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CMS comparison Xperience by Kentico vs Sanity

Xperience by Kentico vs Sanity

Xperience by Kentico is a closed-source enterprise DXP that you can host yourself or run 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 19.

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  • Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 19 of 28 built in
  • Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Xperience by Kentico 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
Xperience by Kentico vs Sanity feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Xperience by Kentico Enterprise DXP
Sanity Headless
Overview
What it is Kentico's .NET digital experience platform for websites, email and headless channels, sold as Kentico-hosted SaaS or a private-cloud licence.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. Xperience by Kentico Version 31.9.0, released 24 Sept 2026 Sanity hosted Content Lake with Sanity Studio 6 Version 6.16.0, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Kentico kentico.com Sanity sanity.io
Licence Closed source Proprietary Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary.
Hosting 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 .NET, ASP.NET CoreTypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIs
Database Microsoft SQL ServerHosted Sanity Content Lake
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. No free option Pricing on request. Licensed per channel in Standard and Advanced tiers, plus AIRA credit packages. 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. Built in Continuous Integration serializes content types to files in the repository. 3 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 Field editor in the Content types application. 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 Page Builder widgets and sections, plus reusable content items. 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 Language variants per page and content item. 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 variants with configured crops and sizes. 4 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. Limited The Management REST API is for local development only. Headless delivery is GraphQL. 56 Built in HTTP API queried with GROQ. 1
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Paid tier Headless channels need the Advanced tier. 6 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 No outgoing webhooks. Content events need custom handler code. 7 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 ASP.NET Core website channels. Not available
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 8 Built in 1
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Built in Schedule publish and unpublish. 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 View and restore previously published versions. 9 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 Preview mode and shareable preview URLs. 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 Page Builder. 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 Custom workflow steps with role permissions. 10 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. Limited Cascade publishing sends linked items with the parent. No standalone release bundles. 11 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 Content locking lets one user edit an item at a time. 12 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 Roles with application, workspace and page permissions. 13 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 Permissions stop at application, workspace and page level. 13 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. Built in OpenID Connect for the administration, for example Microsoft Entra ID. 14 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 Event log records system events. Version history shows who changed versioned items. 159 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. Paid tier Several main website channels need the Advanced tier. Standard adds only microchannels. 2 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 Custom React UI pages and form components. 16 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 Integrations directory on the Kentico Community portal. 17 Built in Sanity Exchange. 10
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Built in Form Builder. Not available
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Built in Members with registration, login and member roles. 18 Not available
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Built in AIRA text generation and translation on both tiers. Licences include 200,000 credits a year. 219 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. Limited Management MCP server works on local development instances only. 205 Built in Hosted at mcp.sanity.io with OAuth. 12

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

Where they differ

Xperience by Kentico and Sanity get a different status on 19 of the 28 features and the same status on 9. Xperience by Kentico has 19 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.

Self-hosting
Xperience by Kentico can be self-hosted. Sanity cannot be self-hosted.
Free option
Xperience by Kentico has no free option. Sanity has a free option.

Built in on Xperience by Kentico, a different answer on Sanity 10

  • Content model in the UI Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Localization Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Plugin or add-on.
  • Renders the website Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Scheduled publishing Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Version history Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Limited.
  • Approval workflows Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Custom roles Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Single sign-on Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Form builder Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
  • Site member accounts Xperience by Kentico: Built in. Sanity: Not available.

Built in on Sanity, a different answer on Xperience by Kentico 6

  • REST API Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Sanity: Built in.
  • GraphQL API Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Sanity: Built in.
  • Webhooks Xperience by Kentico: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Real-time co-editing Xperience by Kentico: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
  • Multiple sites Xperience by Kentico: Paid tier. Sanity: Built in.
  • Official MCP server Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Sanity: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Content releases Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Sanity: Paid tier.
  • Field-level permissions Xperience by Kentico: Not available. Sanity: Limited.
  • Audit log Xperience by Kentico: Limited. Sanity: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Xperience by Kentico 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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