Payload vs Sanity
Self-hosted TypeScript CMS vs the structured content platform. One you own, one you rent.
Payload
Payload 3.0 running on Next.js is the most developer-friendly CMS I've seen. Self-hosted, TypeScript-native, and you actually own your content infrastructure. Sanity is excellent but the vendor lock-in and per-seat pricing add up.
The Headless CMS Landscape
The headless CMS market is crowded. Contentful, Strapi, Sanity, Payload, Directus, Keystatic ā everyone wants to manage your content.
Payload and Sanity represent two philosophies: Payload is code-first and self-hosted. Sanity is content-first and hosted. Both are excellent, but the trade-offs matter.
Payload: Your CMS, Your Rules
Payload 3.0 is a Next.js app. Your CMS admin panel lives in your Next.js project. Your content types are TypeScript configs. Your API is auto-generated.
No separate hosted service. No API keys. No "content lake" you don't control. Just your code, your database (Postgres or MongoDB), and your deployment.
The admin UI is excellent too ā drag-and-drop blocks, live preview, version history, access control. It's a real CMS, not a glorified CRUD interface.
Sanity: The Content Platform
Sanity's pitch is the "Content Lake" ā a hosted, real-time content backend that handles sync, CDN, and GROQ queries.
ā¢ Sanity Studio is endlessly customizable ā React components for every field type ā¢ Real-time collaboration ā multiple editors, no conflicts ā¢ GROQ is a genuinely good query language for content ā¢ CDN is fast and handles media assets well
For content teams that need collaboration and a polished editing experience, Sanity delivers.
The Cost Equation
Sanity's free tier is generous (100K API requests/month). But growth tier is $15/user/month + usage. A team of 10 editors with moderate traffic? $200+/month easy.
Payload is free and open source. Your only cost is hosting, which you're already paying for. On Vercel or Railway, a Payload + Postgres setup costs $5-20/month regardless of team size.
Quick Comparison
| Factor | Payload | Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted (your infra) | Hosted (Sanity cloud) |
| TypeScript | Native, config-as-code | Good, schema-based |
| Admin UI | Excellent, built-in | Sanity Studio (excellent) |
| Real-time Collab | Basic | Excellent |
| Cost | Free + hosting | $15/user/mo + usage |
| Next.js Integration | IS a Next.js app | SDK/plugin |
| Query Language | REST + GraphQL | GROQ (powerful) |
| Vendor Lock-in | None | High (Content Lake) |
The Verdict
Use Payload if: You're a developer who wants to own the CMS stack, love TypeScript, and are already on Next.js. Payload 3.0 is a joy.
Use Sanity if: Your content team needs real-time collaboration, you want a hosted solution, or you need GROQ's powerful querying.
Consider: Keystatic is worth a look if you want file-based content (Git as CMS) with a nice editing UI.
Payload 3.0 running on Next.js is the most developer-friendly CMS I've seen. Self-hosted, TypeScript-native, and you actually own your content infrastructure. Sanity is excellent but the vendor lock-in and per-seat pricing add up.
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