Top Sanity Alternatives in 2025: A Complete Comparison Guide

 

Top 5 Best Alternatives to Sanity

Introduction: Picking the Right Headless CMS for Your Business

If you're looking for a headless CMS, there’s a good chance you’ve come across Sanity. Maybe you’re already using it and wondering if there’s a better fit or maybe you’re just comparing options before committing. Either way, this guide will walk you through some of the best alternatives to Sanity and help you figure out what makes the most sense for your needs.

A headless CMS gives you the freedom to manage content without being tied to a specific website setup. It lets you push content to websites, mobile apps or even screens in physical stores. But not all platforms are built the same, and the best one for you depends on your team, your business, and how you work.

No matter your industry such as retail, tech, media or education, your content platform can seriously impact how quickly your team moves and how strong your digital experience is.

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What Makes These Alternatives Worth Considering

We’re not just listing options for the sake of it. These CMS platforms stand out because they do something really well

Some are easier to use for content teams with simple visual editors
Some give developers full flexibility but still come with helpful features out of the box
A few are designed for specific industries like eCommerce or publishing
Some are open source or have very clear pricing models
Others are fully managed so your team doesn’t have to handle setup or servers

 

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Why This Choice Matters

Making the final call on which headless CMS to use is actually a big deal. Hey, come on now — when you're the CMO, PM, and growth lead, like literally, you don't get paid for your hours. It doesn't happen. As a C-level, you get paid well for the decisions you make.

Your CMS affects more than just where content lives. It impacts

How fast your dev team can ship new things
How easily your content team can manage updates
How smooth the customer experience is
How fast you can launch campaigns or new features

So yes, it’s worth slowing down now to avoid moving fast in the wrong direction.

 

 

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Leading Sanity Alternatives for 2025

Directus

Overview: Directus connects directly to your database and turns it into a content management system. It's open-source and great for custom work.

Unique Strength: Gives full control over your data and setup, perfect for custom-built projects.

 

Notable Users:

• Walmart

• Adobe

• T-Mobile

Payload CMS

Overview: Payload is a CMS built for developers. It’s easy to customize, has strong security, and can be fully hosted on your own servers.

Unique Strength: Full control and privacy with self-hosting, ideal for businesses with custom needs.

Used By:

• Blue Origin

• Sonos

• Microsoft

Contentful

 

Overview: Contentful is a content platform that helps teams manage and publish content across websites, apps, and other digital channels. It’s used by many growing businesses because it’s fast, flexible, and works well at scale.

Unique Strength: Great for teams that want to manage lots of content in one place and keep everything organized. It’s especially useful if you’re publishing to multiple platforms like web, mobile, or even smart devices.

 

Used By:

• BMW

• Ruggable

• Spotify

Strapi

Overview: Strapi helps teams create content APIs quickly. It’s flexible, open-source, and works well with many different front-end tools.

Unique Strength: Quick setup with full flexibility, great for fast-moving teams and developers.

 

Notable Users:

• PostHog

• Société Générale

• Mug and Snug

Builder.io

 

Overview: Builder.io is a visual content builder. Teams can create and update web pages using drag-and-drop tools without needing to code.

Unique Strength: Easy visual editing, ideal for marketing and design teams who want more control.

Used By: 

• Everlane

• Zapier

• PetLab

 

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The best CMS depends on who’s using it, how technical your team is, and where your business is headed.

This guide is based on what we’ve learned using these platforms in real projects. It’s not a ranked list, just our honest view of what works best in different situations.

Pricing Models:

• Payload CMS: Self-hosted, open-source with paid cloud (free if you host it, or pay for their cloud)
  
  

• Directus: Open-source free, paid cloud hosting (free if you manage it yourself, or pay for online service)
  
  

• Strapi: Free self-hosted, paid cloud plans (free if you manage it yourself, or pay for online service)
  
  

• Builder.io: Page-view based pricing (cost depends on how many people visit your pages)
  
  

• Contentful: Entry and API call limits (pay based on how much content you manage and how often it's accessed)
  
  

Technical Architecture:

• Payload CMS: Node.js, database-backed, headless (built with modern tech, separates content from design)
  
  

• Directus: SQL database wrapper, REST/GraphQL (organizes data in tables, easy to access for apps)
  
  

• Strapi: Node.js based, plugin ecosystem (built with modern tech, easily expandable with add-ons)
  
  

• Builder.io: Component-driven, visual editing (drag-and-drop editing, no coding needed)
  
  

• Contentful: API-first, multi-environment (designed for developers to connect content to apps)
  
  

Target Users:

• Payload CMS: Full-stack developers (developers who work on both the front and back of websites/apps)
  
  

• Directus: Database-savvy developers (developers comfortable with handling databases)
  
  

• Strapi: Full-stack developers (developers who work on both the front and back of websites/apps)
  
  

• Builder.io: Marketers, designers, non-coders (great for business users who don’t code)
  
  

• Contentful: Enterprise teams, agencies (designed for large companies or creative agencies)
  
  

Content Management:

• Payload CMS: Structured content, custom fields (customizable content management, designed for flexibility)
  
  

• Directus: Relational data management (handle connected and organized data like a spreadsheet)
  
  

• Strapi: Traditional CMS feel (similar to familiar website content management tools)
  
  

• Builder.io: Visual page building (build pages visually by dragging and dropping elements)
  
  

• Contentful: Content modeling focus (helps plan and structure content before creating it)
  
  

Deployment:

• Payload CMS: Self-hosted or paid cloud (run on your servers or pay for their cloud)
  
  

• Directus: Self-host or cloud (you can run it on your own or use their online service)
  
  

• Strapi: Self-host required (unless cloud) (you need to manage it yourself unless you buy cloud service)
  
  

• Builder.io: SaaS only (fully online service, no need to install anything)
  
  

• Contentful: SaaS only (fully online service, no need to install anything)
  
  

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Team Setup

 

Developer-led teams
Recommended: Strapi, Payload, Directus
If you have a strong engineering team and want full control, these platforms let developers build exactly what you need from the ground up.

 

Marketing or content-led teams
Recommended: Contentful, Builder.io

If your content team wants to move fast and launch pages without waiting for developers, Contentful has an easy-to-use interface for quick publishing and simple workflows, while Builder.io offers visual drag-and-drop editing for creating entire pages and experiences without code. Both free your team from developer bottlenecks.

 

Mixed teams with both developers and marketers
Recommended: Directus, Contentful
These tools offer a good balance. Developers get the flexibility they want, and content teams get a clean, intuitive interface.

 

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Technical Requirements

Need full backend customization
Recommended: Strapi, Payload,Directus
Choose these if you want to build a custom app, control every part of it, and host it your way.

Already using a database or moving from another CMS
Recommended: Directus
We’ve seen many teams migrate from WordPress or similar platforms with thousands of blog posts, documents, and pages. One of the biggest concerns is how hard it is to move all that content. Directus is built to handle this well. It connects directly to most SQL databases, so you can often keep your existing data structure and simply manage it through a new interface. That makes migration faster and easier compared to rebuilding everything from scratch.

Need to publish in multiple languages or platforms
Recommended: Contentful
Best for global brands with more than one website, language, or content channel. Contentful helps manage everything in one place with structured content models.

Need strong workflows and team control
Recommended: Contentful
Ideal if you need roles, approvals, or organized content publishing. Especially helpful in teams with more structure and multiple contributors.

Want to build pages visually with drag and drop
Recommended: Builder.io

Builder.io's drag-and-drop interface lets non-technical users create professional pages without coding.

 

 

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Company Size and Growth Stage

Just starting out or testing ideas
Recommended: Strapi,Payload, Directus
These are affordable, flexible, and quick to set up. Great for MVPs or early-stage teams figuring things out.

Growing mid-sized business
Recommended: Contentful, Directus,Builder ioc
These tools balance flexibility and ease of use. They can grow with you without adding too much cost or complexity.

Large or complex organization
Recommended: Contentful, Directus, Payload
These platforms support multiple teams, advanced security needs, and deep integrations. Good fit if your operations are bigger or more regulated.

 

 

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Pricing

When evaluating a switch to an alternative headless CMS, cost is just one part of the equation. While it’s important to consider your current needs, it’s equally crucial to plan for your business’s growth in the next 3 to 5 years.

Migrating from Sanity to a new headless CMS means assessing key factors such as scalability, API flexibility, user management, and the overall pricing structure of the alternative platform.

The Decision Point: When Does Migrating from Sanity Make Financial Sense?

Let’s consider this example:

Imagine a fast-growing company with: 

✅ 2 million monthly visitors
✅ 20 million API calls per month
✅ 10 users and roles managing content

This company is rapidly expanding and needs a flexible, scalable CMS solution that can manage large content volumes, support localization, and facilitate omni-channel distribution. Here's how the annual costs compare:

 

 

Note: These costs are approximations based on market research and the latest pricing data for businesses with approximately 2 million monthly visitors and 20 million API calls per month.

 

 

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Enterprise vs. Developer-Focused Solutions

When evaluating CMS platforms, it's important to distinguish between enterprise-oriented and developer-focused solutions:

• Enterprise Platforms like Contentful provide comprehensive features and support but often with escalating pricing as you scale, ideal for companies managing complex global operations.

• Developer-Focused Platforms like Directus and Payload CMS offer greater flexibility and control over content architecture at better price points, perfect for technical teams requiring full customization without licensing constraints.

 

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Open-Source vs. Commercial Solutions

The decision between open-source and commercial solutions represents a fundamental strategic choice:

• Open-source platforms like Directus, Payload CMS, and Strapi offer full control over the CMS, customization, and hosting, ideal for businesses with technical resources to leverage these capabilities.

• Commercial solutions like Contentful and Builder.io prioritize managed infrastructure and dedicated support, suitable for businesses that need enterprise-grade reliability with limited development resources.

 

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Planning Your Migration from Sanity

If you're considering migrating from Sanity to one of these alternatives, develop a comprehensive migration strategy that addresses:

1. Content modeling requirements: How complex are your content structures?

2. Integration landscape: What systems must your CMS connect with?

3. Team capabilities: What technical resources can you dedicate to migration?

4. Content volume: How much existing content must be migrated?

5. Timeline constraints: What is your realistic implementation timeline?

The migration process typically takes 2-4 months depending on complexity, with organizations seeing ROI within 6-12 months when the new platform better aligns with their specific needs.

 

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Conclusion: Finding Your Perfect CMS Match

While Sanity offers powerful structured content capabilities, the perfect headless CMS depends entirely on your organization's specific requirements, technical capabilities, and content operations needs.

For organizations seeking maximum data flexibility with minimal licensing costs, database-centric platforms like Directus offer compelling advantages. Similarly, developer-focused options like Payload CMS are transforming what's possible with modern TypeScript-native approaches without the licensing overhead.

By thoroughly evaluating these Sanity alternatives against your unique criteria, you can select a platform that not only addresses your current pain points but positions your digital experiences for future growth and innovation.

Remember that the right choice isn't about following market trends or selecting the most popular option; it's about finding the platform that aligns with your specific business objectives, technical requirements, and long-term digital strategy.

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About Us

 

We are Weframe Tech, a leading provider of open-source-based headless CMS and composable content solutions. Our mission is to empower businesses with scalable, flexible, and high-performance content management systems that drive growth and innovation.