Nextly vs Sanity.
Sanity is a managed content platform with real-time collaboration, GROQ query language, and a cloud-hosted Content Lake. Nextly is self-hosted, MIT-licensed, and free, with full ownership of your data.
Quick comparison
| Aspect | Nextly | Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Proprietary (SaaS) |
| Approach | Code-first + Visual | Schema-as-code (GROQ) |
| Hosting | Self-hosted (you own everything) | Cloud-hosted (Sanity manages) |
| Database | Your own Postgres/MySQL/SQLite | Sanity Content Lake |
| Pricing | Free forever | Free tier, Growth $15/user/mo |
| Real-time collaboration | Not yet | Yes (live cursors, presence) |
| Vendor lock-in | None (MIT, self-hosted) | Yes (proprietary platform) |
| Community | New (beta) | Large, active ecosystem |
Real-time collaboration
Multiple editors working simultaneously with live cursors and presence indicators. Nextly does not currently have real-time collaboration.
Content Lake and GROQ
Sanity's managed content database with the powerful GROQ query language is unique in the CMS space. Nextly uses standard SQL.
Global CDN
Content delivered from edge locations worldwide, fully managed. With Nextly, CDN setup is your responsibility.
Enterprise maturity
Production-proven at enterprise scale with dedicated support, SLAs, compliance certifications, and AI features.
Sanity Exchange (marketplace)
A rich ecosystem of plugins, starters, and schemas via Sanity Exchange. Nextly's plugin system is early stage.
Excellent documentation
Comprehensive, well-organized documentation with tutorials, guides, and API references. Mature docs ecosystem.
Self-hosted: your data, your servers
Your content lives on your own infrastructure in your own database. With Sanity, your data lives in their proprietary Content Lake.
No vendor lock-in
MIT licensed and self-hosted. Your data is in standard SQL tables, migrate away anytime. Sanity is a proprietary platform with data in their format.
Free forever, no per-user pricing
No usage limits, no per-user pricing, no surprise bills. Sanity charges $15/user/month on the Growth plan with usage-based overages.
Dual approach: code-first + visual
Both code-first schema definitions and the Schema Builder. Sanity is schema-as-code only.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Nextly | Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Yes | No |
| Self-Hosted | Yes | No |
| Cloud Offering | Planned | Yes |
| Code-First Config | Yes | Yes |
| Visual Config | Yes | No |
| TypeScript Native | Yes | Yes |
| Next.js Integration | Yes | Partial |
| REST API | Yes | No |
| GraphQL | Planned | No |
| Rich Text Editor | Yes | Yes |
| Media Library | Yes | Yes |
| Access Control / RBAC | Yes | Yes |
| Hooks / Lifecycle | Yes | Partial |
| i18n / Localization | Planned | Yes |
| Content Versioning | Planned | Yes |
| Live Preview | Yes | Yes |
| Webhooks | Planned | Yes |
| Plugins / Marketplace | Partial | Yes |
| Database Support | Yes | No |
| Community Size | Partial | Yes |
Which one is right for you?
Choose Sanity if you need:
- •Real-time collaboration with multiple editors
- •Managed hosting with global CDN
- •Enterprise-scale with SLAs and dedicated support
- •GROQ query language for flexible content queries
- •AI-powered content features
- •A mature, polished editing experience
Choose Nextly if you need:
- •Full control over your data and infrastructure
- •No per-user pricing or usage-based billing
- •Both code-first and visual content management
- •No vendor lock-in (MIT license, standard SQL)
- •Single-codebase deployment with Next.js
Common questions
What is the difference between Nextly and Sanity?
Nextly is self-hosted and fully open source (MIT license). Sanity is cloud-hosted SaaS with a free tier and usage-based pricing. Nextly runs inside your Next.js app; Sanity runs on Sanity's servers and you connect via API.
Is Nextly free compared to Sanity?
Nextly is MIT licensed and completely free with no usage limits. Sanity has a free tier (3 users, 500K API requests/month) but charges beyond those limits. For growing projects, Nextly has zero scaling costs since you control the infrastructure.
Does Nextly have a visual content editor like Sanity Studio?
Nextly has an admin panel with a visual Schema Builder for creating content types and a rich text editor for content. Sanity Studio is more mature and offers real-time collaborative editing. Nextly focuses on the dual approach of code-first plus visual.
Can I self-host Sanity or Nextly?
Nextly is self-hosted only. You deploy it on your own infrastructure. Sanity is cloud-only with no self-hosting option. If owning your infrastructure and data is important, Nextly is the choice.
Which is better for a small team, Nextly or Sanity?
It depends on your priorities. Choose Sanity for managed hosting and real-time collaboration without DevOps work. Choose Nextly for full control over your stack, zero ongoing costs, and the ability to define schemas in code or visually.
Start building with Nextly
Free, open source, and yours to own. No sign-up required.
npx create-nextly-app@latest