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APIs · head to head

Strapi vs Unit

Strapi logo

Strapi

APIs

Headless CMS with REST and GraphQL APIs

From
$35/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Unit logo

Unit

APIs

Banking as a service platform for embedding deposit accounts, cards and payments, with a sponsor bank behind it

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Strapi cloud pricing is per project, not per account, so a second project doubles the bill; Unit your product depends on a sponsor bank you do not contract with directly, and 2024 showed what that means: Thread Bank received an FDIC enforcement action naming its banking as a service programmes and Blue Ridge Bank went under an OCC consent order and offboarded fintech partners.
  • They diverge on capability: Strapi covers REST API, Unit covers Deposit accounts.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Strapi and Unit actually diverge.

Attributes where Strapi and Unit differ
AttributeStrapiUnit
Starting price$35/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsNode.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, DockerWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2015Unknown

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 Strapi

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

Only in Unit

  • Deposit accounts
  • Card issuing
  • Payments
  • White label components
  • Compliance operations
  • Lending
  • Programme reporting
  • Sandbox

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 Unit
  • Giving editors a content admin panel over a custom content modelnot Unit

Unit

  • A vertical SaaS platform for contractors that wants to hold customer funds and issue expense cards without pursuing a charternot Strapi
  • A payroll or benefits platform embedding accounts so employees can be paid ahead of schedulenot Strapi
  • A marketplace that wants seller balances to sit in real accounts under its own brand rather than as ledger entries at a processornot Strapi
  • A company that needs interchange revenue from a card programme to make the unit economics of its core product worknot 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

Unit

  • Your product depends on a sponsor bank you do not contract with directly, and 2024 showed what that means: Thread Bank received an FDIC enforcement action naming its banking as a service programmes and Blue Ridge Bank went under an OCC consent order and offboarded fintech partners.
  • Programme approval by the bank is a separate gate from signing with Unit, and it can add months and impose product restrictions that were not visible during the commercial conversation.
  • Compliance obligations are shared but the operational load lands on you, and platforms consistently underestimate the staffing needed for disputes, escalations and the bank ongoing oversight requests.
  • Pricing is unpublished and blends platform fees, per-account and per-transaction charges and interchange sharing, which makes it hard to model unit economics before you have volume and easy to be surprised by the minimum.
  • Migrating a live deposit programme to a different provider or bank is extremely disruptive because it involves moving customer accounts and card credentials, so switching costs are far higher than for ordinary software.

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

Unit

On request
  • Unit Banking as a Service$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus per-account and per-transaction charges, quoted
    • Interchange sharing arrangements negotiated per programme
    • Minimum commitment typical

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 Unit if

  • You need deposit accounts.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want card issuing.
Unit review

Questions people ask

Is Strapi or Unit better?
Neither clearly leads. Strapi starts at $35/month and Unit at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Strapi or Unit?
Strapi starts at $35/month and Unit at On request.
Does Strapi or Unit run on more platforms?
Strapi runs on Node.js, Cloud, Self-hosted, Docker. Unit runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Unit is typically brought in for.
What can Strapi do that Unit cannot?
Strapi covers REST API, GraphQL API, Content management, PostgreSQL. Unit covers Deposit accounts, Card issuing, Payments, White label components.

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
Unit: Who actually holds the money?

A chartered partner bank, not Unit. Deposits sit at the sponsor bank and FDIC insurance flows from that bank, so its condition is your condition.

Strapi: Is yearly billing available?

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

Source
Unit: What happened with Unit sponsor banks in 2024?

Thread Bank received an FDIC enforcement action that explicitly named its banking as a service and lending as a service programmes, and Blue Ridge Bank was under an OCC consent order from January 2024 and offboarded fintech partners. Blue Ridge exited the order in late 2025.

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
Unit: What does Unit cost?

Not published. Expect a platform fee, per-account and per-transaction charges, an interchange share and a minimum commitment.

Unit: Do we need our own compliance team?

Yes. Unit supplies tooling and the bank sets the rules, but disputes, escalations and evidence for bank oversight require named people on your side.

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