Sanity vs Storyblok
Sanity is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Storyblok 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 7.
- Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
- Storyblok Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
Sources checked: Sanity on 29 Sept 2026, Storyblok 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
| Platform | | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Hosted headless CMS with a Visual Editor where editors compose pages from developer-defined blocks. Run by Storyblok GmbH. |
| 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 | Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans SaaS, continuously updated |
| Vendor | Sanity sanity.io | Storyblok GmbH storyblok.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 Spaces run in Storyblok's EU, US, Canada or Australia regions. |
| Built with | TypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIs | SaaS, JavaScript SDKs and CLI |
| Database | Hosted Sanity Content Lake | Managed by Storyblok |
| 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 Starter free. Growth $99, Growth Plus $349 per space per month. Premium and Elite 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 The CLI pulls and pushes JSON component schemas. Typed @storyblok/schema is in preview. 234 |
| 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 1 |
| 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 Nestable blocks inside stories. 1 |
| 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 Starter includes 2 locales. Growth adds locales at $20 each per month. 1 |
| 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 Image Optimization Service on all plans. 1 |
| 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 Delivery API and Management API. 1 |
| 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 GraphQL Content Delivery API on Premium and Elite. 1 |
| 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 3 webhooks on Starter, 5 on Growth, 15 on Premium. 1 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 | Paid tier Single story scheduling from Growth. Growth allows 2 scheduled stories, Premium 100. 1 |
| 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 | Limited Starter keeps 1 day of versions. Growth 30 days, Premium 180, Elite unlimited. 1 |
| Preview Editors can see unpublished content rendered as it will appear on the site before publishing. | Built in 17 | Built in 1 |
| 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 Visual Editor on all plans. 1 |
| 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 | Paid tier Custom workflows and stages on Premium and Elite. Lower plans get fixed default stages. 1 |
| Content releases Editors group changes across several entries and publish them together as one release. | Paid tier Content Releases add-on on Enterprise. 1 | Paid tier 20 releases on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 1 |
| 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 | Not available Comments and content locking. No simultaneous editing of one story. 110 |
| 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 10 custom roles on Premium, unlimited on Elite. 15 |
| 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 | Paid tier Field permissions come with custom roles on Premium and Elite. 15 |
| 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 Premium and Elite. 1 |
| 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 Activity log on all plans. Starter keeps 1 day, Growth 30 days, Elite unlimited. 1 |
| 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 One account can own many spaces, each on its own plan. 6 |
| 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 Field plugins on all plans. Tool and space plugins on Premium and Elite. 17 |
| Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. | Built in Sanity Exchange. 10 | Built in Storyblok App Directory. 8 |
| Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. | Not available | Not available |
| Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. | Not available | Not available |
| 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 AI content generation and translation on all plans, metered by AI credits. 1 |
| 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 Hosted server over the Management API. 9 |
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
Storyblok sources
Checked 29 Sept 2026. Storyblok SaaS, Starter to Elite plans.
- Storyblok pricing and plan comparison
- Storyblok CLI documentation
- Sneak peek: type-safe schemas with @storyblok/schema (July 2026)
- Storyblok CLI: components push
- Storyblok roles manual
- Storyblok spaces concept
- Storyblok plugins introduction
- Storyblok App Directory
- Storyblok MCP server documentation
- Storyblok tutorial: building real-time collaboration with Tiptap and Yjs
Considering more platforms? Compare Sanity and Storyblok with the rest of your shortlist in the CMS comparison tool.
Where they differ
Sanity and Storyblok get a different status on 7 of the 28 features and the same status on 21. Sanity has 15 built in on its baseline edition, Storyblok 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.
Built in on Sanity, a different answer on Storyblok 2
- GraphQL API Sanity: Built in. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Real-time co-editing Sanity: Built in. Storyblok: Not available.
Built in on Storyblok, a different answer on Sanity 2
- Content model in the UI Sanity: Not available. Storyblok: Built in.
- Localization Sanity: Plugin or add-on. Storyblok: Built in.
Built in on neither, with different answers 3
- Approval workflows Sanity: Not available. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Field-level permissions Sanity: Limited. Storyblok: Paid tier.
- Audit log Sanity: Paid tier. Storyblok: Limited.
More comparisons
Full write-ups with worked examples and costs: Sanity vs Payload and Storyblok vs Payload.
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
- Kirby 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 Strapi
- Sanity vs TYPO3
- Sanity vs Umbraco
- Sanity vs Wagtail
- Sanity vs Webflow
- Sanity vs Wix
- Sanity vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Sanity
Storyblok against other platforms
- Adobe Experience Manager vs Storyblok
- Contentful vs Storyblok
- Contentstack vs Storyblok
- CoreMedia Content Cloud vs Storyblok
- Craft CMS vs Storyblok
- DatoCMS vs Storyblok
- Decap CMS vs Storyblok
- Directus vs Storyblok
- Drupal vs Storyblok
- EmDash vs Storyblok
- FirstSpirit vs Storyblok
- Framer vs Storyblok
- Ghost vs Storyblok
- HubSpot CMS vs Storyblok
- Hygraph vs Storyblok
- Instatic vs Storyblok
- Joomla vs Storyblok
- Keystone vs Storyblok
- Kirby vs Storyblok
- Liferay DXP vs Storyblok
- Optimizely CMS vs Storyblok
- Storyblok vs Payload
- Prismic vs Storyblok
- Progress Sitefinity vs Storyblok
- Sitecore vs Storyblok
- Squarespace vs Storyblok
- Statamic vs Storyblok
- Storyblok vs Strapi
- Storyblok vs TYPO3
- Storyblok vs Umbraco
- Storyblok vs Wagtail
- Storyblok vs Webflow
- Storyblok vs Wix
- Storyblok vs WordPress
- Xperience by Kentico vs Storyblok
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.