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APIs · head to head

Liveblocks vs Strapi

Liveblocks logo

Liveblocks

APIs

Realtime collaboration infrastructure for building multiplayer features

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 Liveblocks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Liveblocks on the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • They diverge on capability: Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors, Strapi covers REST API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Liveblocks and Strapi actually diverge.

Attributes where Liveblocks and Strapi differ
AttributeLiveblocksStrapi
Starting priceFree$35/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, apiNode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker
FoundedUnknown2015

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

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 Liveblocks

  • Realtime presence and cursors
  • Comments
  • Version history
  • Custom notifications
  • SSO and SOC 2
  • Management API

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.

Liveblocks

  • Adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editornot Strapi
  • Building threaded comments on documents or designsnot Strapi
  • Sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actionsnot Strapi
  • Restoring previous versions of collaborative contentnot Strapi

Strapi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Liveblocks

  • On the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.
  • The jump from Pro ($30/month) to Team (starting at $600/month) is steep for teams that outgrow Pro but don't need full Team scale.
  • Multi-region hosting and SCIM provisioning are Enterprise-only and require custom pricing.

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

Liveblocks

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 10 projects
    • 3 dashboard seats
    • 10 simultaneous connections per room
  • Pro$30/month
    • $30 monthly credits
    • Removes Liveblocks branding
    • 3 dashboard seats
  • Team$600/month
    • SSO and SOC 2
    • 10 dashboard seats
    • 50 connections/room

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 Liveblocks if

  • You need realtime presence and cursors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want comments.
Liveblocks 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 Liveblocks or Strapi better?
Neither clearly leads. Liveblocks 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, Liveblocks or Strapi?
Liveblocks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Liveblocks and $35/month for Strapi.
Does Liveblocks or Strapi run on more platforms?
Liveblocks runs on web, api. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Liveblocks for free?
Yes. Liveblocks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Strapi starts at $35/month.
What is Liveblocks best used for?
Liveblocks is most often used for adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editor, building threaded comments on documents or designs, sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actions, restoring previous versions of collaborative content. Of those, adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editor and building threaded comments on documents or designs are not what Strapi is typically brought in for.
What can Liveblocks do that Strapi cannot?
Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors, Comments, Version history, Custom notifications. Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Liveblocks: What does Liveblocks cost?

Liveblocks offers a Free plan with hard usage caps, a Pro plan at $30/month ($25/month billed annually) including $30 in monthly credits, a Team plan from $600/month, and custom Enterprise pricing.

Source
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
Liveblocks: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the Free plan includes 10 projects, 3 dashboard seats, 10 simultaneous connections per room, 3,000 collaboration minutes, 200 comments, and 1GB of realtime data storage, with features pausing once a cap is hit.

Source
Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

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

Source
Liveblocks: How is usage metered?

Paid plans include monthly credits covering collaboration minutes, comments, and storage; usage beyond the credit is billed at metered rates such as $0.002 per collaboration minute and $0.01 per comment, with credits resetting each billing cycle without rollover.

Source
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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