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 WordPress

Sanity vs WordPress

Sanity is a closed-source headless CMS that runs on the vendor's cloud. WordPress is an open-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.

Book a call
  • Sanity Headless · Closed source · 15 of 28 built in
  • WordPress Traditional · Open source · 13 of 28 built in

Sources checked: Sanity on 29 Sept 2026, WordPress 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 WordPress feature comparison. Columns are the two platforms. Rows are features, grouped by area.
Platform
Sanity Headless
WordPress 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.Open-source PHP CMS that renders sites through themes and extends through plugins. Teams self-host it or buy managed WordPress hosting.
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 WordPress 7.1 core, self-hosted from WordPress.org Version 7.1.2, released 22 Sept 2026
Vendor Sanity sanity.io WordPress.org community project (Automattic is the largest contributor) wordpress.org
Licence Closed source MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary. Open source GPL-2.0-or-later
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 Automattic's WordPress.com and many third-party hosts sell managed WordPress.
Built with TypeScript, React for Studio. Hosted Content Lake with GROQ and GraphQL APIsPHP, JavaScript, React block editor
Database Hosted Sanity Content LakeMySQL, MariaDB
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 to download and self-host. Hosting and premium plugins cost extra.
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 Post types, taxonomies and meta registered in PHP.
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 Plugin or add-on ACF or Custom Post Type UI plugins. Core has no content type builder. 12
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 Block editor with patterns and synced patterns.
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 WPML or Polylang plugins. Core translates the interface only. 13
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 WordPress generates registered image sizes on upload.
APIs and delivery
REST API A documented REST or JSON HTTP API returns content. Built in HTTP API queried with GROQ. 1 Built in 5
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 Plugin or add-on WPGraphQL, a canonical plugin on WordPress.org. 6
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 Plugin or add-on WP Webhooks plugin. Core sends no outgoing webhooks. 16
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 Block themes and classic PHP themes.
Editorial workflow
Drafts Editors save changes as a draft and publish them later. The live version stays untouched until then. Built in 1 Limited Edits to a published post go live on update. PublishPress Revisions adds pending drafts. 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 Built in Scheduled publishing only. Scheduled unpublishing needs a plugin.
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 Revisions with a visual scrubber since 7.0. 2
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 Block Editor and Site Editor edit content inside the theme's styles.
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 Plugin or add-on PublishPress plugins. Core has only the Pending Review status. 711
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 Not available Pulled from 7.0. Still experimental in the Gutenberg plugin. 3418
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 Plugin or add-on Plugins such as Members or User Role Editor. Core roles are fixed. 7
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
Single sign-on Editors can sign in through SAML or OpenID Connect against a company identity provider. Paid tier SAML SSO on Enterprise. 1 Plugin or add-on SAML or OIDC plugins, e.g. miniOrange SAML Single Sign On. 15
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 Plugin or add-on Simple History or WP Activity Log plugins. 14
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 Multisite network in core, with shared users. 8
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 blocks, admin pages and meta boxes.
Plugin marketplace The vendor runs an official directory or marketplace of installable extensions. Built in Sanity Exchange. 10 Built in WordPress.org plugin directory.
Form builder Editors can build and publish forms and collect submissions without code. Not available Plugin or add-on Form plugins such as WPForms or Contact Form 7. 17
Site member accounts The platform handles sign-up and login for public site users or members, separate from editors. Not available Built in Open registration with the Subscriber role. 7
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 Plugin or add-on Official AI plugin plus a connected provider. Core ships the AI Client only. 29
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 Plugin or add-on MCP Adapter plugin from the WordPress AI team. 10

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

Where they differ

Sanity and WordPress 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, WordPress has 13. Two matching statuses can still name different paid tiers or limits, so read the notes in the table before treating a row as equal.

Licence
Sanity is closed source (MIT for Sanity Studio. The Content Lake backend is proprietary.). WordPress is open source (GPL-2.0-or-later).
Self-hosting
Sanity cannot be self-hosted. WordPress can be self-hosted.
Vendor cloud
Sanity has a vendor-run cloud. WordPress has no vendor-run cloud.

Built in on Sanity, a different answer on WordPress 6

  • GraphQL API Sanity: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Webhooks Sanity: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Drafts Sanity: Built in. WordPress: Limited.
  • Real-time co-editing Sanity: Built in. WordPress: Not available.
  • AI writing assistant Sanity: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Official MCP server Sanity: Built in. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

Built in on WordPress, a different answer on Sanity 4

  • Renders the website Sanity: Not available. WordPress: Built in.
  • Scheduled publishing Sanity: Paid tier. WordPress: Built in.
  • Version history Sanity: Limited. WordPress: Built in.
  • Site member accounts Sanity: Not available. WordPress: Built in.

Built in on neither, with different answers 8

  • Content model in the UI Sanity: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Approval workflows Sanity: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Content releases Sanity: Paid tier. WordPress: Not available.
  • Custom roles Sanity: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Field-level permissions Sanity: Limited. WordPress: Not available.
  • Single sign-on Sanity: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Audit log Sanity: Paid tier. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.
  • Form builder Sanity: Not available. WordPress: Plugin or add-on.

More comparisons

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

Sanity against other platforms

WordPress 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