Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Sanity.io VS Payload CMS

Compare Sanity.io VS Payload CMS and see what are their differences

Sanity.io logo Sanity.io

Sanity.io a platform for structured content that comes with an open-source editor that you can customize with React.js.

Payload CMS logo Payload CMS

Headless CMS and Application Framework built with Node.js, React and MongoDB
  • Sanity.io Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-23

Sanity treats your content as structured data and makes it available through a simple and powerful API. Content can be created and edited in our collaborative editor, called the Sanity Studio, which is a fully customizable, client-side web application. You can run the studio on your laptop, host it with us on Sanity.io, or deploy it on your own web server.

  • Payload CMS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-10

Built with React + TypeScript, Payload is a free and open-source Headless CMS. Finally, a CMS that works the way you do. No black magic, all TypeScript, and fully open-source.

Sanity.io

Website
sanity.io
$ Details
freemium
Platforms
JavaScript Cross Platform PHP REST API GraphQL API GROQ Generic HTTP API Go
Release Date
2017 November
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
Even Westvang
Employees
10 - 19

Payload CMS

$ Details
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

Sanity.io features and specs

  • Real-time Collaboration
    Sanity.io supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same content simultaneously without conflict, which is ideal for teams.
  • Customizable Content Models
    It offers high flexibility with its schema definitions, enabling users to create complex content structures tailored to specific needs.
  • Headless CMS
    As a headless CMS, Sanity.io decouples the backend from the frontend, allowing developers to use any framework or technology stack to present content.
  • Live Preview
    Sanity.io provides a live preview feature, enabling content editors to see changes in real-time before publishing them.
  • Scalable Infrastructure
    Powered by a scalable and performant backend, it can handle high traffic and large amounts of content, suitable for enterprises.
  • Extensible with Plugins
    The platform supports plugins, which means you can extend its capabilities with community or custom-built plugins.

Possible disadvantages of Sanity.io

  • Learning Curve
    Due to its flexible and powerful schema configuration, new users may find it challenging to get started without proper documentation or guidance.
  • Cost
    While it offers a free tier, the costs can escalate for larger projects or enterprises requiring more sophisticated features and higher limits.
  • Complex Setup
    The initial setup can be complex, especially for non-technical users, as it involves configuring schemas, setting up the development environment, and understanding APIs.
  • Limited Out-of-the-box Features
    Compared to some traditional CMS platforms, Sanity.io offers fewer out-of-the-box features which may require additional customization or development effort.
  • Dependency on Internet Connection
    Being an entirely cloud-based solution, it requires a stable internet connection for content management, which could be a limitation in areas with poor connectivity.

Payload CMS features and specs

  • Headless CMS
    Payload CMS is a headless content management system, allowing for flexibility in how content is delivered and displayed across different platforms.
  • Customizability
    It is highly customizable, enabling developers to tailor the backend and content management experience to specific project requirements.
  • Developer-friendly
    Built with modern technologies such as Node.js and React, Payload CMS is designed to be intuitive and efficient for developers.
  • Open-source
    Payload CMS is open-source, providing transparency and the ability to contribute to its development or modify it according to your needs.
  • Rich Media Support
    It supports a wide range of media types, making it easy to manage and deliver rich content.
  • Advanced Access Control
    Payload CMS includes advanced access control features, allowing for fine-grained permissions and security settings.
  • Extensible API
    The CMS provides a powerful and extensible API, facilitating seamless integration with other services and applications.

Possible disadvantages of Payload CMS

  • Learning Curve
    As a powerful and highly customizable CMS, it may have a steeper learning curve for developers unfamiliar with its ecosystem.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up Payload CMS initially can be more complex compared to some other CMS solutions that offer more out-of-the-box simplicity.
  • Smaller Community
    As a relatively newer and niche CMS, Payload CMS has a smaller community compared to more established CMS platforms, potentially limiting available resources and third-party plugins.
  • Hosting Requirements
    Being a Node.js application, it may require specific hosting environments that can support Node.js, which might not be as widespread as hosting for PHP-based systems.
  • Performance Overhead
    Complex customizations and integrations can introduce performance overhead, requiring additional optimization and scaling efforts.
  • Documentation
    Depending on the level of functionality required, the available documentation might not cover all edge cases or complex scenarios, leading to potential challenges during development.

Sanity.io videos

Build a Portfolio Site with Sanity.io and Gatsby — Learn With Jason

More videos:

  • Tutorial - How to deploy a transcription microservice for Sanity.io on Zeit’s now

Payload CMS videos

Payload CMS

More videos:

  • Review - Building a Professionally Designed Website with NextJS, TypeScript, and Payload CMS - Episode 1
  • Review - Building a Professionally Designed Website with NextJS, TypeScript, and Payload CMS - Episode 2

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Sanity.io and Payload CMS)
CMS
50 50%
50% 50
Blogging
50 50%
50% 50
Blogging Platform
62 62%
38% 38
JavaScript
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Sanity.io and Payload CMS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Sanity.io and Payload CMS

Sanity.io Reviews

21 Headless CMS Platforms That You Should Check Out
We have listed 21 headless CMS platforms with their pros and cons. However, it can be said that Strapi, Ghost, Sanity, Graph CMS are among the best headless CMS platforms that you can consider using. These platforms have higher G2 ratings and are easy to use.
Source: popupsmart.com
Best Headless CMS in 2022
Sanity is one of the best headless CMS on the market, which proves by using it such companies as Nike, Figma, National Geographic, and others. Sanity is very flexible in terms of development.
Source: flatlogic.com
Best Node.js CMS platforms for 2022
Sanity can be used for much more than conventional web experiences. Sanity finds its applications in everything from portfolio and company websites to ecommerce applications.
34 Headless CMS That Should Be On Your Radar
Launched in 2015, Sanity is an open source headless CMS that was developed in Oslo, Norway. Built on JavaScript and React.js, Sanity features a WYSIWYG rich text editor which allows you to embed editable data in running text and defer markup to render time. It also comes with a Sweet Query API that enables you to cache multiple queries on a single request.
Source: www.cmswire.com

Payload CMS Reviews

  1. Alessio Gravili
    · Founder at Bonfire Leads e.K. ·
    Best Headless CMS

    Payload CMS is the most customizable & flexible CMS which exists

    🏁 Competitors: Strapi, Directus, Sanity.io, Prismic
    👍 Pros:    Everything can be customized|Swap out any admin components|Ability to create your own fields|Automatic graphql & rest api|Define collections & fields in code|Serverless support
    👎 Cons:    Does not support all databases yet

Best Node.js CMS platforms for 2022
Payload comes with built-in email functionality. We can use this to handle password reset, order confirmation, and other use cases. Payload uses Nodemailer to process emails.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Payload CMS should be more popular than Sanity.io. It has been mentiond 91 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Sanity.io mentions (56)

  • Build a Modern Blog with Next.js 14 & Sanity: A Step-by-Step Guide
    A blog without a CMS can lead to endless frustration and wasted time. Sanity.io simplifies the entire process, allowing you to focus on your content. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • A Deep Dive into Sanity's Visual Editing and Presentation Tool: The developer view
    Hey there! Our colleagues over at Sanity.io, who are always at the forefront of structured content, have just rolled out two super cool features: Visual Editing and the Presentation tool. They unveiled these at their online shindig on November 17th, 2023, and let me tell you, it's got developers all over the world talking! - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Odd server-client side issue (fetch and data transfer to client)
    I am fetching data from sanity.io (an array), the load function in my +page.ts file looks like this:. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Lets code together - Looking for coding buddies
    Tools Im comfortable with: next, tailwinds, zustand/zod/redux, shadcn, sanity.io, framer motion, typescript & more. Source: over 1 year ago
  • How to add user auth with Clerk to Nextjs (App Directory) and store it in Embedded Sanity CMS
    Go to sanity.io sign up for an account. Sanity gives instructions on how to create the studio however since we are embedding the studio on a Nextjs project we can just ignore them and navigate to https://www.[sanity.io/manage](http://sanity.io/manage). If Sanity created a project for you click on it and copy the project ID, if they didn’t you can click on Create a new project on the top and then copy the project... - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

Payload CMS mentions (91)

  • I Found Perfect CMS after Years of Trial and Error
    Payload, a CMS powered by Next.js, or Sveltia CMS, a Decap CMS alternative using Svelte, are examples of CMS that I recommend to avoid until they become framework agnostic. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • [Video] Payload CMS Custom Array Field Component
    Learn how to implement a custom tagging system in Payload CMS using the array field and a custom React component! This video walks you through building a dynamic tag input where users can add, remove, and manage tags directly within the Payload admin panel. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Firebase and Payload CMS: Early Look at a Client-Side Auth Strategy
    This post details a proof-of-concept integration of Firebase Authentication with Payload CMS, focusing on the client-side implementation using Next.js. The goal is to allow users to authenticate via Firebase's various sign-in methods and then use the resulting Firebase ID token to securely access data and functionality within a Payload CMS instance. This is a work in progress, and I welcome feedback and... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • I Built a Fast Image Compressor with Next.js and Payload
    Check out https://swissknife.cc/! I made a super fast image compressor that can handle up to 40 images at once, though it can do far more if needed. I'm currently limiting it to 40 images to explore the limits. It supports JPEG and PNG formats, making it perfect for social media and web use. Built entirely with Next.js and Payload (a headless CMS https://payloadcms.com/). This is just one of many tools we'll be... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • [Video] 🚀 Real-Time Updates in Payload CMS with Web Sockets!
    One of the most critical features for enterprise solutions is real-time data updates—whether for dashboards, notifications, or live collaboration. While Payload CMS doesn’t natively support WebSockets (yet), I put together a solution to enable real-time updates today! - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Sanity.io and Payload CMS, you can also consider the following products

Contentful - You don't need another CMS. You need a better way to manage content — unified, structured, and ready to deploy to any digital channel.

Webflow - Build dynamic, responsive websites in your browser. Launch with a click. Or export your squeaky-clean code to host wherever you'd like. Discover the professional website builder made for designers.

Strapi - Manage any content. Anywhere. The leading open-source headless CMS. 100% JavaScript / TypeScript and fully customizable.

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

Prismic - prismic.io is a web software you can use to manage content in any kind of website or app. API-driven.

Pixelesq - Empower your team with Pixelesq's end-to-end website management solution. From startups to enterprises, accelerate your digital growth.