Softwr

APIs · head to head

Strapi vs Thanos

Strapi logo

Strapi

APIs

Headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs

From
$35/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thanos logo

Thanos

Cloud

Highly available Prometheus with long-term object storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Thanos has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill; Thanos several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • They diverge on capability: Strapi covers REST API, Thanos covers Global query.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Strapi and Thanos actually diverge.

Attributes where Strapi and Thanos differ
AttributeStrapiThanos
Starting price$35/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsNode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, DockerKubernetes, Linux, Docker
CategoryAPIsCloud
Founded2015Unknown

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

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 Strapi

  • REST API
  • GraphQL API
  • Content management
  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • AWS
  • Webhooks

Only in Thanos

  • Global query
  • Object storage retention
  • Deduplication
  • Downsampling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Strapi

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

Thanos

  • Querying metrics across many clusters or regions from one placenot Strapi
  • Retaining metrics for years without local disk growthnot Strapi
  • Removing the gap that appears when a single Prometheus instance restartsnot Strapi

Where each one falls short

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

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

Thanos

  • Several components — sidecar, store, querier, compactor, ruler — each with its own configuration and failure modes
  • The compactor is a common source of operational trouble and must not run twice against the same bucket
  • Query latency over object storage is meaningfully higher than local Prometheus
  • Object storage costs and API request charges become real at high volume

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Thanos

Free
  • ThanosFree
    • Full functionality
    • No usage limits
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Strapi if

  • You need rest api.
  • You work on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want graphql api.
Strapi review

Choose Thanos if

  • You need global query.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
  • You also want object storage retention.
Thanos review

Questions people ask

Is Strapi or Thanos better?
Neither clearly leads. Strapi starts at $35/month and Thanos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Strapi or Thanos?
Thanos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $35/month for Strapi and Free for Thanos.
Does Strapi or Thanos run on more platforms?
Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker. Thanos runs on Kubernetes, Linux, Docker.
Can I use Thanos for free?
Yes. Thanos has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Strapi starts at $35/month.
What is Strapi best used for?
Strapi is most often used for running a self hosted headless cms with a rest or graphql api, giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content model. Of those, running a self hosted headless cms with a rest or graphql api and giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content model are not what Thanos is typically brought in for.
What can Strapi do that Thanos cannot?
Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL. Thanos covers Global query, Object storage retention, Deduplication, Downsampling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Thanos: Is Thanos free?

Yes, open source and CNCF-incubating. Costs are the object storage it uses.

Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

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

Source
Thanos: Does Thanos replace Prometheus?

No. It runs alongside existing Prometheus servers, adding global query, deduplication and long-term storage.

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
Thanos: Thanos or VictoriaMetrics?

Thanos layers onto Prometheus using object storage and is the more established multi-cluster answer. VictoriaMetrics is a separate store aiming at lower resource use and fewer moving parts.

Share

Related pages

More on Strapi

More on Thanos

Keep looking

Other head to heads