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CMS comparison Joomla vs Sanity

Joomla vs Sanity

Joomla 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 25.

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  • Joomla Traditional · Open source · 12 of 28 built in
  • Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Joomla 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
Joomla vs Sanity feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Joomla Traditional
Sanity Headless
Overview
What it is Open-source PHP CMS built around articles, custom fields, core multilingual support and group-based access control. Self-hosted.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. Joomla 6.1, open source. Joomla 5.4 is still maintained. Version 6.1.3, released 18 Aug 2026 Sanity hosted Content Lake with Sanity Studio 6 Version 6.16.0, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Open Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla project) joomla.org Sanity sanity.io
Licence Open source GPL-2.0-or-later Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary.
Hosting Self-hosting No vendor cloud The project's launch.joomla.org offers free hosted sites through a hosting partner. No self-hosting Vendor cloud You can host the Studio anywhere, but content always lives in Sanity's cloud.
Built with PHPTypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIs
Database MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQLHosted Sanity Content Lake
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free and open source. Hosting and commercial extensions cost extra. 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. Not available Fields live in the database. A new content type means writing a component. Built in 3
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Limited Custom fields on articles, contacts, users and categories. No new content types. 5 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. Limited Modules placed in template positions. No page-level block editor in core. 4 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 Per-item language with multilingual associations. 7 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. Limited Manual crop and resize in Media. No generated sizes or URL transforms. 9 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 Web Services API with token authentication. 10 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. Not available None in core. Only small third-party extensions. 19 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 Template system, with Cassiopeia as the default. Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Limited Unpublished items only. Saving a published article updates it live. 8 Built in 1
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Start and finish publishing dates. 8 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 Compare and restore. Includes custom field values since 6.0. 34 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. Limited Backend Preview shows the last saved version of an article. 8 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. Limited Front-end editing opens the article or module form on the site. 4 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. Built in Workflows component, off by default. Visual workflow editor since 6.1. 112 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 Joomla checks out and locks an item while someone edits it. Built in 1
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Built in User groups, access levels and ACL. 4 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. Built in Per-field Edit Custom Field Value permission. 6 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. Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC extensions from the JED. Core authenticates against LDAP only. 1314 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. Built in User Actions Log. 12 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 One site per install. Third-party multisite extensions only. 15 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 Components, modules, plugins and custom field types. 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 Joomla Extensions Directory, the JED. 14 Built in Sanity Exchange. 10
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Limited Contact forms accept custom fields. Core emails submissions and does not store them. 20 Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Front-end registration and login. 4 Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Not available No first-party AI. Third-party extensions such as 4AI. 18 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. Not available Third-party only, e.g. Onepoint's MCP Server for Joomla. 16 Built in Hosted at mcp.sanity.io with OAuth. 12

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

Where they differ

Joomla and Sanity get a different status on 25 of the 28 features and the same status on 3. Joomla has 12 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
Joomla is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later). Sanity is closed source (MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary.).
Self-hosting
Joomla can be self-hosted. Sanity cannot be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Joomla has no vendor-run cloud. Sanity has a vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Joomla, a different answer on Sanity 9

  • Localization Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Plugin or add-on.
  • Renders the website Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Version history Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Custom roles Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Field-level permissions Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Limited.
  • Audit log Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Site member accounts Joomla: Built in. Sanity: Not available.

Built in on Sanity, a different answer on Joomla 12

  • Content model in code Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Reusable blocks Joomla: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
  • Image transformations Joomla: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
  • GraphQL API Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Webhooks Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Drafts Joomla: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
  • Preview Joomla: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
  • Visual editing Joomla: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
  • Real-time co-editing Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • AI writing assistant Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 4

  • Content model in the UI Joomla: Limited. Sanity: Not available.
  • Content releases Joomla: Not available. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Single sign-on Joomla: Plugin or add-on. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Form builder Joomla: Limited. Sanity: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Joomla 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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