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Testing · head to head

Cucumber vs Strapi

Cucumber logo

Cucumber

Testing

Behaviour-driven development testing framework that returned to community ownership after nine years under SmartBear

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Strapi logo

Strapi

APIs

Headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs

From
$35/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cucumber has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cucumber gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • They diverge on capability: Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax, Strapi covers REST API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cucumber and Strapi actually diverge.

Attributes where Cucumber and Strapi differ
AttributeCucumberStrapi
Starting priceFree$35/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsNode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker
CategoryTestingAPIs
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cucumber

  • Gherkin syntax
  • Step definition binding
  • Multi-language support
  • Living documentation
  • Tagging and scenario outlines
  • Reporting plugins

Only in Strapi

  • REST API
  • GraphQL API
  • Content management
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • AWS
  • Webhooks

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cucumber

  • A team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineersnot Strapi
  • An organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification documentnot Strapi
  • A QA team migrating acceptance tests from a proprietary BDD tool to an open source, community-governed alternativenot Strapi
  • A Java, JavaScript or Ruby project needing a mature BDD framework rather than building Gherkin-style parsing from scratchnot Strapi

Strapi

  • Running a self hosted headless CMS with a REST or GraphQL APInot Cucumber
  • Giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content modelnot Cucumber

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cucumber

  • Gherkin's plain-language layer adds a real maintenance burden, keeping feature files, step definitions and implementation code synchronised across a large suite is a known source of drift and duplicated effort.
  • Ownership has moved twice in under a decade, from independent to SmartBear-owned to independent community ownership again, which should temper confidence in any specific long-range roadmap claim.
  • Non-technical stakeholders who are meant to read and write Gherkin scenarios often do not engage with them in practice, leaving the readability benefit unrealised while the maintenance cost remains.
  • Step definition reuse across a large feature file set can become tangled, with ambiguous step matching causing hard-to-debug failures as a suite grows.
  • As a community-owned project without a corporate backer's support infrastructure, enterprise buyers wanting a formal support contract have no vendor to buy one from, unlike some competing BDD tools still sold commercially.

Strapi

  • Cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • Starter at $35 a month allows 100,000 API requests, and overage is $1.50 per 25,000
  • Extra bandwidth is $30 per 100 GB and extra asset storage $0.60 per GB
  • Backups start at the Pro plan, weekly, and only become daily at Business
  • An uptime SLA is Business only, at $450 a month per project
  • Additional environments cost $60 a month on Pro and $300 a month on Business

Pricing, plan by plan

Cucumber

Free
  • CucumberFree
    • Full functionality across Cucumber-JVM, Cucumber-JS, Cucumber-Ruby and other implementations
    • Community support via GitHub
    • Returned to independent community ownership in December 2024 after nine years connected to SmartBear

Strapi

$35/month
  • Starter$35/month
    • 100k API requests
    • 50 GB asset storage
    • 50 GB asset bandwidth
  • Pro$90/month
    • 1M API requests
    • 250 GB asset storage
    • 500 GB asset bandwidth
  • Business$450/month
    • 10M API requests
    • 1000 GB asset storage
    • 1000 GB asset bandwidth

Which should you pick?

Choose Cucumber if

  • You need gherkin syntax.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want step definition binding.
Cucumber review

Choose Strapi if

  • You need rest api.
  • You work on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want graphql api.
Strapi review

Questions people ask

Is Cucumber or Strapi better?
Neither clearly leads. Cucumber starts at Free and Strapi at $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cucumber or Strapi?
Cucumber has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cucumber and $35/month for Strapi.
Does Cucumber or Strapi run on more platforms?
Cucumber runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Cucumber for free?
Yes. Cucumber has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Strapi starts at $35/month.
What is Cucumber best used for?
Cucumber is most often used for a team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineers, an organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification document, a qa team migrating acceptance tests from a proprietary bdd tool to an open source, community-governed alternative, a java, javascript or ruby project needing a mature bdd framework rather than building gherkin-style parsing from scratch. Of those, a team practising behaviour-driven development that wants shared, readable specifications between product owners and engineers and an organisation wanting living documentation that stays synchronised with actual test coverage rather than a separate specification document are not what Strapi is typically brought in for.
What can Cucumber do that Strapi cannot?
Cucumber covers Gherkin syntax, Step definition binding, Multi-language support, Living documentation. Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cucumber: Is Cucumber owned by SmartBear?

No, not currently. SmartBear acquired Cucumber Ltd in 2019 but the open source project returned to independent community ownership in December 2024.

Strapi: How much do API request overages cost?

Additional API requests beyond the plan limit cost $1.50 per 25000 requests. Extra asset storage costs $0.60 per GB, and additional bandwidth costs $30 per 100 GB.

Source
Cucumber: Is Cucumber free?

Yes, entirely open source with no licence fee across all its language implementations.

Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

Yes, yearly billing saves up to 17% compared to monthly billing on Strapi Cloud plans.

Source
Cucumber: Does Cucumber replace Selenium or Appium?

No, Cucumber provides the Gherkin specification layer and step definition binding; the actual browser or mobile automation still needs a driver such as Selenium or Appium underneath.

Strapi: What is included with the Pro plan?

The Pro plan costs $90 per month per project and includes 1M API requests, 250 GB asset storage, 500 GB bandwidth, multi-environment support, weekly backups, and manual backups.

Source
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