Spree vs Strapi: What are the differences?

# Key Differences Between Spree and Strapi

Spree and Strapi are two popular open-source technologies used for building e-commerce platforms and content management systems, respectively. Here are the key differences between Spree and Strapi:

1. **Framework vs CMS**: Spree is an e-commerce framework built on Ruby on Rails, offering a robust set of features out of the box for creating online stores, while Strapi is a headless CMS that provides a flexible content management system for various types of content-driven websites.

2. **Purpose**: Spree is primarily focused on providing a comprehensive e-commerce solution, including shopping cart functionality, payment gateways integration, order management, and more, catering specifically to businesses looking to set up online stores. In contrast, Strapi focuses on content management, enabling users to create, manage, and distribute content across different platforms.

3. **Customization Capabilities**: Spree allows for extensive customization and flexibility in design and functionality to tailor the e-commerce platform to specific business needs, giving developers the freedom to create unique online shopping experiences. On the other hand, Strapi offers more flexibility in terms of content types, with the ability to define custom content structures and relationships for diverse content requirements.

4. **Tech Stack**: Spree is built on Ruby on Rails, a popular web development framework known for its robustness and scalability, making it suitable for building large-scale e-commerce applications. Meanwhile, Strapi is built on Node.js and uses GraphQL or REST APIs, providing a modern and efficient way to manage content and deliver it to various front-end applications.

5. **Community Support**: Spree has a thriving community of developers and contributors who actively maintain and enhance the framework, providing support, updates, and extensions to improve the platform's functionality and performance. Strapi also boasts a strong community that contributes to the project's development, offering plugins, resources, and tutorials to help users make the most of the CMS.

6. **Hosting Options**: Spree typically requires more complex hosting setups due to its dependencies on Ruby on Rails and associated technologies, often necessitating dedicated servers or specialized hosting environments for optimal performance. In comparison, Strapi can be easily deployed on various hosting services, including cloud platforms like Heroku or AWS, making it more accessible and scalable for different projects.

In Summary, Spree and Strapi serve distinct purposes, with Spree focusing on e-commerce functionality and customization within a Ruby on Rails framework, while Strapi caters to content management needs with a flexible and extensible headless CMS built on Node.js.