# Payload vs Sanity

[Compare](https://nextlyhq.com/compare.md) / Payload vs Sanity

Facts about Payload CMS and Sanity, side by side. Each line comes from the tool's own pages, repository or npm, with its source and the day it was checked.

[Facts checked on 24 Oct 2026](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity#side-by-side) · [14 sources](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/payload-vs-sanity#sources)

Written by the Nextly team. Nextly is not in this comparison; it has a section of its own at the end.

On this page:

1. Side by side
2. Sources
3. Method
4. A third option

## 01 · Side by side: Payload CMS and Sanity, fact by fact

Facts checked on 24 Oct 2026

Each line comes from Payload CMS's or Sanity's own pages, repository or npm. Where we have not checked something, we say so and link to their docs.

| Topic | Payload CMS | Sanity |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Licence | MIT [1] | Not stated here. [sanity.io/docs](https://www.sanity.io/docs) |
| Studio licence | Not stated here. [payloadcms.com/docs](https://payloadcms.com/docs) | MIT [8] |
| Written in | TypeScript [1] | TypeScript [8] |
| Databases | Adapters for MongoDB, Postgres and SQLite [2] | Where content lives: Every plan lists a “hosted, real-time content database” [9] |
| APIs | A Local API, REST and GraphQL are documented [3] [4] [5] | An HTTP API, queried with GROQ, and GraphQL APIs you deploy with the Sanity CLI, are documented [13] [14] |
| Query language | Not stated here. [payloadcms.com/docs](https://payloadcms.com/docs) | GROQ [11] |
| Managed hosting | Payload Cloud: “deployment of new projects is currently paused” [6] | Not stated here. [sanity.io/docs](https://www.sanity.io/docs) |
| Studio hosting | Not stated here. [payloadcms.com/docs](https://payloadcms.com/docs) | Sanity hosting, or self-hosting on any platform with single-page app routing [10] |
| Pricing | Not stated here. [payloadcms.com/docs](https://payloadcms.com/docs) | A free plan with set limits; the Growth plan is priced per user per month, with usage-based overages [9] |
| Current release | 3.92.0 on npm `latest`; 4.0.0-beta.4 on `beta` [7] | 6.20.0 on npm `latest` [12] |

## 02 · Sources: Where each line comes from

### Payload CMS

1. [github.com/payloadcms/payload (licence, language)](https://github.com/payloadcms/payload)
2. [payloadcms.com/docs/database/overview](https://payloadcms.com/docs/database/overview)
3. [payloadcms.com/docs/local-api/overview](https://payloadcms.com/docs/local-api/overview)
4. [payloadcms.com/docs/rest-api/overview](https://payloadcms.com/docs/rest-api/overview)
5. [payloadcms.com/docs/graphql/overview](https://payloadcms.com/docs/graphql/overview)
6. [payloadcms.com/payload-has-joined-figma](https://payloadcms.com/payload-has-joined-figma)
7. [npmjs.com/package/payload (dist-tags)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/payload)

### Sanity

8. [github.com/sanity-io/sanity (licence, language)](https://github.com/sanity-io/sanity)
9. [sanity.io/pricing](https://www.sanity.io/pricing)
10. [sanity.io/docs/studio/deployment](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/deployment)
11. [sanity.io/docs/content-lake/how-queries-work](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/how-queries-work)
12. [npmjs.com/package/sanity (dist-tags)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/sanity)
13. [sanity.io/docs/http-reference](https://www.sanity.io/docs/http-reference), checked 27 Oct 2026
14. [sanity.io/docs/content-lake/graphql](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/graphql), checked 27 Oct 2026

## 03 · Method: How this page is written

- **Facts:** Facts from their own pages or repository, each with its source and the day we checked.
- **No scores:** No ticks, crosses or verdicts about other products.
- **Gaps:** Where we have not checked something, we say so and link to their docs.

## 04 · A third option: Nextly

We make Nextly. It is not part of the comparison above.

Separate from the comparison

- **What it is:** Nextly is an open-source content platform for Next.js.
- **Stack:** TypeScript · Self-hosted · MIT · PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite · 0.0.2-alpha.71
- **Hosting:** Self-hosted. MIT today, and no decision yet about paid offerings.
- **Status:** Nextly is in alpha. APIs may change before 1.0. Pin exact versions in production.

- [Nextly vs Payload CMS](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/payload-cms.md): Read the comparison · checked 24 Oct 2026
- [Nextly vs Sanity](https://nextlyhq.com/compare/sanity.md): Read the comparison · checked 24 Oct 2026