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Strapi vs Payload: catalog facts
Strapi	Payload
Freemium Free and open source to self-host; Strapi Cloud hosting and sales plans cost extra.	Free Free and open source under the MIT license; enterprise features are sold separately.
Self-hosted, Command line	Self-hosted
Automatic REST and GraphQL APIs from content models Visual content type builder	Installs inside an existing Next.js app folder Full TypeScript backend with an extensible admin panel
Headless only, so you build the frontend yourself Aimed at developers rather than non-technical site owners	Configured in code, so it needs a developer Tied to the Next.js and React ecosystem
Self-hosted, Hosted service	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.