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APIs · head to head

Marqeta vs Strapi

Marqeta logo

Marqeta

APIs

Card issuing and transaction processing APIs with just-in-time funding

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Strapi logo

Strapi

APIs

Headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs

From
$35/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Marqeta you still need a sponsor bank and a BIN, so the timeline and compliance burden of launching are set by a bank you must separately court and satisfy.; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
  • They diverge on capability: Marqeta covers Just-in-time funding, Strapi covers REST API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Marqeta and Strapi actually diverge.

Attributes where Marqeta and Strapi differ
AttributeMarqetaStrapi
Starting priceOn request$35/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, REST APINode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Marqeta

  • Just-in-time funding
  • Virtual and physical issuing
  • Spend controls
  • Programme management tools
  • Multi-region issuing
  • Webhooks and ledger data

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.

Marqeta

  • A delivery marketplace funding courier cards only at the moment a courier pays for the ordernot Strapi
  • An expense platform issuing a virtual card per subscription with merchant locksnot Strapi
  • A lender issuing a card that draws on an approved credit line rather than a stored balancenot Strapi
  • A fintech wanting the same issuing stack across US and European programmesnot Strapi

Strapi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Marqeta

  • You still need a sponsor bank and a BIN, so the timeline and compliance burden of launching are set by a bank you must separately court and satisfy.
  • Pricing carries minimum monthly platform commitments, so a programme with modest card volume pays for capacity it never uses.
  • Programme revenue depends heavily on interchange, which means regulated debit interchange caps and European interchange caps materially change the business case by market.
  • Disputes, chargebacks and fraud losses sit with the programme, and teams that assumed the processor absorbed them discover a real operations headcount requirement.
  • Just-in-time funding makes your own authorisation endpoint a hard availability dependency; if it is slow or down, cards decline at the point of sale.

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

Marqeta

On request
  • Marqeta card issuing$undefined/year
    • Minimum monthly platform fee plus per-transaction and per-active-card charges
    • Interchange share negotiated between programme, processor and sponsor bank
    • Sponsor bank required, with its own fees and approval process

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 Marqeta if

  • You need just-in-time funding.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want virtual and physical issuing.
Marqeta 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 Marqeta or Strapi better?
Neither clearly leads. Marqeta starts at On request and Strapi at $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Marqeta or Strapi?
Marqeta starts at On request and Strapi at $35/month.
Does Marqeta or Strapi run on more platforms?
Marqeta runs on Web, REST API. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
What is Marqeta best used for?
Marqeta is most often used for a delivery marketplace funding courier cards only at the moment a courier pays for the order, an expense platform issuing a virtual card per subscription with merchant locks, a lender issuing a card that draws on an approved credit line rather than a stored balance, a fintech wanting the same issuing stack across us and european programmes. Of those, a delivery marketplace funding courier cards only at the moment a courier pays for the order and an expense platform issuing a virtual card per subscription with merchant locks are not what Strapi is typically brought in for.
What can Marqeta do that Strapi cannot?
Marqeta covers Just-in-time funding, Virtual and physical issuing, Spend controls, Programme management tools. Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Marqeta: Do I need a sponsor bank?

Yes. Marqeta is an issuer processor, not a bank. Card programmes run on a sponsor bank BIN, and that bank approves and supervises your programme.

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
Marqeta: How does the pricing really work?

A minimum monthly platform fee plus per-transaction and per-active-card charges, offset by a negotiated share of interchange. The interchange split is the substance of the deal.

Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

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

Source
Marqeta: What is just-in-time funding?

Marqeta calls your endpoint at authorisation so you decide and fund each transaction, rather than pre-loading balances onto cards.

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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