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CMS comparison EmDash vs Sanity

EmDash vs Sanity

EmDash is an open-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. 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 18.

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  • EmDash Traditional · Open source · 14 of 28 built in
  • Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: EmDash 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
EmDash vs Sanity feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
EmDash Traditional
Sanity Headless
Overview
What it is Open-source CMS from Cloudflare that runs inside an Astro site, with the admin and pages in one app on Cloudflare Workers or Node.js.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. EmDash 1.0, open source Version 1.0.1, released 28 Sept 2026 Sanity hosted Content Lake with Sanity Studio 6 Version 6.16.0, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Cloudflare emdashcms.com Sanity sanity.io
Licence Open source MIT Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary.
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud No managed hosting. You deploy to your own Cloudflare account or Node.js server. No self-hosting Vendor cloud You can host the Studio anywhere, but content always lives in Sanity's cloud.
Built with TypeScript, AstroTypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIs
Database SQLite, Cloudflare D1, PostgreSQL, libSQLHosted Sanity Content Lake
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. You pay only for hosting. 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 Seed files set up new sites. A live site's model changes through the admin, API or CLI. 20 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 Admin role only. 220 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 Blocks field with versioned block types. 5 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 Each translation is a separate entry with its own status. 6 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 Uses Astro's image endpoint for sizes and formats. Crop and focal point in the editor. 78 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 9 Built in HTTP API queried with GROQ. 1
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Not available 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. Plugin or add-on Official webhook-notifier plugin. 18 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. Built in The Astro site renders the pages. 2 Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 10 Built in 1
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in 10 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 On revision-enabled collections. 10 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 Signed preview links. 11 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 Signed-in editors get visual editing on the rendered page. 11 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. Not available Contributors cannot publish. No configurable review stages. 1210 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. Not available 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. Not available Built in 1
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Not available Five fixed roles from Subscriber to Admin. 12 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. Not available 12 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 Microsoft Entra sign-in built in. Other IdPs through Cloudflare Access. No native SAML. 12 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. Plugin or add-on Official audit-log plugin. 19 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. Not available 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 Plugins add admin pages and dashboard widgets. 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 Plugin registry, launched with 1.0. 143 Built in Sanity Exchange. 10
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Plugin or add-on Official forms plugin. 17 Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Limited Subscriber role reads member-only content. Members share the editors' user system. 12 Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available 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 Built in and on by default. 15 Built in Hosted at mcp.sanity.io with OAuth. 12

Considering more platforms? Compare EmDash and Sanity with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.

Where they differ

EmDash and Sanity get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. EmDash has 14 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.

Licence
EmDash is open source (MIT). Sanity is closed source (MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary.).
Self-hosting
EmDash can be self-hosted. Sanity cannot be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
EmDash has no vendor-run cloud. Sanity has a vendor-run cloud.

Built in on EmDash, a different answer on Sanity 5

  • Content model in the UI EmDash: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Localization EmDash: Built in. Sanity: Plugin or add-on.
  • Renders the website EmDash: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing EmDash: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Version history EmDash: Built in. Sanity: Limited.

Built in on Sanity, a different answer on EmDash 6

  • Content model in code EmDash: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
  • GraphQL API EmDash: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Webhooks EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Sanity: Built in.
  • Real-time co-editing EmDash: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Multiple sites EmDash: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant EmDash: Not available. Sanity: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

  • Content releases EmDash: Not available. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Custom roles EmDash: Not available. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Field-level permissions EmDash: Not available. Sanity: Limited.
  • Single sign-on EmDash: Limited. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Audit log EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Form builder EmDash: Plugin or add-on. Sanity: Not available.
  • Site member accounts EmDash: Limited. Sanity: Not available.

More comparisons

Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Sanity vs Payload.

EmDash against other platforms

Sanity against other platforms

Open the CMS comparison tool to put up to six platforms in one table.

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