Strapi
The open-source headless CMS: when editing matters and freedom does too.
Strapi is the most popular open-source headless CMS. In practice: a clean editorial back-office accessible to non-technical users, exposing your content as an API consumed by any modern frontend (Next.js, Astro, mobile...). Unlike WordPress, Strapi dictates nothing about your site's rendering: it focuses on what it does well: managing structured, multilingual content with clean editorial roles.
My take on Strapi: it's the best compromise for the majority of SMBs that want a modern stack without vendor lock-in.
Sanity and Contentful are excellent but proprietary and expensive at scale, Decap is too minimalist for teams with workflows, Payload remains younger. Strapi is open source, self-hosted, mature, and its admin remains clear enough for your non-technical editors.
The classic trap: not deploying it properly (securing the admin, separating dev/prod, managing uploads). Done right, it's the most sustainable editorial investment available today for your activity.
- →Editorial site with non-technical editing team (marketing, comms, writers)
- →Multilingual content with per-language validation workflows
- →Desire to keep control of your data (self-hosted, exportable)
- →Project designed to last 5+ years: Strapi evolves but stays stable
- →Need for an API consumed by multiple channels (web, mobile, partners)
- ×Mostly static content edited rarely: markdown on GitHub suffices
- ×Technical-only team comfortable with file editing: unnecessary overhead
- ×Site without structured content (only fixed marketing pages): Astro is enough
- ×Tight hosting budget: Strapi requires Node.js and a database, more expensive than pure static
- →SanityProprietary headless CMS with excellent UX, if you accept SaaS and its billing modelView page
- →PayloadYounger, TypeScript-first, code-first, for very technical teams that want to configure everything in code
- →Decap (formerly Netlify CMS)Very light, git-based, perfect for simple blogs without editorial workflow
- →DirectusVery close to Strapi, more data-driven, good choice if you manage mostly business data rather than content
- →ContentfulIf you're a large organization ready to pay for a mature enterprise SaaS
- 01
Content type modeling first: that's the investment that pays off over 5 years
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Role and permission configuration matching actual editorial workflows
- 03
Admin customization only when necessary, definitely not by default
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Deployment with the front (mono-repo often recommended) and clean CI/CD
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Editor training and team-side content model documentation
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Offerings associated with this techIs Strapi really free?
The Community Edition is entirely free and open source: that's what the vast majority of SMB projects use. The Enterprise edition (SSO, advanced audit log, role-based publishing) is paid but reserved for large needs. You pay for hosting (a €10-30/month VPS is enough to start).Why Strapi rather than Sanity or Contentful?
Three reasons: open source (no vendor lock-in risk), self-hostable (your data stays with you), flat cost (no per-API-call billing like Sanity). Sanity has a more polished UX and image management; Contentful is more enterprise. For a French SMB that wants to control budget and data, Strapi almost always wins.How much does a site with Strapi cost?
The price does not come from Strapi but from the scope: number of content types, languages, page templates, integrations. Hosting, on the other hand, is known upfront: €15-50/month for self-hosted Strapi plus the front end. Very favourable compared with a traditional Drupal over five years. The amount is set in the quote, after a free initial scoping session that puts the scope in writing before any commitment.Strapi 4 or Strapi 5?
Strapi 5 is the recommended stable version for new projects: better performance, new document API architecture, redesigned plugins. Strapi 4 remains maintained for existing projects but a migration to 5 is worthwhile in the medium term. I default to Strapi 5 for new builds.What happens if Strapi disappears tomorrow?
Strapi is open source: the code remains available and self-hostable even if the company behind it disappears. Your data is in your PostgreSQL or SQLite database, in no proprietary format. The community is large enough that a fork would take over if needed. That's the main argument for headless open source vs proprietary SaaS.
A project involving Strapi?
Describe your context: I'll suggest the right level of investment.
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