Contentful vs Sanity vs headless WordPress

Contentful, Sanity and headless WordPress can all power a fast front end built in Next.js or a similar framework. In short: choose Contentful for structured content managed by several teams across many channels, Sanity when you want a deeply customized editing experience and flexible content, and headless WordPress when your editors already live in WordPress or you have a large archive to keep. The right choice depends more on your team and content than on the technology.

A quick refresher on headless

A headless CMS stores and manages content, then delivers it through an API to any front end: a website, an app, a kiosk or an email system. The CMS does not control how the site looks. We cover the concept in What is a headless CMS, and do you need one? and the front-end side in React and Next.js for business websites.

If your site is mainly a blog or content site edited in one place, traditional WordPress is often still the simplest answer, as we argue in Why we still choose WordPress for blogs and content sites. Headless earns its keep when content feeds several channels, when you need a custom front end for speed or functionality, or both.

The three options in brief

Contentful

Contentful is a hosted, API-first content platform. Developers define content types (for example "Landing page," "Testimonial," "Feature block") with fields and references, and editors fill them in through a consistent web interface. It offers REST and GraphQL APIs, environments for testing model changes, localization, roles and permissions, and an app framework for extending the editor. It is widely used by mid-sized and enterprise teams. We walk through how its models and reusable blocks work for marketers in Contentful content models and reusable blocks.

Sanity

Sanity pairs a hosted content store (the Content Lake) with Sanity Studio, an open-source editing environment configured in code. Developers define schemas in JavaScript or TypeScript and can customize almost every part of the editor: inputs, previews, desk structure and workflows. Content can be queried with GROQ, Sanity's query language, or GraphQL. Rich text is stored as Portable Text, a structured format that renders cleanly on any channel. Real-time collaboration and visual editing with live previews are strong points.

Headless WordPress

WordPress can serve content through its built-in REST API or through the popular WPGraphQL plugin, while a separate Next.js (or similar) front end renders the site. Editors keep the familiar WordPress dashboard and block editor. Custom fields are commonly handled with Advanced Custom Fields. You host WordPress yourself or on a managed host, and the front end on a platform suited to it.

Side-by-side comparison

Pricing for all three changes and depends on users, locales, API usage and features. Each has free or entry tiers with limits, and enterprise plans priced on request. Check current pricing directly, and model your expected seats and traffic before committing.

How they feel to editors

This is where projects succeed or fail, so it deserves its own section.

• Contentful gives editors a tidy, predictable form for each content type. It is excellent for governance: clear fields, validation, required values and roles. Some editors find building whole pages from many linked entries abstract until they get used to it, which good previews and well-named blocks solve.
• Sanity can be shaped to match exactly how your team thinks: custom dashboards, side-by-side previews, tailored inputs. The flip side is that a lightly configured Studio feels generic, so budget design and development time for the editing experience itself.
• Headless WordPress is instantly familiar to anyone who has used WordPress. The catch is that the block editor's preview no longer matches the live site exactly unless you build a preview integration, and features like SEO plugins, forms and page builders may not carry over to the separate front end.

How they feel to developers

• Contentful is stable and well documented, with mature SDKs. Content model changes can be scripted and tested in environments, which suits teams with release processes.
• Sanity is a developer favorite for flexibility. Schemas live in your repository, GROQ is expressive, and almost anything is customizable. That flexibility needs discipline, or every project ends up different.
• Headless WordPress is familiar to the large pool of WordPress developers. You do, however, maintain two applications: WordPress itself (updates, security, hosting) and the front end. Our WordPress security hardening advice still applies to the back end.

When we choose each

We lean toward Contentful when

• Several teams or brands share content and need permissions and workflows.
• Content is reused across a website, app, and other channels.
• Governance, localization and reliable enterprise support matter.
• The client prefers a fully hosted platform with nothing to patch.

We lean toward Sanity when

• The editorial workflow is unusual and worth tailoring.
• Visual editing and live preview are high priorities for marketers.
• Content structures are complex or change often.
• The team values having content schemas in code alongside the front end.

We lean toward headless WordPress when

• Editors already know WordPress well and don't want to retrain.
• There is a large archive of posts, authors and taxonomies to keep.
• Budget favors open-source software and existing hosting.
• The front end needs the speed of Next.js, but editing should stay in WordPress.

And sometimes we recommend none of them: a content-heavy site edited by one team often runs best as traditional WordPress, and a design-led marketing site may be better in Webflow.

Migration and lock-in

Every CMS creates some lock-in through its content model and rich text format. Reduce the risk by:

• Designing a clean, channel-neutral content model (fields that describe meaning, not layout).
• Keeping rich text structured rather than pasting raw HTML.
• Documenting the model and naming conventions.
• Storing media with sensible file names and alt text.

Well-structured content can be moved between any of these three. Messy content is painful to move anywhere.

How we'd decide

Start with who edits the content, how many channels it feeds, and how much customization the editing experience needs. Contentful for structured, multi-team, multi-channel content. Sanity for tailored editing and flexible structures. Headless WordPress for WordPress-native teams and big archives. Then confirm current pricing against your real seats and usage. Our headless CMS service covers modeling, builds and migrations, and we're glad to talk through your content.