Strapi vs Payload CMS
Headless CMS pricing comparison · 2026
Strapi pricing ranges from $0–$450/month, while Payload CMS ranges from $0–$833/month. Strapi is typically 78% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.
Strapi
Strapi pricing starts at $0 for the open-source community edition, which can be self-hoste
verified 27d ago
$264
$624
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Payload
saves
$360
vs
Strapi
· 25 seats
Cheapest
$264
Spread
58%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Pro
$27K/yr
year 1 license · $90/seat
Pro Cloud
$60K/yr
year 1 license · $199/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$624/yr
Vendr · n=54
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$264/yr
Vendr · n=3 · limited data
REF · 01
Sources & confidence
Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.
Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources
18 sourced facts
16 hidden-cost · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified
3w ago
Confidence
Medium confidence
Sources
1 sourced fact
Vendr median
Last verified
3w ago
Confidence
Limited confidence
REF · 02
Plans at a glance
Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.
Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 05
What users say
Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.
User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats).
Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges.
Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
VS
Strapi and Payload CMS both operate in the headless cms category. This page compares their list pricing.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | Strapi | Payload CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free /month | Free /free |
| Essential | $18 /month | $35 /per month |
| Pro | $90 /month | $199 /per month |
| Scale | $450 /month | $833 /per month (annual commitment) |
Market Intelligence
Strapi
- Median annual cost
- $624
- Based on
- 54 deals
Payload CMS
- Median annual cost
- $264
- Based on
- 3 deals