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Strapi alternative

Hatamoto vs Strapi

Strapi manages your content and serves it over an API. You build and host the website that shows it. Hatamoto renders the website itself, with SEO, forms and redirects included. Strapi is ahead on languages, roles and front-end choice.

Install Hatamoto See the full comparison

39 lines compared

Updated 28 October 2026, against Strapi 5.59 Community edition, with paid plans noted.

Hatamoto ahead
19 A rendered website, SEO, forms, redirects and sandboxed plugins
Strapi ahead
13 APIs, languages, roles, content modelling and managed hosting
About the same
7 Licence, drafts, webhooks, MCP and exports

Line by line

The full comparison

39 lines in eight groups. Open a group to see each line. "Ahead" means better out of the box for a typical business website.

Hatamoto aheadStrapi aheadAbout the same

Platform and hostingHatamoto 3Strapi 2Even 1
Platform and hosting: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
What you runOne Go binary and a Postgres databaseA Node.js app with a SQL database, plus a separate front end you buildHatamoto
LicenceApache-2.0, open source throughoutMIT, with some Enterprise code under a commercial licenceHatamoto
DatabasePostgres onlyPostgres, MySQL, MariaDB or SQLiteStrapi
DockerA documented Dockerfile and compose file. A signed image comes with the first public releaseNo official image. The docs point to community toolsEven
Managed hostingNone, you run it yourselfStrapi Cloud from US$35 a month per projectStrapi
Your public websiteHatamoto 4Strapi 1
Your public website: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
Public websiteIncluded, rendered by Hatamoto's themesNot included. You build and host one in the framework of your choiceHatamoto
Front-end choiceGo templates inside Hatamoto's theme systemNext.js, Nuxt, Astro, a mobile app or anything that reads JSONStrapi
Live previewBuilt in and freePreview is free. Editing in place while you preview needs GrowthHatamoto
Page cachingIn memory, cleared on every editNo page cache in core. Your front end handles cachingHatamoto
FormsBuilt in, with spam protection and CSV exportNot in core. You build your own or add a community pluginHatamoto
Editing and contentHatamoto 3Strapi 3Even 2
Editing and content: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
Custom content typesSet up in the admin and live straight awayContent-Type Builder, which only works in developmentHatamoto
Reusable field groupsSections and reusable blocksComponents and dynamic zonesEven
Building pagesSection-based page builder with live previewDynamic zones, laid out by your front endHatamoto
Drafts and publishingBuilt in, with schedulingBuilt in. Scheduled releases need GrowthEven
Revision historyBuilt in and freeContent History needs Growth and keeps 14 days of changesHatamoto
Staff rolesOwner and editorAuthor, Editor and Super Admin, plus unlimited custom rolesStrapi
More than one languageNo, one language per siteBuilt in and free, with unlimited localesStrapi
Review and approval stepsNot includedReview Workflows, on EnterpriseStrapi
SEO and AI searchHatamoto 5
SEO and AI search: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
SEO titles and descriptionsBuilt in and printed in every page headA partner plugin stores them and your front end prints themHatamoto
SitemapsBuilt inCommunity plugins onlyHatamoto
Schema markup (JSON-LD)Built in for every content typeYou model the fields and render them yourselfHatamoto
RedirectsBuilt in, with a 404 logCommunity plugins, which your front end has to applyHatamoto
AI crawler reportsWhich AI read which page, and the visits it sent youNot available. There is no rendered site to trackHatamoto
Content API, AI agents and developer toolsStrapi 3Even 3
Content API, AI agents and developer tools: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
REST APIBuilt in, with scoped keysGenerated for every content type, with API tokensEven
GraphQLNot includedOfficial pluginStrapi
MCP serverBuilt inBuilt in since 5.49, off until you enable itEven
AI writing helpNot includedStrapi AI for translations and alt text, on GrowthStrapi
WebhooksBuilt in and signedBuilt inEven
Custom server codeSandboxed plugins with declared permissionsControllers, services and middleware you write in NodeStrapi
Plugins and themesHatamoto 2Strapi 1
Plugins and themes: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
Plugin safetyEvery plugin runs in a WebAssembly sandboxPlugins run with full access to the serverHatamoto
Plugin marketplaceA small set of signed first-party pluginsA community marketplace with many listingsStrapi
ThemesInstallable themes with a page builderNot applicable. Strapi has no themesHatamoto
Security and dataHatamoto 1Strapi 1Even 1
Security and data: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
UpdatesSigned and automatic, with release channels and rollbackYou upgrade npm packages, rebuild and redeployHatamoto
Single sign-onNot includedPaid add-on on Growth, included in EnterpriseStrapi
Full-site exportOne command, including media and settingsstrapi export, free, without admin usersEven
Track record and communityHatamoto 1Strapi 2
Track record and community: Hatamoto vs Strapi
LineHatamotoStrapiAhead
MaturityPre-1.0, runs hatamoto.devSince 2015, stable since 2020, now on version 5Strapi
CommunitySmall and growingAbout 73,000 GitHub starsStrapi
Importing from WordPressBuilt in, with a URL auditNo official importerHatamoto

Compared against Strapi 5.59 Community edition, with paid plans noted on 28 October 2026. Sources: Strapi on GitHub, licence, self-hosted pricing, Cloud pricing, Content-Type Builder, SEO guide, MCP server. Found something out of date? Open an issue.

Six things to weigh before you go headless

  • 01

    Strapi needs a second app to show anything

    Strapi's own SEO guide says it has no theme layer, no title tag injection and no sitemap generator. Your front end has to supply all of it.

    How Hatamoto renders pages
  • 02

    Hatamoto runs as a single app

    One binary serves the admin and the public site, so you have one thing to host, update and back up.

    Install Hatamoto
  • 03

    Change your content model in production

    Add a content type or field in Hatamoto's admin and use it straight away. Strapi's Content-Type Builder only works in development, so every change means a deploy.

    Content types
  • 04

    Every feature is in the free download

    Hatamoto has no paid tier. Strapi keeps live preview, scheduled releases and revision history for its Growth plan.

    Edit and publish content
  • 05

    Plugins run in a sandbox

    A Hatamoto plugin gets only the permissions it declares. Strapi plugins are Node code with the same access as Strapi itself.

    How plugins are sandboxed
  • 06

    Strapi leads on languages and roles

    Unlimited locales and custom roles are free in Strapi. Hatamoto supports one language per site and two roles.

    What Hatamoto leaves out

The headless bill

7 jobs Strapi hands to your front-end team

None of these are hard on their own. Together they are a second codebase to build, host and keep patched.

Strapi

Your developers build or add

  • The website itself: Next.js, Nuxt or Astro
  • Meta tags and canonical links: front-end code and a plugin
  • Sitemaps: a community plugin
  • Redirects: a plugin plus front-end handling
  • Schema markup: front-end code
  • Forms: custom code or a plugin
  • Page caching: your framework or CDN

Hatamoto

Built into one binary

  • Themes and a section page builder
  • Titles, descriptions and canonical tags in every page
  • XML sitemaps
  • Redirects with a 404 log
  • JSON-LD for every content type
  • Forms with spam protection and CSV export
  • A page cache that clears on every edit

Being straight with you

When Strapi is the better choice

Choose Strapi if any of these describe your project.

  • The same content goes to a website, a mobile app and other channels.
  • Your developers already work in Next.js, Nuxt or Astro.
  • You need many languages, or custom roles for a large editorial team.
  • You want GraphQL as well as REST.
  • You want managed hosting from the people who make the CMS.
  • You plan to write custom server logic in Node.

Moving from Strapi

From Strapi to Hatamoto in four steps

There is no Strapi importer. Strapi's REST API and its export command give you plain JSON, so moving the content is a short script or an AI agent session.

  1. 1

    Install Hatamoto

    Run it with Docker or the single binary, next to a Postgres database. Getting started

  2. 2

    Recreate your types

    Add a Hatamoto content type for each Strapi collection type that has public pages. Content types

  3. 3

    Move the entries

    Read the entries from Strapi's REST API, or a plain <code>strapi export</code>, and create them through Hatamoto's MCP server or CLI with the same slugs. Connect an AI agent

  4. 4

    Retire the front end

    Rebuild the layouts with Hatamoto sections, add redirects for any URL that changes, then point the domain at Hatamoto. Redirects

Questions people ask

Written by the Hatamoto team, from Strapi's documentation and pricing as of October 2026.

Is Hatamoto a Strapi alternative?

For a website, yes. Hatamoto renders the pages, so you do not build and host a separate front end. If your content also feeds apps or other channels, Strapi's API-first design suits that better.

Is Strapi free?

The Community edition is free and MIT licensed, with unlimited users, roles and locales. Live preview, scheduled releases and content history need Growth at US$45 a month. SSO, review workflows and audit logs need Growth add-ons or Enterprise.

Does Strapi do SEO?

Not on its own. Strapi's own guide says it does not inject title tags, generate sitemaps or produce schema markup. You add plugins to store the fields and write front-end code to output them. Hatamoto handles all of this itself.

Can I edit content types in production with Strapi?

No. The Content-Type Builder is available in development only, and after a 2026 security fix its write APIs are switched off in production. Schema changes are code you commit and deploy. Hatamoto owners add types and fields in the live admin.

Do both work with AI agents?

Yes. Strapi added a built-in MCP server in version 5.49, off by default and scoped by admin tokens. Hatamoto's MCP server is on with an API key and also covers redirects, menus, sitemaps and AI crawler reports.

How do I move from Strapi to Hatamoto?

Create matching content types, read your entries from the REST API or a plain export, and create them in Hatamoto through MCP or the CLI. Rebuild your layouts with sections and add redirects where URLs change.

Other comparisons

  • Hatamoto vs WordPress

    The plugin stack most business sites run on, against one binary with SEO, caching and forms built in.

    Read the comparison