/B Testing
-   Access Controls/Permissions
-   Activity Dashboard
-   AI Copilot
-   API
-   Approval Process Control
-   Asset Lifecycle Management
-   Categorization/Grouping
-   Collaboration Tools
-   Compliance Management
-   Configurable Workflow
-   Content Library
-   Content Management
-   Content Publishing Options
-   Customizable Forms
-   Customizable Templates
-   De-Coupled Front & Back Ends
-   Document Management
-   Drag & Drop
-   Filtering
-   For Developers
-   For Marketers
-   Full Text Search
-   Generative AI
-   Historical Reporting
-   Image Editing
-   Interactive Content
-   Mobile Access
-   Multi-Channel Distribution
-   Multi-Channel Management
-   Multi-Channel Marketing
-   Multi-Language
-   Preview Functionality
-   Reporting/Analytics
-   Rich Text Editor
-   Role-Based Permissions
-   Rule Based Publishing
-   Scheduling
-   SDKs
-   SEO Management
-   Single Sign On
-   Tagging
-   Template Management
-   Text Editing
-   Third-Party Integrations
-   Two-Factor Authentication
-   User Management
-   Version Control
-   Web Forms
-   Website Analytics

[See all features](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/#features)

### Recognition

No recognitions have been awarded to Strapi

No recognitions have been awarded to Payload

### Deployment & support

Strapi

Deployment

-   Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
-   Desktop Mac
-   Desktop Windows
-   Desktop Linux
-   On-Premise Windows
-   On-Premise Linux
-   Desktop Chromebook
-   Mobile Android
-   Mobile iPhone
-   Mobile iPad

Support

-   Email/Help Desk
-   FAQs/Forum
-   Knowledge Base
-   Phone Support
-   24/7 (Live rep)
-   Chat

Training

-   In Person
-   Live Online
-   Webinars
-   Documentation
-   Videos

Payload

Deployment

-   Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
-   Desktop Mac
-   Desktop Windows
-   Desktop Linux
-   On-Premise Windows
-   On-Premise Linux
-   Desktop Chromebook
-   Mobile Android
-   Mobile iPhone
-   Mobile iPad

Support

-   Email/Help Desk
-   FAQs/Forum
-   Knowledge Base
-   Phone Support
-   24/7 (Live rep)
-   Chat

Training

-   In Person
-   Live Online
-   Webinars
-   Documentation
-   Videos

### Company Details

Strapi

-   By Strapi
-   Located in France
-   Founded in 2016

Payload

-   By Payload CMS
-   Located in United States
-   Founded in

## Popular Comparisons

[Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/)[4.69 (65)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

vs

[Kontent.ai](https://www.capterra.com/p/168433/Kontent/)[4.54 (52)](https://www.capterra.com/p/168433/Kontent/reviews/)

$99/month

Price

Contact vendor for pricing

4.5

Features

4.2

4.5

Ease of Use

4.4

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/168433-170599/Kontent-vs-Strapi)

[Payload](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/)[4.88 (48)](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

vs

[Kontent.ai](https://www.capterra.com/p/168433/Kontent/)[4.54 (52)](https://www.capterra.com/p/168433/Kontent/reviews/)

$35/month

Price

Contact vendor for pricing

4.7

Features

4.2

4.8

Ease of Use

4.4

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/168433-218666/Kontent-vs-Payload-CMS)

[Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/)[4.69 (65)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

vs

[Contentful](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/)[4.46 (63)](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/reviews/)

$99/month

Price

$0

4.5

Features

4.4

4.5

Ease of Use

4.2

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/134266-170599/Contentful-vs-Strapi)

[Payload](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/)[4.88 (48)](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

vs

[Contentful](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/)[4.46 (63)](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/reviews/)

$35/month

Price

$0

4.7

Features

4.4

4.8

Ease of Use

4.2

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/134266-218666/Contentful-vs-Payload-CMS)

[Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/)[4.69 (65)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

vs

[Storyblok](https://www.capterra.com/p/213991/Storyblok/)[4.31 (13)](https://www.capterra.com/p/213991/Storyblok/reviews/)

$99/month

Price

Contact vendor for pricing

4.5

Features

3.8

4.5

Ease of Use

4.5

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/170599-213991/Strapi-vs-Storyblok)

[Payload](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/)[4.88 (48)](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

vs

[Directus](https://www.capterra.com/p/156619/Directus/)[4.52 (60)](https://www.capterra.com/p/156619/Directus/reviews/)

$35/month

Price

$25/month

4.7

Features

4.4

4.8

Ease of Use

4.5

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/156619-218666/Directus-vs-Payload-CMS)

[Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/)[4.69 (65)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/)

vs

[Directus](https://www.capterra.com/p/156619/Directus/)[4.52 (60)](https://www.capterra.com/p/156619/Directus/reviews/)

$99/month

Price

$25/month

4.5

Features

4.4

4.5

Ease of Use

4.5

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/156619-170599/Directus-vs-Strapi)

[Payload](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/)[4.88 (48)](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/)

vs

[Sanity](https://www.capterra.com/p/199501/Sanity/)[4.67 (3)](https://www.capterra.com/p/199501/Sanity/#reviews)

$35/month

Price

$99/month

4.7

Features

4.3

4.8

Ease of Use

3.3

[View full comparison](https://www.capterra.com/compare/199501-218666/Sanity-vs-Payload-CMS)