Headless CMS Explained: Strapi vs Sanity vs Contentful vs Payload

A headless CMS is a content system that stores and manages your content but does not build the web pages itself; it sends the content to your website, app or other screens through an API, and developers build the front end separately. Strapi and Payload are open source and can run on your own server, while Sanity and Contentful are hosted services you pay for as you grow. The right one depends on who edits the content, where it needs to appear, and whether you prefer to own the hosting or rent it.

This article is for founders, marketing leads and product owners who have heard "headless" in a developer's proposal and want to know what it means for cost, editing and lock-in. It explains the idea in business terms, then compares the four platforms using each vendor's own documentation and pricing pages.

#What headless means in plain words

A traditional CMS such as WordPress does two jobs: it stores your content and it turns that content into web pages using a theme. A headless CMS does only the first job. The "head", meaning the website people see, is removed and built separately by developers, usually with a framework such as Next.js or React.

Think of it as a content warehouse. Editors write pages, product details, blog posts and FAQs in one place. Each place that needs content, such as the website, a mobile app, an in-store screen or a partner portal, asks the warehouse for it through an API (a standard way for software to request data). The same product description can appear everywhere without being copied.

#Why a business would choose it

• One source for many channels. Content written once can feed a website, an app and other systems.
• Freedom in the front end. Developers can build fast, custom sites without working around a theme.
• Structured content. Content is stored as fields (title, price, summary, image) rather than one big page, which makes reuse, translation and search easier.
• Security and scale. The public site does not expose the editing system, and front ends can be served from fast global networks.

#What it costs you in return

Headless means two systems instead of one: the CMS and the front end. Every new page type or layout needs a developer, because there is no theme to switch. Previews, forms, search and SEO tags, which a WordPress plugin might handle, have to be built into the front end. That is why headless is a strong choice for some businesses and an expensive detour for others. My comparison of Next.js vs WordPress for a business website goes into when the custom front end is worth it, and when headless WordPress is a middle path.

#The four platforms at a glance

These are four of the most common headless CMS choices for business projects. The table sums up each vendor's own pages at the time of writing (November 2026). Prices are in US dollars and change often, so check each pricing page before you budget.

#Strapi

Strapi is an open-source headless CMS with a ready-made admin panel. Its licence (opens in a new tab) provides the Community Edition under the MIT licence, while code in its enterprise folders is under a separate commercial licence. You can host it yourself on a server or cloud platform, and its database documentation (opens in a new tab) lists SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL as supported, but not MongoDB.

If you would rather not run the server, Strapi Cloud pricing (opens in a new tab) lists Starter at $35 a month, Pro at $90 and Business at $450, per project, before tax.

Who it suits: businesses that want an open-source CMS they can own and host, with a familiar form-style editor and no per-editor fees when self-hosted. The trade is that you, or your developer, are responsible for updates, backups and security on a self-hosted install.

#Sanity

Sanity splits the CMS in two. The editing interface, Sanity Studio, is described in Sanity's documentation (opens in a new tab) as an open-source, real-time collaborative content workbench that developers configure in code and can customise heavily. The content itself lives in Sanity's Content Lake, which Sanity's developer page (opens in a new tab) calls a fully managed database for content. So the editor is open, but the storage is a hosted service you rent.

Sanity's pricing page (opens in a new tab) lists a Free plan with up to 20 seats and 10,000 documents, a Growth plan at $15 per seat a month with up to 50 seats and 25,000 documents, and custom Enterprise pricing.

Who it suits: content-heavy sites and marketing teams that want an editing experience shaped to their work, with live collaboration, and are comfortable with hosted storage. Costs grow with the number of editors, which matters if many people need access.

#Contentful

Contentful is a fully hosted, proprietary platform aimed at organisations with many content teams, brands or markets. Editors work in a polished web app, and developers fetch content through Contentful's APIs. There is nothing to install or patch; the trade is that content lives on Contentful's platform under its terms.

Contentful offers a free plan for small projects, then paid plans that step up in users, locales (language and region versions), API usage and workflow features, with enterprise plans priced on request. Check the current limits and prices on Contentful's pricing page (opens in a new tab) against your team size, languages and expected traffic before committing, because the paid tiers are aimed at organisations rather than single small sites.

Who it suits: mid-sized and larger organisations with several teams, languages or brands, where governance, workflows and vendor support matter more than licence cost. For a small business site, it is usually more platform than you need.

#Payload

Payload is an open-source CMS that runs inside a Next.js application. Its licence (opens in a new tab) is MIT, and its database documentation (opens in a new tab) lists official adapters for MongoDB, PostgreSQL and SQLite. Developers define content types in code and Payload generates the admin panel, so the CMS and the website or app can live in one codebase.

Figma announced on 17 June 2025 that the Payload team had joined Figma (opens in a new tab), stating that Payload will remain an open-source product. Payload's own announcement lists the self-hosted capability among the things that do not change.

Who it suits: projects built in Next.js that need a CMS plus custom logic, such as member areas, bookings or dashboards, in one place. It is developer-first: editors get a clean admin, but the setup needs a developer comfortable with code.

#How to choose, and when not to go headless

Start from people and channels, not features. Ask who edits content, how often, in how many languages, and where it must appear.

• One website, small team, frequent edits by non-technical staff: a traditional CMS such as WordPress, or a site builder, is usually simpler and cheaper. Headless adds a second system to pay for and maintain.
• Website plus app or other channels: headless earns its keep. Strapi or Payload if you want to own the stack, Sanity or Contentful if you want it hosted.
• Custom web application with content inside it: Payload fits well, because the CMS and app share one codebase. See custom web application development for that kind of build.
• Large organisation, many teams and markets: Contentful or Sanity's enterprise plans, where support and governance justify the cost.

Whichever you pick, make sure content can be exported and the accounts are in your company's name. Who owns your website, code and domain covers what to put in the agreement.

#Do it yourself or hire help

A technical founder can try any of these on a free plan or a local install in an afternoon, and should, because the editor experience is easier to judge by using it. Model one real content type, such as a product or a case study, and ask an editor to try it.

Bring in a developer for the content model, the front end, previews, SEO and the move of existing content, because those decide whether the project is pleasant to use for years. I plan and build these setups as headless CMS development, usually with a Next.js front end, and will tell you if a simpler CMS would serve you better.