Alternatives
Best Sanity Alternatives for Agencies (2026)
By Red Kite Search Agency Created Updated 8 min read
Summary
Sanity is a solid choice, but it does not fit every agency. Storyblok: A headless CMS with a visual editor, priced per space (one space per site). Contentful: An enterprise-oriented headless CMS with a free tier and expensive extra spaces. 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 Sanity alternatives for agencies in 2026?
Sanity is highly rated, but every studio is built in code and project billing is unclear.
We compared each option with Sanity on price, scope, and public ratings.
The three alternatives below are a visual headless CMS, an enterprise platform, and an open-source option.
The shortlist is Storyblok, Contentful, Strapi. The table puts them next to Sanity.
| Tool | Editorial score | Review-site ratings | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 Sanity alternatives?
Agencies usually look beyond Sanity for a visual editor, a self-hosted option, or clearer per-site pricing.
Others want annual billing on a small plan.
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 Sanity
- 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 Sanity alternative for agencies?
Storyblok has a visual editor for marketers and prices 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 Contentful a good Sanity alternative for agencies?
Contentful is an enterprise platform with a free tier and costly extra spaces.
Contentful is an API-first content platform. It sells a free plan with 10 users and one starter space, a Lite plan at $300 a month with 20 users, and a custom Enterprise plan. Extra Lite spaces are sold separately at $850 a month.
Who it suits: Enterprise-bound projects and agencies building for large clients with governance needs.
Contentful pros
- The Free plan costs $0 for 10 users and 1 starter space, with 100K API calls a month.
- Lite costs $300 a month for 20 users with 1M API calls and 100 GB CDN bandwidth.
- Enterprise offers unlimited API calls and custom spaces, with partner templates.
- G2 shows 4.3 from 403 reviews.
Contentful cons
- 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 Strapi a good Sanity alternative for agencies?
Strapi is open source, free to self-host, with cloud plans per project.
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 Sanity alternative?
If you only have a minute, this table gives our verdict on each alternative to Sanity, based on the research above.
| Tool | Verdict | Editorial score |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Contentful | A proven platform with a useful free tier, but the agency economics are weak: Lite costs $300 a month and each extra Lite space is $850, so a portfolio of small client sites costs far more than on Storyblok or Strapi. | 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 Sanity and its alternatives cost?
Sanity Growth costs $15 per seat a month. Storyblok Growth costs $90.75 a month billed yearly, Contentful Lite costs $300 a month, and Strapi Cloud Starter costs $35 per project a month.
| Tool | Pricing summary |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 Sanity 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanity | G2 | 4.7 / 5 | 926 |
| Storyblok | G2 | 4.5 / 5 | 633 |
| Contentful | G2 | 4.3 / 5 | 403 |
Which Sanity 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Visual editing | Storyblok | Marketer-friendly editor. |
| Enterprise | Contentful | Governance and scale. |
| Self-hosting | Strapi | Open source. |
How hard is it to switch away from Sanity?
Export your datasets from Sanity before you leave.
Rebuild the content model in the new CMS.
Keep Sanity running until editors have signed off the new site.
Before you leave Sanity
- List content types.
- Export datasets.
- Compare cost per site.
- Rebuild the model.
- Test editing.
How do you choose the right Sanity alternative?
Decide who edits content.
Compare cost per client site.
A quick decision guide
- Choose Storyblok for a visual editor.
- Choose Contentful for enterprise.
- Choose Strapi for open source.
- Stay with Sanity for custom studios.
- Prototype each on one site.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best Sanity alternative?
- Storyblok for a visual editor, Contentful for enterprise, and Strapi for open source.
- Why do agencies look beyond Sanity?
- Code-first setup and unclear project billing.
- Which alternative is cheapest?
- Strapi Community is free to self-host.
- Does Sanity have a free plan?
- Yes.
- Which has the highest G2 score?
- Sanity.
Sources
Prices, plan limits, and ratings were gathered in October 2026 from:
- Sanity pricing page
- Storyblok pricing page
- Contentful pricing page
- Strapi pricing page