APIs · head to head
Prisma vs Strapi
The short version
- Only Prisma has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Prisma and Strapi actually diverge.
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 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- FreeFree
- 1M requests/month
- 360 GB-hours memory
- 4 vCPU-hours
- Starter$10/month
- 5M requests/month
- 1M database operations ($8 per million overage)
- 10 GB storage ($2/GB overage)
- Pro$49/month
- 20M requests/month
- 10M operations ($2 per million overage)
- 50 GB storage ($1.50/GB overage)
- Business$129/month
- 100M requests/month
- 50M operations ($1 per million overage)
- 100 GB storage
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 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 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 $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Prisma or Strapi?
- Prisma has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Prisma and $35/month for Strapi.
- 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?
- Yes. Prisma has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Strapi starts at $35/month.
- 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.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Prisma: How much does Prisma cost?
Prisma is free to start with 1M requests/month. The Starter plan costs $10/month with 5M requests, the Pro plan $49/month with 20M requests, and the Business plan $129/month with 100M requests. All plans have usage-based overages.
SourceStrapi: 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.
SourcePrisma: What is Prisma's overage pricing?
Prisma charges $1 per million requests over the included amount (Starter), $2 per million database operations overage (Pro and Starter), and $1.50-$2 per GB for storage overages depending on the plan. All plans include a hard spend limit on by default.
SourceStrapi: Is yearly billing available?
Yes, yearly billing saves up to 17% compared to monthly billing on Strapi Cloud plans.
SourcePrisma: Does Prisma include data transfer costs?
No, Prisma includes unlimited data transfer with no egress fees on all plans. Prisma ORM remains free across all tiers.
SourceStrapi: 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.
SourceRelated pages
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