Introducing Yearly Plans and New Limits for Strapi Cloud

Back in March, we introduced a new pricing model, making Strapi Cloud more accessible. The intention was simple: reduce friction for builders. We simplified Strapi Cloud pricing by offering “hosting-only plans” (without CMS features), increasing included storage, and removing CMS seat and entry limits. The result was a pricing model that grows with your business, where you only pay for what you need when you need it. This approach makes it easier for you to scale, allowing you to focus less on infrastructure management and more on building products that matter.

Today, we’re taking the next step in that direction. We're introducing annual billing with 20% savings, alongside refined usage limits that ensure each plan serves its intended purpose.

TL;DR

• 20% discount for yearly billing compared to monthly billing
• Refined usage limits: Updated API request limits for Free and Essential plans
• Monthly quota resets: API requests and bandwidth renew monthly, even on yearly plans
• Explore the Strapi Cloud Pricing page and Cloud billing & usage docs for complete details

What’s new and what it means for you

Introducing Yearly Pricing

We heard from many customers that they prefer annual billing for simplified budgeting and reduced administrative overhead. One annual invoice means less time spent processing payments for both developers and accounting teams.

You can now choose yearly billing on all paid Strapi Cloud plans and get a 20% discount compared to monthly billing, with one annual invoice instead of twelve.

Yearly plans offer the best value for teams that are ready to commit and plan ahead. Monthly billing remains available for teams that require maximum flexibility and the ability to cancel at any time, albeit at a higher monthly rate. This reflects the trade-off between flexibility and long-term savings, allowing you to choose what best suits your situation.

Existing monthly customers will continue on their current plans without any changes to their pricing. You're grandfathered in at your existing rates.

Monthly resets still apply on yearly plans too, regardless of how you’re billed:

• API requests reset monthly
• Bandwidth resets monthly
• Asset storage remains an ongoing limit

If you're currently on a monthly plan, don't worry, you'll keep your current pricing. Your rates won't change, and you'll continue with the same limits you have today.

Updated API request limits

We’ve refined API request limits on two plans to better reflect how they’re typically used:

• Free plan: 2,500 API requests/month (previously 10,000)
• Essential plan: 50,000 API requests/month (previously 100,000) – applies to new subscriptions only

The Free plan remains ideal for personal projects, learning, and early prototypes. These refined limits enable you to build in a stable environment, knowing exactly when your project is ready to transition from proof of concept to production.

Existing Essential customers are protected. If you’re already on the Essential plan, nothing changes. You’ll keep your existing 100,000 API requests/month limit. No action required. No disruption. We believe trust is built by honoring existing commitments and protecting the way you’re already building.

Why we changed the limits

To be clear and honest, lower limits aren’t a direct benefit to individual users. These updates help keep Strapi Cloud reliable, sustainable, and aligned with how each plan is intended to be used:

• Free plan: lower limits ensure stability and usability for everyone experimenting or learning.
• Platform sustainability: helps maintain performance, prevent abuse, and fund continued investment in new capabilities.

If your project outgrows a plan, that’s a signal it’s ready for the next stage.

What’s next for Strapi Cloud

Alongside these pricing updates, we're continuously building new capabilities across all paid Strapi Cloud plans designed to give you more visibility, control, and speed as your projects grow.

This includes enhanced logging, monitoring, and other improvements focused on improving the developer experience. These initiatives are shaping the 2026 roadmap, and we'll share more details as they become available.

FAQ

Will yearly plans be available for the Growth (CMS) plan?

Yearly billing currently applies only to Strapi Cloud hosting plans (Essential, Pro, Scale). CMS feature licenses (Growth) remain separate for now and are available on a monthly basis.

Can I stay on the Free plan and pay overages?

No, overages don't apply to the Free plan. If you need additional resources, upgrading to a paid plan starting at just $18/month (or $15/month with yearly billing) gives you significantly more capacity.

Do monthly quotas reset monthly, even on yearly plans?

Yes. API requests and bandwidth renewals occur on a monthly basis on yearly plans. Unlike Asset storage, which is an ongoing limit. For example, an Essential customer with 100,000 API requests/month makes 125,000 requests in a given month. They exceeded their quota by 25,000 API requests and would be charged an additional $1.50.

Can I switch from monthly to yearly billing and vice versa?

Yes, you can adjust your billing frequency in your dashboard at any point in time. However, the change will take effect at the end of your current billing cycle. For yearly plans, this means the switch will occur after your 12-month commitment has been completed.

Is Strapi Cloud better than managing my own servers?

In most cases, yes, it greatly reduces operational overhead and lets you build faster. If you require full infrastructure control or want to keep both your frontend and backend on the same infrastructure, self-hosting remains an option.

What happens to existing Essential customers with the new limits?

Current Essential customers keep their existing 100,000 API requests/month limit and won't be affected by these changes. The new 50,000 API requests/month limit only applies to new Essential subscriptions created after December 22nd, 2025.