Kirby vs Sanity
Kirby is a closed-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.
- Kirby Traditional · Closed source · 11 of 28 built in
- Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Kirby 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 | File-based PHP CMS with a configurable editing Panel. Content lives in text files on your own server, under a paid per-site 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. | Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha. Version 5.6.0, released 16 Sept 2026 | Sanity hosted Content Lake with Sanity Studio 6 Version 6.16.0, released 22 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor | Content Folder GmbH & Co. KG getkirby.com | Sanity sanity.io |
| Licence | Closed source Proprietary, source available | Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary. |
| Hosting | Self-hosting No vendor cloud | No self-hosting Vendor cloud You can host the Studio anywhere, but content always lives in Sanity's cloud. |
| Built with | PHP, Vue for the Panel | TypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIs |
| Database | Flat files, no database required | Hosted Sanity Content Lake |
| Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. | No free option Basic €99 per site if revenue is under €1M. Enterprise €349 per site. Both include 3 years of updates. | 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 Blueprints are YAML files in site/blueprints. 5 | Built in 3 |
| Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. | Not available You edit blueprints as files. The Panel has no schema editor. 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. | Built in Blocks and Layout fields. 6 | 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 Multi-language content is built in. 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. | Built in Thumbs with resize, crop and format conversion. 8 | 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 Authenticated REST API. The official KQL plugin serves headless queries. 910 | 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 PHP hooks only. No webhook settings. | 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 PHP templates and snippets. | Not available |
| Editorial workflow | ||
| Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. | Built in Page drafts. Kirby 5 stores unsaved changes apart from the live version. 4 | Built in 1 |
| Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. | Not available | 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. | Not available Kirby 5 keeps the live version and one set of changes. No revision history. 4 | 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 view renders unsaved changes, with shareable links. 4 | 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. | Not available Preview view compares versions. No click-to-edit. 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. | Not available Fixed page statuses: draft, unlisted, listed. 11 | 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 Content locking stops two editors changing one page at once. 320 | 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 are user blueprints with permissions. 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 Only by loading different blueprints per role in custom code. 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. | Not available No first-party SSO. Community OAuth plugins exist. | 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. | Not available | 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 installation. | 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 Panel plugins add fields, sections, views and areas. 15 | 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 Official plugin directory at plugins.getkirby.com. 16 | Built in Sanity Exchange. 10 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Plugin or add-on Paid DreamForm plugin by tobimori. 17 | Not available |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Limited Frontend login is built in. Sign-up needs custom code. 14 | 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. Kirby Copilot is a paid third-party plugin. 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 Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick. 19 | Built in Hosted at mcp.sanity.io with OAuth. 12 |
Kirby sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Kirby 5. Kirby 6 is in alpha..
- Kirby pricing
- Kirby releases
- Kirby 5 release overview
- Kirby 5: Preview your changes
- Kirby docs: Blueprints
- Kirby docs: Blocks field
- Kirby docs: Languages
- Kirby docs: $file->thumb()
- Kirby docs: REST API
- Kirby Query Language (KQL) plugin
- Kirby docs: Publishing workflow
- Kirby docs: Permissions
- Kirby cookbook: Extending permissions
- Kirby docs: Frontend login
- Kirby docs: Plugin extensions
- Kirby plugin directory
- DreamForm plugin
- Kirby Copilot plugin
- Kirby MCP plugin by Bruno Meilick
- Kirby docs: Content options (locking)
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 Kirby and Sanity with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Kirby and Sanity get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Kirby has 11 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
- Kirby can be self-hosted. Sanity cannot be self-hosted.
- Vendor cloud
- Kirby has no vendor-run cloud. Sanity has a vendor-run cloud.
- Free option
- Kirby has no free option. Sanity has a free option.
Built in on Kirby, a different answer on Sanity 3
- Localization Kirby: Built in. Sanity: Plugin or add-on.
- Renders the website Kirby: Built in. Sanity: Not available.
- Custom roles Kirby: Built in. Sanity: Paid tier.
Built in on Sanity, a different answer on Kirby 7
- GraphQL API Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
- Webhooks Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
- Visual editing Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
- Real-time co-editing Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
- Multiple sites Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
- AI writing assistant Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
- Official MCP server Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 8
- Scheduled publishing Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Paid tier.
- Version history Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Limited.
- Content releases Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Paid tier.
- Field-level permissions Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Limited.
- Single sign-on Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Paid tier.
- Audit log Kirby: Not available. Sanity: Paid tier.
- Form builder Kirby: Plugin or add-on. Sanity: Not available.
- Site member accounts Kirby: Limited. Sanity: Not available.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Sanity vs Payload.
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Sanity against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Sanity
- Contentful vs Sanity
- Contentstack 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
- 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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