Software · head to head
Prisma vs Strapi
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Prisma prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage; Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill
- They diverge on capability: Prisma covers ORM, Strapi covers REST API.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Prisma and Strapi actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (open-source), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Prisma
- ORM
- Query builder
- Auto-migrations
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- GraphQL
- REST APIs
- TypeScript support
Only in Strapi
- REST API
- GraphQL API
- Content management
- PostgreSQL
- MySQL
- MongoDB
- AWS
- Webhooks
Both cover
- Node.js support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Prisma
- Using a type safe ORM and query layer against a Postgres databasenot Strapi
- Adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing databasenot Strapi
Strapi
- Running a self hosted headless CMS with a REST or GraphQL APInot Prisma
- Giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content modelnot Prisma
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Prisma
- Prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage
- Starter at $10 a month includes 1M operations then charges $0.0080 per 1,000
- Storage overage runs from $2.00 per GB on Starter down to $1.00 per GB on Business, so the unit cost depends on the plan
- Accelerate charges separately per operation and per GiB of query egress beyond the first 1 KiB
- Cache tag invalidations are not included below the Pro plan and are billed per thousand above it
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
Prisma
Free- Open SourceFree
- Full Prisma ORM
- Community support
- Professional$50/monthly
- Extended browser
- Priority support
- Monitoring
Strapi
Free- CommunityFree
- Self-hosted Strapi
- Community support
- Pro$99/monthly
- Cloud hosting
- Advanced features
- Priority support
- Business$undefined/monthly
- Enterprise features
- Custom SLA
- Dedicated support
Which should you pick?
Choose Prisma if
- You need orm.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Node.js, TypeScript.
- You also want query builder.
Choose Strapi if
- You need rest api.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
- You also want graphql api.
Questions people ask
- Is Prisma or Strapi better?
- Neither clearly leads. Prisma starts at Free and Strapi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Prisma or Strapi?
- Prisma starts at Free and Strapi at Free.
- Does Prisma or Strapi run on more platforms?
- Prisma runs on Node.js, TypeScript. Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
- Can I use Prisma for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Prisma best used for?
- Prisma is most often used for using a type safe orm and query layer against a postgres database, adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing database. Of those, using a type safe orm and query layer against a postgres database and adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing database are not what Strapi is typically brought in for.
- What can Prisma do that Strapi cannot?
- Prisma covers ORM, Query builder, Auto-migrations, Node.js. Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL. Both handle Node.js support.
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