Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Headless CMS

Strapi vs DatoCMS

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Strapi #1 in Headless CMS 9.4/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Strapi
DatoCMS #11 in Headless CMS 8.3/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 4 features Visit DatoCMS

Strapi leads on 0 checks, DatoCMS on 0, and 5 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreStrapi · 9.4/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialboth
  • Most featuresDatoCMS · 4 of 4

Strapi scores higher on our rubric for headless cms: 9.4 against 8.3 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #11.

Strapi is the better fit for open-source teams needing deployment flexibility. DatoCMS is the better fit for teams wanting capable editorial controls.

  • Strapi fits best

    Open-source teams needing deployment flexibility

  • DatoCMS fits best

    Teams wanting capable editorial controls

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Strapi 9.4/10 Visit ↗ DatoCMS 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.3
Ranking #1 in Headless CMS #11 in Headless CMS
Best for Open-source teams needing deployment flexibility Teams wanting capable editorial controls
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price $45/mo €149/mo
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 30 days 14 days
Free trial length 30 days · no card needed 14 days
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud
Platforms Web Web
Support Community, Docs Email, Community, Docs
Compliance SOC 2, GDPR ISO 27001, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Integrations 198+ integrations 4 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Strapi 3/4 · DatoCMS 4/4
Content localization ✓ ✓
Webhooks ✓ ✓
Content preview ✓ ✓
Asset transformations Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
API types Both Both
Role permissions Custom Custom
Our review
Pros
  • Self-hosted or managed cloud deployment
  • REST and GraphQL APIs with localization
  • Granular permissions, previews, and workflows
  • GraphQL and REST APIs support flexible content delivery and management
  • Granular permissions, workflows, and previews support structured editorial teams
  • Localization and image transformations cover international, media-rich projects
Cons
  • Advanced governance features require Enterprise
  • Cloud hosting and CMS plans are priced separately
  • API and storage limits vary by hosting tier
  • Professional starts at €149 per month when billed annually
  • The Free plan relies on community-based support
  • Enterprise pricing is custom and adds cost uncertainty
Our verdict

Strapi is an open-source headless CMS and content framework for developers, content teams, agencies, and enterprises. It provides visual content modeling with components and dynamic zones, an administrative interface, automatically…

Read the review →

DatoCMS is a cloud-based headless CMS for teams creating websites, applications, ecommerce experiences, and other digital products. It centralizes structured content and delivers it through APIs, including a GraphQL Content Delivery API…

Read the review →
  1. StrapiHeadless CMS 9.4Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. DatoCMSHeadless CMS 8.3Free plan · 14-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Strapi — where it wins

    • Self-hosted or managed cloud deployment
    • REST and GraphQL APIs with localization
    • Granular permissions, previews, and workflows

    Where it doesn't

    • Advanced governance features require Enterprise
    • Cloud hosting and CMS plans are priced separately
    • API and storage limits vary by hosting tier

  • DatoCMS — where it wins

    • GraphQL and REST APIs support flexible content delivery and management
    • Granular permissions, workflows, and previews support structured editorial teams
    • Localization and image transformations cover international, media-rich projects

    Where it doesn't

    • Professional starts at €149 per month when billed annually
    • The Free plan relies on community-based support
    • Enterprise pricing is custom and adds cost uncertainty
  • Strapi9.4/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

    A flexible CMS for teams that want open-source control and deployment choice.

    Visit StrapiFull verdict →
  • DatoCMS8.3/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

    A capable headless CMS with strong editorial features and a relatively high paid entry price.

    Visit DatoCMSFull verdict →

More comparisons

All headless CMS comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update