Contentstack vs Sanity
Contentstack is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Sanity is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 12.
- Contentstack Headless · Closed source · 17 of 28 built in
- Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Contentstack on 29 Sept 2026, Sanity on 29 Sept 2026. Plans and releases can change after those dates.
WAYF is an official Payload partner and top contributor. Every platform in the table is classified by the same published definitions, and each answer lists the vendor page it came from.
Feature comparison
Built inPaid tierPlugin or add-onLimitedNot available
| Platform |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| What it is | Hosted headless CMS run by Contentstack, sold alongside its AI agent and customer data products. It delivers content over REST and GraphQL APIs. | Headless CMS with an open-source React editor, Sanity Studio, configured in code. Sanity stores content in its hosted Content Lake. |
| Edition compared The product and release each column describes. | Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans SaaS, continuously updated | Sanity hosted Content Lake with Sanity Studio 6 Version 6.16.0, released 22 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Contentstack contentstack.com | Sanity sanity.io |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary | Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary. |
| Hosting | No self-hosting Vendor cloud | No self-hosting Vendor cloud You can host the Studio anywhere, but content always lives in Sanity's cloud. |
| Built with | Hosted SaaS with REST and GraphQL APIs, CLI and SDKs | TypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIs |
| Database | Managed by Contentstack | Hosted Sanity Content Lake |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | Free to start Free plan. Growth $299 per month, extra users $25 per user per month. Enterprise on request. | Free to start Free plan. Growth $15 per seat per month. Enterprise on request. |
| Content modelling | ||
| Content model in code You define content types in files in your repository, review them like any other code and apply them from there. Imperative migration scripts alone count as limited. | Limited Migration scripts run by the Contentstack CLI. No declarative schema files. 2 | Built in 3 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Built in 1 | Not available You define schemas only in Studio code. 3 |
| Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. | Built in Modular Blocks fields, plus the Visual Editor for page layout. 12 | Built in Array fields of typed objects act as a page builder. 3 |
| Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. | Built in Entry-level localization in over 200 languages. 15 | Plugin or add-on Official document-level and field-level internationalization plugins. 4 |
| Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. | Built in Image Delivery API resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 3 | Built in Image pipeline resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 5 |
| APIs and delivery | ||
| REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. | Built in 5 | Built in HTTP API queried with GROQ. 1 |
| GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. | Built in 4 | Built in The Sanity CLI deploys it from the schema. 1 |
| Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. | Built in | Built in GROQ-powered webhooks: 2 on Free, 4 on Growth. 16 |
| Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. | Not available | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in | Built in 1 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Built in 6 | Paid tier Scheduled drafts on Growth and Enterprise. 1 |
| Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. | Built in | Limited Draft history kept 3 days on Free, 90 on Growth, 365 on Enterprise. 1 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in 12 | Built in 17 |
| Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. | Built in Visual Editor on every plan. 112 | Built in Presentation tool with click-to-edit overlays on every plan. 17 |
| Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. | Paid tier Custom workflows on Growth and Enterprise. 17 | Not available Build with document actions or a community plugin such as Workflow Manager. 914 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Built in Releases deploy grouped entries and assets to an environment. 6 | Paid tier Content Releases add-on on Enterprise. 1 |
| Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. | Limited Field-level locks and presence. Rolling out in phases with Drafts and Auto Save. 8 | Built in 1 |
| Access and governance | ||
| Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. | Paid tier 2 custom roles on Growth, 500 on Enterprise. None on Free. 1 | Paid tier Enterprise. Free has 2 fixed roles, Growth 5. 18 |
| Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. | Paid tier Field rules inside custom roles, from Growth. 19 | Limited API access rules are per document. Studio can hide or lock fields per role. 8 |
| Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. | Limited SAML 2.0 documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Eligible tiers are not public. Confirm access in the contract. 10 | Paid tier SAML SSO on Enterprise. 1 |
| Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. | Limited Stack and organization logs documented; baseline availability unconfirmed. Confirm access and retention in the contract. 11 | Paid tier Full audit trail and History API on Enterprise. 1 |
| Platform and extensibility | ||
| Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. | Built in Separate stacks in one organization. Scaling stacks is a Growth and Enterprise option. 1 | Built in Several projects per organization and Studio workspaces. 11 |
| Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. | Built in Developer Hub apps in field, sidebar and dashboard UI locations. 13 | Built in Custom inputs, tools and document actions in the React Studio. 39 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Contentstack Marketplace. 13 | Built in Sanity Exchange. 10 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Not available |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Not available | Not available |
| AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. | Plugin or add-on Official AI Assistant app with Contentstack-managed or your own model keys. 113 | Built in Content Agent on every plan. In-Studio AI Assist on Growth and Enterprise. 113 |
| Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. | Built in Official server run locally with npx @contentstack/mcp. 14 | Built in Hosted at mcp.sanity.io with OAuth. 12 |
Contentstack sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Contentstack Content Cloud headless CMS, Free, Growth and Enterprise plans.
- Contentstack pricing
- Contentstack docs: Migrate content using the CLI migration command
- Contentstack docs: Image Delivery API
- Contentstack docs: GraphQL Content Delivery API
- Contentstack docs: Content Delivery API
- Contentstack docs: About Releases
- Contentstack docs: About Workflows
- Contentstack docs: Real-Time Collaboration in the Entry Editor
- Contentstack docs: Examples to create custom roles
- Contentstack docs: About Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Contentstack docs: Monitor stack activities in Audit Log
- Contentstack docs: About Visual Editor
- Contentstack docs: AI Assistant app
- Contentstack docs: Contentstack MCP Server
- Contentstack docs: About Languages
Sanity sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Sanity hosted Content Lake with Sanity Studio 6.
- Sanity pricing
- sanity on npm
- Sanity docs: Schema types
- Sanity docs: Localization
- Sanity docs: Image transformations
- Sanity docs: GROQ-powered webhooks
- Sanity docs: Visual Editing
- Sanity docs: Roles and permissions
- Sanity blog: Document actions, workflows your way
- Sanity Exchange
- Sanity docs: Workspaces
- Sanity docs: MCP server
- Sanity docs: Install and configure AI Assist
- Sanity Exchange: Workflow Manager plugin
Considering more platforms? Compare Contentstack and Sanity with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Contentstack and Sanity get a different status on 12 of the 28 features and the same status on 16. Contentstack has 17 built in on its baseline edition, Sanity has 15. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.
Built in on Contentstack, a different answer on Sanity 5
- Content model in the UI Contentstack: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
- Localization Contentstack: Built in. Sanity: Plugin or add-on.
- Scheduled publishing Contentstack: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
- Version history Contentstack: Built in. Sanity: Limited.
- Content releases Contentstack: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
Built in on Sanity, a different answer on Contentstack 3
- Content model in code Contentstack: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
- Real-time co-editing Contentstack: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
- AI writing assistant Contentstack: Plugin or add-on. Sanity: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 4
- Approval workflows Contentstack: Paid tier. Sanity: Not available.
- Field-level permissions Contentstack: Paid tier. Sanity: Limited.
- Single sign-on Contentstack: Limited. Sanity: Paid tier.
- Audit log Contentstack: Limited. Sanity: Paid tier.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Sanity vs Payload.
Contentstack against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Contentstack
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- Contentstack vs CoreMedia Content Cloud
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- Contentstack vs Drupal
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- Contentstack vs Framer
- Contentstack vs Ghost
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- Contentstack vs Joomla
- Contentstack vs Keystone
- Contentstack vs Kirby
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- Contentstack vs Storyblok
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- Contentstack vs TYPO3
- Contentstack vs Umbraco
- Contentstack vs Wagtail
- Contentstack vs Webflow
- Contentstack vs Wix
- Contentstack vs WordPress
- Contentstack vs Xperience by Kentico
Sanity against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Sanity
- Contentful vs Sanity
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Sanity
- Craft CMS vs Sanity
- DatoCMS vs Sanity
- Decap CMS vs Sanity
- Directus vs Sanity
- Drupal vs Sanity
- EmDash vs Sanity
- FirstSpirit vs Sanity
- Framer vs Sanity
- Ghost vs Sanity
- HubSpot CMS vs Sanity
- Hygraph vs Sanity
- Instatic vs Sanity
- Joomla vs Sanity
- Keystone vs Sanity
- Kirby vs Sanity
- Liferay DXP vs Sanity
- Optimizely CMS vs Sanity
- Sanity vs Payload
- Prismic vs Sanity
- Sanity vs Progress Sitefinity
- Sanity vs Sitecore
- Sanity vs Squarespace
- Sanity vs Statamic
- Sanity vs Storyblok
- Sanity vs Strapi
- Sanity vs TYPO3
- Sanity vs Umbraco
- Sanity vs Wagtail
- Sanity vs Webflow
- Sanity vs Wix
- Sanity vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Sanity
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