Stack2 min read
Choosing a headless CMS: Payload, Sanity, Storyblok, Contentful
A comparison from the editor's side, not the developer's. Which headless CMS fits which kind of marketing team, and what to test before you sign.
Mitja PakFounder & developer, builds Webflow sites every dayDevelopers tend to choose a headless CMS by the API. That's backwards. Developers spend a few weeks with the CMS during the build. Editors spend years in it. Choose for them first.
The four we recommend most
| CMS | Strongest at | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Storyblok | Visual editing. Marketers build pages from blocks and see the result as they type. | Pricing grows with seats and spaces. Complex data models are possible but less natural. |
| Sanity | Flexible content modeling and a customizable editor. Strong for structured content used in many places. | Editors need a well configured Studio and preview. Out of the box it's a developer's tool. |
| Payload | Open source and self-hostable, written in TypeScript, runs inside a Next.js app. No per-seat license. | You run it, so you own hosting, backups, and upgrades, or pay for managed hosting. |
| Contentful | Mature enterprise features: roles, environments, localization, governance. | Higher cost, and editors often need developer help for page layout changes. |
Strapi, Directus, Prismic, DatoCMS, and Hygraph are good options too. We pick from the wider list when a team has a specific need, like an existing database or a strict hosting requirement.
Questions that decide it
- 01Who builds new landing pages? If it's marketing alone, visual editing and a good block library matter most. Storyblok is usually the strongest fit.
- 02How much content is shared across channels? If the same content feeds the site, the app, and docs, favor the strongest modeling: Sanity or Payload.
- 03Where must data live? If you need EU hosting or your own infrastructure, self-hosted Payload, Strapi, or Directus make that simple.
- 04How many people edit? Per-seat pricing feels cheap at three editors and expensive at thirty.
- 05Who maintains it? A self-hosted CMS needs someone to update it. If nobody will, choose a hosted one.
Test it with your real content
Demos use perfect sample content. Before deciding, model one real page type, like a case study or a product page, in your top two choices. Then ask two editors to make a real change in each one. Watch where they get stuck. That hour tells you more than any comparison table, including this one.
Things every option should have
- Drafts, scheduled publishing, and version history
- Live preview of the actual site, not a form
- Roles that limit who can publish
- Localization at the field level if you have more than one language
- Webhooks so the site rebuilds or revalidates on publish
- An export path, so your content isn't stuck if you switch again
Planning a migration?
See the assessment →