Staxly

Strapi vs Helicone

Leading open-source Node.js headless CMS — self-host or Cloud
vs. Open-source LLM observability — 1-line integration via proxy

Strapi websiteHelicone website

Pricing tiers

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
Strapi website

Helicone

Hobby (Free)
10,000 requests/month. 7-day retention. 1 seat. Basic monitoring.
Free
Startup Discount
<2 years, <$5M funding: 50% off first year.
$0 base (usage-based)
Self-Hosted (OSS)
MIT-licensed. Run Helicone yourself for free.
$0 base (usage-based)
Pro
$79/month. 10k free + usage-based. Unlimited seats. Alerts, reports, HQL query language. 1-month retention.
$79/mo
Team
$799/month. 5 orgs, SOC-2 + HIPAA compliance, dedicated Slack, 3-month retention.
$799/mo
Enterprise
Custom MSA, SAML SSO, on-prem deploy, bulk discounts, forever retention.
Custom
Helicone website

Free-tier quotas head-to-head

Comparing self-hosted on Strapi vs hobby on Helicone.

MetricStrapiHelicone
No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers.

Features

Strapi · 16 features

  • Audit Logs (EE)Track every admin action.
  • ComponentsReusable field groups shared across content types.
  • Content Types BuilderVisual schema builder — fields, relations, components, dynamic zones.
  • Custom FieldsPlugin-based custom field types (color picker, markdown, etc.).
  • Draft & PublishTwo-phase publishing workflow.
  • Dynamic ZonesFlexible page builder — authors pick components to add.
  • GraphQL API (plugin)Optional GraphQL layer via official plugin.
  • InternationalizationMulti-locale content out of the box.
  • Media LibraryUpload + 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 ControlPer-role permissions at content type + field level.
  • SSO / SAML (EE)Enterprise identity for admin users.
  • Strapi CloudFully-managed hosting of Strapi instances.
  • WebhooksBuilt-in webhooks on content lifecycle events.

Helicone · 16 features

  • AlertsThresholds on error rate, latency, cost, usage. Pro+.
  • Async LoggingLog AFTER the LLM call via SDK — zero added latency.
  • Cost TrackingAutomatic cost calculation per call by provider/model.
  • DashboardRequest tables, aggregate metrics, cost breakdowns.
  • EvaluatorsLLM-as-judge + custom evaluators on runs.
  • ExperimentsA/B test different models/prompts.
  • HQL (SQL over traces)Query your logged data with SQL. Pro+.
  • PII RedactionAutomatically scrub emails, credit cards, etc. from logs.
  • Prompt CachingCache identical requests → save money.
  • Prompts & VersionsStore + version + A/B test prompts.
  • Proxy Mode1-line integration via base URL swap. Captures all requests.
  • Rate LimitingPer-user + per-key rate limit policies.
  • ReportsScheduled email reports with KPIs.
  • Self-HostingDocker + k8s deployment.
  • SessionsGroup related calls (chat sessions, agent runs).
  • User MetricsPer-user cost + usage segmentation.

Developer interfaces

KindStrapiHelicone
CLIStrapi CLIHelicone CLI
SDK@strapi/client (JS)helicone (npm), helicone-python
RESTAdmin REST API, Strapi Content REST APIAsync Logging API, Helicone Proxy, Query API (HQL)
GRAPHQLGraphQL API (plugin)
OTHERWebhooksHelicone Dashboard, Webhooks
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