Now booking enterprise content platform builds for 2026. Contact us

Join us
Contact us

What we build

Who it's for

How we engage

Case studies

Industries

Partnerships

About

Writing

Tools

For startups Join us
Contact us
CMS comparison Sanity vs Sitecore

Sanity vs Sitecore

Sanity is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Sitecore is a closed-source enterprise DXP 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.

Book a call
  • Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
  • Sitecore Enterprise DXP · Closed source · 22 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Sanity on 29 Sept 2026, Sitecore 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
Sanity vs Sitecore feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Sanity Headless
Sitecore Enterprise DXP
Overview
What it is Headless CMS with an open-source React editor, Sanity Studio, configured in code. Sanity stores content in its hosted Content Lake.Sitecore's SaaS digital experience platform, formerly XM Cloud. Sitecore hosts the CMS. Sites render in a separate front-end app.
Edition compared The product and release each column describes. Sanity hosted Content Lake with Sanity Studio 6 Version 6.16.0, released 22 Sept 2026 SitecoreAI, formerly XM Cloud, Sitecore's current flagship SaaS platform SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Sanity sanity.io Sitecore sitecore.com
Licence Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary. Closed source Proprietary
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud You can host the Studio anywhere, but content always lives in Sanity's cloud. No self-hosting Vendor cloud SitecoreAI is SaaS only. Self-hosting needs Sitecore XP 10.5, a separate product.
Built with TypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIs.NET, Next.js Content SDK
Database Hosted Sanity Content LakeManaged by Sitecore
Pricing Public list prices only. Hosting and implementation are extra everywhere. Free to start Free plan. Growth $15 per seat per month. Enterprise on request. No free option Pricing 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 3 Built in Templates serialize to files in the repo with Sitecore Content Serialization. 2
Content model in the UI Admins can create and change content types and fields in the admin interface without writing code. Not available You define schemas only in Studio code. 3 Built in Templates are items edited in the Content Editor.
Reusable blocks Editors compose pages from reusable, typed components or blocks, and can reorder them. Built in Array fields of typed objects act as a page builder. 3 Built in Page builder with reusable components.
Localization Editors translate content per locale inside the CMS, by field or by entry, without a separate site for each language. Plugin or add-on Official document-level and field-level internationalization plugins. 4 Built in Language versions per item.
Image transformations The CMS resizes, crops or converts images on request, through URL parameters or generated sizes, with no external service. Built in Image pipeline resizes, crops and converts by URL parameter. 5 Built in Experience Edge media CDN resizes images with query string parameters. 3
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in HTTP API queried with GROQ. 1 Built in Content Items REST API since September 2026. Delivery through Experience Edge is GraphQL. 4
GraphQL API The vendor or an official module provides a GraphQL API for content. Built in The Sanity CLI deploys it from the schema. 1 Built in Experience Edge delivery API. 5
Webhooks The CMS can call an external URL when content is created, changed or published. Built in GROQ-powered webhooks: 2 on Free, 4 on Growth. 16 Built in Authoring webhooks and Experience Edge publish webhooks. 65
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 Headless. Sites render in a separate app, with built-in Vercel and Netlify integrations. 7
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 1 Built in Saved changes stay unpublished until pushed to Experience Edge. 11
Scheduled publishing An editor can set a future date and time for content to publish or unpublish. Paid tier Scheduled drafts on Growth and Enterprise. 1 Limited Publishing restrictions set availability dates. A publish must still run on the date. 89
Version history The CMS keeps earlier versions of an entry, and editors can compare or restore them. Limited Draft history kept 3 days on Free, 90 on Growth, 365 on Enterprise. 1 Built in Numbered item versions.
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 17 Built in
Visual editing Editors can click on the rendered page and edit content in place or in a side panel next to it. Built in Presentation tool with click-to-edit overlays on every plan. 17 Built in Page builder.
Approval workflows Content moves through review stages you configure, such as draft, review and approved, with permissions per stage. Not available Build with document actions or a community plugin such as Workflow Manager. 914 Built in Item workflows with states and commands. 6
Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. Paid tier Content Releases add-on on Enterprise. 1 Not available No release bundles. Publishing jobs cover items, subitems and related items. 11
Real-time co-editing Two or more editors can work on the same entry at once and see each other's changes live. Built in 1 Limited Page builder saves concurrent edits per field. Others get a reload prompt. No live updates. 10
Access and governance
Custom roles Admins define their own roles with granular permissions instead of picking from a fixed set. Paid tier Enterprise. Free has 2 fixed roles, Growth 5. 18 Built in Roles with item access rights. 12
Field-level permissions Admins can restrict access to single fields, on top of content types and entries. Limited API access rules are per document. Studio can hide or lock fields per role. 8 Built in Field read and field write access rights. 12
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier SAML SSO on Enterprise. 1 Built in SAML or OIDC through the Sitecore Cloud Portal. 13
Audit log The CMS logs who changed what and when across the whole installation, and admins can review the log. Paid tier Full audit trail and History API on Enterprise. 1 Limited Common Audit Log covers only the Cloud Portal and leaves out SitecoreAI content. Item actions show in CM logs. 1415
Platform and extensibility
Multiple sites One installation or account can manage several separate websites or brands with shared users. Built in Several projects per organization and Studio workspaces. 11 Built in Site collections with shared content.
Extensible admin UI Developers can add their own components, views or fields to the editing interface. Built in Custom inputs, tools and document actions in the React Studio. 39 Built in Marketplace apps add custom fields, panels and dashboard widgets. 17
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Sanity Exchange. 10 Built in Sitecore Marketplace. 16
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in Built-in Forms with webhook submission handling. 18
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Not available Developers have to build visitor login in the front-end app.
AI writing assistant A first-party AI feature in the editing interface generates, rewrites or translates content. Built in Content Agent on every plan. In-Studio AI Assist on Growth and Enterprise. 113 Built in Content, variant and translation assistants. Brand kits need Stream Premium. 19
Official MCP server The vendor publishes a Model Context Protocol server so AI agents can read or write content. Built in Hosted at mcp.sanity.io with OAuth. 12 Built in Sitecore Marketer MCP server. 20

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

Where they differ

Sanity and Sitecore get a different status on 12 of the 28 features and the same status on 16. Sanity has 15 built in on its baseline edition, Sitecore has 22. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Free option
Sanity has a free option. Sitecore has no free option.

Built in on Sanity, a different answer on Sitecore 1

  • Real-time co-editing Sanity: Built in. Sitecore: Limited.

Built in on Sitecore, a different answer on Sanity 8

  • Content model in the UI Sanity: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Localization Sanity: Plugin or add-on. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Version history Sanity: Limited. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Approval workflows Sanity: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Custom roles Sanity: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Field-level permissions Sanity: Limited. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Single sign-on Sanity: Paid tier. Sitecore: Built in.
  • Form builder Sanity: Not available. Sitecore: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Scheduled publishing Sanity: Paid tier. Sitecore: Limited.
  • Content releases Sanity: Paid tier. Sitecore: Not available.
  • Audit log Sanity: Paid tier. Sitecore: Limited.

More comparisons

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

Sanity against other platforms

Sitecore against other platforms

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

We're booking content platform
engagements for 2026.

Twenty-five minutes to walk through the work and decide if we're the right team for it. Scoping and a fixed price come after.

Book a 25-min call Or email us instead