Is Portkey or Strapi better?

Neither clearly leads. Portkey 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, Portkey or Strapi?

Portkey starts at On request and Strapi at $35/month.

Does Portkey or Strapi run on more platforms?

Portkey runs on Web. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.

What is Portkey best used for?

Portkey is most often used for accessing 1,600+ language models through unified api gateway, monitoring and observing llm behavior in production environments, managing costs and setting budget limits for ai spending, implementing guardrails and pii redaction for secure ai interactions. Of those, accessing 1,600+ language models through unified api gateway and monitoring and observing llm behavior in production environments are not what Strapi is typically brought in for.

What can Portkey do that Strapi cannot?

Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL.

APIs · head to head

Portkey vs Strapi

Portkey

APIs

Observe, govern, and secure every AI interaction across your enterprise

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Strapi

APIs

Headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs

From: $35/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Portkey the free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Portkey and Strapi actually diverge.

Attributes where Portkey and Strapi differ
Attribute	Portkey	Strapi
Starting price	On request	$35/month
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Platforms	Web	Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker
Founded	Unknown	2015

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 Portkey

Nothing recorded that Strapi does not also cover.

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.

Portkey

Accessing 1,600+ language models through unified API gatewaynot Strapi
Monitoring and observing LLM behavior in production environmentsnot Strapi
Managing costs and setting budget limits for AI spendingnot Strapi
Implementing guardrails and PII redaction for secure AI interactionsnot Strapi

Strapi

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

Where each one falls short

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

Portkey

The free Developer tier records only 10,000 logs per month with 3 day log retention; the $49 per month Production tier raises that to 100,000 logs with $9 per additional 100,000 requests, as of August 2026.

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

Portkey

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Portkey review.

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 Portkey if

Nothing in the data separates Portkey from Strapi on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Portkey 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 Portkey or Strapi better?: Neither clearly leads. Portkey 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, Portkey or Strapi?: Portkey starts at On request and Strapi at $35/month.
Does Portkey or Strapi run on more platforms?: Portkey runs on Web. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
What is Portkey best used for?: Portkey is most often used for accessing 1,600+ language models through unified api gateway, monitoring and observing llm behavior in production environments, managing costs and setting budget limits for ai spending, implementing guardrails and pii redaction for secure ai interactions. Of those, accessing 1,600+ language models through unified api gateway and monitoring and observing llm behavior in production environments are not what Strapi is typically brought in for.
What can Portkey do that Strapi cannot?: Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Portkey: What happens if I exceed my Portkey plan's request limit?

Production tier ($49/month) charges $9 per additional 100,000 requests beyond the included 100,000. Enterprise customers have custom limits determined through their service agreement. Source: https://portkey.ai/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

Portkey: Can I self-host Portkey to avoid per-request billing?

Yes. Portkey offers an Open Source self-hosted version with unlimited requests at no cost, including universal API, routing, guardrails, and load balancing features. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source

Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

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

Source

Portkey: How long does Portkey retain my logs and metrics?

Free Developer tier retains logs 3 days and metrics 30 days. Production tier retains logs 30 days and metrics 90 days. Enterprise tier offers custom retention periods. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

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

Portkey: What compliance features are included in the Enterprise plan?

Enterprise tier includes SOC2 Type 2 certification, GDPR compliance, HIPAA compliance, VPC hosting, SSO, advanced guardrails, and dedicated support. Custom pricing required. Source: https://portkey.ai/pricing

Source

Portkey vs Strapi

Portkey

Strapi

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Portkey

Only in Strapi

What people use each for

Portkey

Strapi

Where each one falls short

Portkey

Strapi

Pricing, plan by plan

Portkey

Strapi

Which should you pick?

Choose Portkey if

Choose Strapi if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Portkey

More on Strapi

Keep looking

Other head to heads