Alternatives
Best Contentful Alternatives for Agencies (2026)
By Red Kite Search Agency Created Updated 8 min read
Summary
Contentful is a solid choice, but it does not fit every agency. Sanity: A fully customisable, code-first headless CMS with a free plan and per-seat pricing. Storyblok: A headless CMS with a visual editor, priced per space (one space per site). Strapi: An open-source headless CMS you host yourself, with managed cloud plans priced per project. Prices and ratings below were checked in October 2026.
What are the best Contentful alternatives for agencies in 2026?
Contentful is proven, but extra spaces are costly and the agency economics are weak.
We compared each option with Contentful on price, scope, and public ratings.
The three alternatives below are a code-first CMS, a visual CMS, and an open-source option.
The shortlist is Sanity, Storyblok, Strapi. The table puts them next to Contentful.
| Tool | Editorial score | Review-site ratings | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contentful | 4 / 5 | G2 4.3 | Free $0 for 10 users and 1 starter space. Lite $300 a month for 20 users and 1 starter space, with an additional Lite space available at $850 a month. Enterprise is custom. | Mid-size teams to enterprise |
| Sanity | 4.5 / 5 | G2 4.7 | Free $0 with up to 20 seats and 2 public datasets. Growth $15 per seat a month for up to 50 seats and 2 datasets, public or private. Enterprise is custom and can be paid annually. Self-serve plans accept monthly payments only. | Developer-led agencies to enterprise teams |
| Storyblok | 4.4 / 5 | G2 4.5 | Per space. Starter is free for 1 space. Growth costs $99 monthly or $90.75 a month billed yearly with 5 seats. Growth Plus costs $349 monthly or $319.91 billed yearly with 15 seats. Premium and Elite are custom. | Small agencies to enterprise teams |
| Strapi | 4.2 / 5 | No review-site rating found | Self-hosted: Community free under the MIT licence, Growth $45 a month for 3 users, Enterprise custom. Strapi Cloud, per project a month: Starter $35, Pro $90 and Business $450. | Freelancers to agencies |
Why do agencies look for Contentful alternatives?
Agencies usually look beyond Contentful for lower per-site cost or a visual editor.
Others want self-hosting.
A fair test is to build one real client site on each option for two weeks. Track setup time, how often the team got stuck, and whether the editing experience was good enough to hand to a client without training. Real use shows differences that feature lists hide.
Cost behaves differently in each tool. Some charge per seat, some per space or project, and some are free to self-host but cost time to run. Count what you will really use over twelve months, including extra seats and hosting, before you compare headline prices.
Think about the client side. Clients judge your agency by how easy the editor is, so look at the editing screen as a client would, and check what a client can see, change, or break.
Finally, plan the move. Content models and entries rarely transfer cleanly, so budget time to rebuild them, and keep the old CMS running for a short period so nothing a client relies on disappears during the switch.
Common limitations of Contentful
- An extra Lite space costs $850 a month, which suits a single large site, not a client portfolio.
- Free has no overages: the 100K API calls and 50 GB bandwidth are hard limits.
- No agency programme was shown on the pricing page.
- Certification status needs checking on its trust center, and a mobile app was not stated.
Is Sanity a good Contentful alternative for agencies?
Sanity is code-first, cheaper per seat, and higher rated.
Sanity is a headless content platform where the editing studio is built in code. It sells a free plan with up to 20 seats, a Growth plan priced per seat, and a custom Enterprise plan, with API, CDN and bandwidth limits per plan.
Who it suits: Agencies with developers that build custom editing experiences for client sites and apps.
Sanity pros
- The Free plan costs $0 and allows up to 20 seats and 2 public datasets.
- Growth costs $15 per seat a month for up to 50 seats and private datasets.
- G2 shows 4.7 from 926 reviews, the highest score in the category.
- A startup programme offers a year of Growth free, and a non-profit plan exists.
Sanity cons
- Self-serve plans are monthly only; annual billing needs Enterprise.
- The page does not say how multiple client projects are billed, so confirm before you plan an agency portfolio.
- API and bandwidth limits are fixed on Free and Growth (1M CDN requests, 250K API requests, 100 GB a month).
- Plan-level support channels and a mobile app were not stated.
Is Storyblok a good Contentful alternative for agencies?
Storyblok has a visual editor and about $99 a month per space.
Storyblok is a headless CMS with a visual editor for marketers. Plans are priced per space, which maps to one client site, with seats, API requests and traffic included. A free Starter plan, Growth and Growth Plus are self-serve, and Premium and Elite are custom.
Who it suits: Agencies that build client sites with developers and hand the editing to marketers.
Storyblok pros
- Starter is free for 1 space, with 1 seat (up to 2), 100K API requests and 100 GB traffic.
- Growth costs $90.75 a month billed yearly, or $99 monthly, with 5 seats and 1M API requests.
- Growth Plus costs $319.91 a month billed yearly with 15 seats and 4M API requests.
- G2 shows 4.5 from 633 reviews.
Storyblok cons
- Each client site needs its own space, so cost scales per site.
- No agency or partner programme was shown on the pricing page.
- Growth includes only 5 seats, up to 10.
- SOC 2 and a mobile app were not stated, and live chat is limited to Premium and Elite.
Is Strapi a good Contentful alternative for agencies?
Strapi is open source with per-project cloud plans from $35.
Strapi is an open-source headless CMS. The Community edition is free under the MIT licence with unlimited usage. Self-hosted Growth costs $45 a month, Strapi Cloud is priced per project from $35 to $450 a month, and Enterprise is custom with a SOC 2 report.
Who it suits: Developer-led agencies that want to self-host client CMSs or pay a low per-project cloud price.
Strapi pros
- Community is free and open source under the MIT licence, with unlimited usage.
- Strapi Cloud costs $35 per project a month and $90 for Pro.
- Self-hosted Growth costs $45 a month for 3 users, with $15 a month per extra user.
- Enterprise includes a SOC 2 report, SSO, audit logs and review workflows.
Strapi cons
- Self-hosting means you run hosting, updates and backups for each client.
- Cloud plans are per project, so cost scales with each client site.
- SSO on Growth is a $150 a month add-on.
- A mobile app and most support detail were not stated.
What is the quick verdict on each Contentful alternative?
If you only have a minute, this table gives our verdict on each alternative to Contentful, based on the research above.
| Tool | Verdict | Editorial score |
|---|---|---|
| Sanity | The highest-rated headless CMS we checked, with a generous free plan and simple per-seat pricing. It rewards developer time: setup is code, and the pricing page does not explain how many client projects a plan covers. | 4.5 / 5 |
| Storyblok | A strong agency fit because a space maps to a client site and the visual editor suits client teams. The cost is about $91 to $99 a month per client site on Growth, and no agency programme was shown on the page. | 4.4 / 5 |
| Strapi | The cheapest route for agencies: a free open-source edition with unlimited usage and a per-project cloud price from $35. You carry the hosting and maintenance work on self-hosted builds, and G2 shows 206 reviews with no score in the snippet we read. | 4.2 / 5 |
How much do Contentful and its alternatives cost?
Contentful Lite costs $300 a month. Sanity Growth costs $15 per seat a month, Storyblok Growth costs $90.75 a month billed yearly, and Strapi Cloud Starter costs $35 per project a month.
| Tool | Pricing summary |
|---|---|
| Contentful | Free $0 for 10 users and 1 starter space. Lite $300 a month for 20 users and 1 starter space, with an additional Lite space available at $850 a month. Enterprise is custom. |
| Sanity | Free $0 with up to 20 seats and 2 public datasets. Growth $15 per seat a month for up to 50 seats and 2 datasets, public or private. Enterprise is custom and can be paid annually. Self-serve plans accept monthly payments only. |
| Storyblok | Per space. Starter is free for 1 space. Growth costs $99 monthly or $90.75 a month billed yearly with 5 seats. Growth Plus costs $349 monthly or $319.91 billed yearly with 15 seats. Premium and Elite are custom. |
| Strapi | Self-hosted: Community free under the MIT licence, Growth $45 a month for 3 users, Enterprise custom. Strapi Cloud, per project a month: Starter $35, Pro $90 and Business $450. |
What do reviewers say about Contentful and its alternatives?
Review-site scores are a useful signal for how happy teams are after the first few months. They are snapshots from October 2026, and review counts differ widely between tools.
| Tool | Source | Rating | Number of reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contentful | G2 | 4.3 / 5 | 403 |
| Sanity | G2 | 4.7 / 5 | 926 |
| Storyblok | G2 | 4.5 / 5 | 633 |
Which Contentful alternative suits which kind of agency?
The right pick depends mostly on team size, how clients interact with the tool, and whether you need money data. This table maps common situations to a recommendation.
| Agency situation | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Custom studios | Sanity | Code-first. |
| Visual editing | Storyblok | Marketer-friendly. |
| Self-hosting | Strapi | Open source. |
How hard is it to switch away from Contentful?
Export your entries and content types from Contentful before you leave.
Rebuild the content model in the new CMS.
Keep Contentful running until the new site is signed off.
Before you leave Contentful
- List spaces and content types.
- Export entries.
- Compare cost per site.
- Rebuild the model.
- Test editing.
How do you choose the right Contentful alternative?
Count client sites.
Compare cost per site.
A quick decision guide
- Choose Sanity for custom studios.
- Choose Storyblok for visual editing.
- Choose Strapi for open source.
- Stay with Contentful for enterprise.
- Prototype each on one site.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best Contentful alternative?
- Sanity for custom studios, Storyblok for visual editing, and Strapi for open source.
- Why do agencies look beyond Contentful?
- Extra spaces cost $850 a month.
- Which is cheapest?
- Strapi Community is free to self-host.
- Does Contentful have a free plan?
- Yes.
- Which has the highest G2 score?
- Sanity.
Sources
Prices, plan limits, and ratings were gathered in October 2026 from:
- Contentful pricing page
- Sanity pricing page
- Storyblok pricing page
- Strapi pricing page