Penpot vs Strapi
Open-source design + prototyping platform — Figma alternative, self-hostable
vs. Leading open-source Node.js headless CMS — self-host or Cloud
Pricing tiers
Penpot
Free (Cloud)
$0. Unlimited files, unlimited projects, unlimited users. Full feature set.
Free
Self-Hosted (OSS)
Free forever. MPL 2.0 license. Docker Compose deploy. Full feature parity with cloud.
$0 base (usage-based)
Enterprise
Custom. Self-hosted support contract, SLA, training.
Custom
Strapi
Self-Hosted (OSS)
MIT-licensed Node.js CMS. Run free on any infra. Full admin + plugin ecosystem.
$0 base (usage-based)
Cloud Free (trial)
14-day free trial of Strapi Cloud.
Free
Cloud Essential
$18/month ($15 annual). 500k API requests, 50 GB asset bandwidth, 50 GB storage. Transparent overages.
$18/mo
Cloud Pro
$90/month. Higher quotas, faster support.
$90/mo
Cloud Scale
$450/month. Enterprise-grade infra, priority support.
$450/mo
Enterprise Edition (self-host)
Self-host + Enterprise license. SSO/SAML, audit logs, review workflows, content releases.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing free on Penpot vs self-hosted on Strapi.
| Metric | Penpot | Strapi |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Penpot · 16 features
- Accessibility Checks — Contrast + color blindness.
- Animations — Transitions + effects.
- Auto Layout — Responsive components.
- Comments — In-file discussion.
- Components + Variants — Reusable elements.
- Design Canvas — Vector drawing + layout.
- Design Tokens (W3C) — Named design variables.
- Figma File Import — Migrate from Figma.
- Flex + Grid Layout — Layout constraints.
- Inspector + Code Export — CSS/HTML/React/Flutter code.
- Native SVG — Not a proprietary blob.
- Plugins API — Extend Penpot.
- Prototyping — Interactive flows.
- Self-Host (MPL-2.0) — Docker deploy.
- Shared Libraries — Team asset libraries.
- Version History — File revisions.
Strapi · 16 features
- Audit Logs (EE) — Track every admin action.
- Components — Reusable field groups shared across content types.
- Content Types Builder — Visual schema builder — fields, relations, components, dynamic zones.
- Custom Fields — Plugin-based custom field types (color picker, markdown, etc.).
- Draft & Publish — Two-phase publishing workflow.
- Dynamic Zones — Flexible page builder — authors pick components to add.
- GraphQL API (plugin) — Optional GraphQL layer via official plugin.
- Internationalization — Multi-locale content out of the box.
- Media Library — Upload + organize media. Providers: local, S3, Cloudinary, DO Spaces.
- Releases (EE) — Bundle content changes and publish atomically.
- REST API (auto-gen) — Auto-generated REST endpoints per content type. Full CRUD + filters.
- Review Workflows (EE) — Approval-based content workflows.
- Role-Based Access Control — Per-role permissions at content type + field level.
- SSO / SAML (EE) — Enterprise identity for admin users.
- Strapi Cloud — Fully-managed hosting of Strapi instances.
- Webhooks — Built-in webhooks on content lifecycle events.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Penpot | Strapi |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | — | Strapi CLI |
| SDK | Penpot Plugins API | @strapi/client (JS) |
| REST | — | Admin REST API, Strapi Content REST API |
| GRAPHQL | — | GraphQL API (plugin) |
| OTHER | Desktop App, Export + Inspect, Penpot Web, Self-Host (Docker) | Webhooks |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Penpot and Strapi may be affiliate links — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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