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CMS comparison Sanity vs Statamic

Sanity vs Statamic

Sanity is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Statamic is a closed-source traditional CMS that you host yourself. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 18.

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  • Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
  • Statamic Traditional · Closed source · 8 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Sanity on 29 Sept 2026, Statamic 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 Statamic feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Sanity Headless
Statamic Traditional
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.Laravel-based PHP CMS that stores content in flat files by default. Free Core edition. Pro adds users, APIs and multi-site. You host it.
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 Statamic 6, Core and Pro Version 6.34.1, released 23 Sept 2026
Vendor Sanity sanity.io Statamic, LLC statamic.com
Licence Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary. Closed source Proprietary, source available. Core is free to use.
Hosting No self-hosting Vendor cloud You can host the Studio anywhere, but content always lives in Sanity's cloud. Self-hosting No vendor cloud
Built with TypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIsPHP, Laravel, Vue
Database Hosted Sanity Content LakeFlat files by default, SQL databases via the Eloquent Driver
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. Free to start Core free for one admin user. Pro $349 per site, then $99 per year for updates. Enterprise from $10k per year.
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 Blueprints and fieldsets are YAML files in the project. 4
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 Blueprint builder in the Control Panel. 4
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 Replicator and Bard sets. 5
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 Paid tier Multi-site and multilingual content need Pro. 61
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 Glide resizes and crops on request. 7
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in HTTP API queried with GROQ. 1 Paid tier Read-only REST API on Pro. 8
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 Paid tier Read-only GraphQL API on Pro. 9
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 Not available Laravel events only. No webhook settings in core.
Renders the website The CMS itself renders and serves the public pages through themes or templates. Headless-only products answer no. Not available Built in Antlers or Blade templates.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 1 Paid tier Working copies of live entries need Revisions on Pro. Core has unpublished entries. 101
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 Future-dated entries stay private until their date. Set per collection. 11
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 Paid tier Revisions on Pro. 10
Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. Built in 17 Built in 121
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 Limited Live Preview shows the edit form beside the page. No click-to-edit. 12
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 Not available Approval workflows are on the roadmap as planned. 19
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
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 Plugin or add-on Free first-party Collaboration addon. Requires Pro. 18
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 Paid tier Roles and permissions need Pro. 131
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 Not available Field conditions depend on field values. User roles can't drive them. 4
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier SAML SSO on Enterprise. 1 Paid tier Pro via Laravel Socialite providers such as SAML2. Enterprise tier lists SSO. 1521
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 Paid tier Enterprise tier, from $10k per year, lists audit logging. 121
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 Paid tier Pro. 61
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 Custom fieldtypes, widgets and Control Panel pages. 17
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Sanity Exchange. 10 Built in Statamic Marketplace for addons. 18
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Limited Core allows one form. Pro removes the limit. 116
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Paid tier Member accounts, registration and login tags need Pro. 1416
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 Not available
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 Not available Third-party addons only, such as MCP Server for Statamic by Cbox. 20

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

Where they differ

Sanity and Statamic get a different status on 18 of the 28 features and the same status on 10. Sanity has 15 built in on its baseline edition, Statamic has 8. 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
Sanity cannot be self-hosted. Statamic can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Sanity has a vendor-run cloud. Statamic has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Sanity, a different answer on Statamic 9

  • REST API Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • GraphQL API Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Webhooks Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Not available.
  • Drafts Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Visual editing Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Limited.
  • Real-time co-editing Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Plugin or add-on.
  • Multiple sites Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • AI writing assistant Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Not available.
  • Official MCP server Sanity: Built in. Statamic: Not available.

Built in on Statamic, a different answer on Sanity 2

  • Content model in the UI Sanity: Not available. Statamic: Built in.
  • Renders the website Sanity: Not available. Statamic: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 7

  • Localization Sanity: Plugin or add-on. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Scheduled publishing Sanity: Paid tier. Statamic: Limited.
  • Version history Sanity: Limited. Statamic: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Sanity: Paid tier. Statamic: Not available.
  • Field-level permissions Sanity: Limited. Statamic: Not available.
  • Form builder Sanity: Not available. Statamic: Limited.
  • Site member accounts Sanity: Not available. Statamic: Paid tier.

More comparisons

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

Sanity against other platforms

Statamic against other platforms

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

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