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 Webflow

Sanity vs Webflow

Sanity is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. Webflow is a closed-source site builder that runs on the vendor's cloud. The table below sets them side by side on 28 features. They get a different status on 9.

Book a call
  • Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
  • Webflow Site builder · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Sanity on 29 Sept 2026, Webflow 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 Webflow feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Sanity Headless
Webflow Site builder
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 visual site builder with a built-in CMS, hosting and a Data API. Designers build pages on a canvas. Run by Webflow, Inc.
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 Webflow Site plans, Starter to Enterprise SaaS, continuously updated
Vendor Sanity sanity.io Webflow, Inc. webflow.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 Publishing to a custom domain requires a paid Site plan.
Built with TypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIsHosted SaaS, Webflow Cloud for app hosting
Database Hosted Sanity Content LakeManaged by Webflow
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 Free Starter site. Basic $15, Premium $25 per site per month billed yearly. Team $2,500 per month.
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 Not available The Data API can create collections and fields. No schema files. 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 define schemas only in Studio code. 3 Built in
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 Components with properties. Limited seats build pages from designer-approved blocks. 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 Plugin or add-on Webflow Localize add-on from $9 per month. The Team plan includes it. 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 Generates responsive image sizes automatically. 10
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in HTTP API queried with GROQ. 1 Built in Data API. 60 requests per minute on Starter, 120 on Premium. 111
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 Not available
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 Data API webhooks for CMS items, forms and site publishes. 4
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
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 Scheduled CMS item publishing on the Premium Site plan. 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 Whole-site backups. Free Starter sites restore only the two most recent. 5
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
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 Design approvals with designated reviewers on Enterprise. 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 Limited A site publish ships all staged changes together. No named release bundles. 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 Built in Available on every Workspace and Site plan. 6
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 Enterprise. 1
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 Enterprise access controls stop at pages and Collections. 1
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 Enterprise. 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 Paid tier Site activity log on Team, audit logs API on Enterprise. 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 A Workspace holds many sites with shared seats. Each site needs its own Site plan. 1
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 Apps can add Designer Extensions to the editor. 12
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Sanity Exchange. 10 Built in Webflow Apps marketplace. 9
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Built in 50 submissions on Starter, unlimited on paid Site plans. 1
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Not available Webflow retired User Accounts on 29 January 2026. 8
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 Paid tier Copy generation needs a paid Site or Workspace plan and uses 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 Available on all Site plans, including free Starter. 7

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

Where they differ

Sanity and Webflow get a different status on 9 of the 28 features and the same status on 19. Sanity has 15 built in on its baseline edition, Webflow 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 Webflow 3

  • Content model in code Sanity: Built in. Webflow: Not available.
  • GraphQL API Sanity: Built in. Webflow: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Sanity: Built in. Webflow: Paid tier.

Built in on Webflow, a different answer on Sanity 3

  • Content model in the UI Sanity: Not available. Webflow: Built in.
  • Renders the website Sanity: Not available. Webflow: Built in.
  • Form builder Sanity: Not available. Webflow: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 3

  • Approval workflows Sanity: Not available. Webflow: Paid tier.
  • Content releases Sanity: Paid tier. Webflow: Limited.
  • Field-level permissions Sanity: Limited. Webflow: Not available.

More comparisons

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

Sanity against other platforms

Webflow 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