Choosing the Best Headless CMS: Storyblok vs Payload vs Sanity

What Is a Headless CMS?

A headless CMS decouples content storage from presentation. Instead of enforcing templates, it delivers content via API so you can power websites, mobile apps, digital signage or any interface you choose.

Key Differences Between Storyblok, Payload and Sanity

Here’s a high-level look at each platform’s sweet spot:

Storyblok

• Visual editor with real-time page preview

• Enterprise-grade roles, localization workflows

• SOC 2 compliance and GDPR-friendly, as noted in Capterra's Storyblok listing

• Starts at $90/month for business plans

Payload

• Open-source and self-hosted, zero licensing fees (Payload GitHub repository)

• Developer-first API and flexible data modeling

• Compliance is user-managed—ideal for internal tooling

• Community around 4,000 GitHub stars

Sanity

• Real-time collaboration, custom Studio UI

• GROQ query language for advanced filtering

• SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR compliance

• Free tier available, paid plans from $200/month

Advanced Considerations Beyond the Basics

1. AI-Powered Content Automation & Personalization

Modern CMS platforms are integrating AI to speed up writing, translations and suggest personalized content. For instance, Sanity’s AI Assistant beta uses GPT-4 to generate drafts (OpenAI GPT-4).

2. CMS Architecture and Scalability

Your CMS can be monolithic, microservices-based or composable. According to Gartner, over 50% of new digital experiences will be built with composable architectures by 2023 (Gartner report), offering you more flexibility as your application grows.

3. Migration Complexity and Tooling

Switching platforms often requires scripts, mapping fields and preserving relationships:

• Storyblok CLI can migrate content via Management API (npm package).

• Payload migrations are custom scripts you write in Node.js.

• Sanity offers an import/export CLI for bulk operations.

4. Security Certifications & Compliance

Enterprise projects often demand formal audits:

1. Storyblok: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR.

2. Sanity: SOC 2, HIPAA readiness, GDPR (Sanity's security documentation).

3. Payload: self-hosted, so you control firewalls, encryption and audits (Payload security guide).

5. Community Ecosystem & Marketplace

A vibrant community means more plugins and integrations:

• Storyblok: 700K+ registered users, marketplace for visual plugins.

• Sanity: 180K+ developers, plugin directory listed on HeadlessCMS.org.

• Payload: growing plugin directory on GitHub.

6. Localization & Internationalization

Beyond basic multi-language fields, look for workflow support:

• Storyblok: built-in translation editor, 33 languages.

• Sanity: i18n via community plugin or custom schemas.

• Payload: you define locales in your schema, handle workflows yourself.

For a comprehensive overview of internationalization in headless CMS platforms, see the Contentstack guide to internationalization.

7. Performance Optimization & CDN Integrations

Your CMS should offload assets and cache API calls:

• Storyblok: global edge-powered CDN with automatic cache invalidation.

• Sanity: global CDN via Fastly and caching middleware.

• Payload: self-hosted so you pick your CDN (Cloudflare, AWS CloudFront).

8. Omnichannel Content Delivery

Headless CMS shines when you need to publish to web, mobile, IoT or AR/VR. All three platforms support REST/GraphQL endpoints consumable by any device.

9. Accessibility & Editorial UX Compliance

Ensuring your editors can work within accessible interfaces saves training and compliance headaches:

• Storyblok: UI follows WCAG 2.1 guidelines.

• Sanity: high-contrast default themes, keyboard navigation.

• Payload: you build the admin UI, so you must enforce ADA/WCAG standards.

10. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Beyond license fees, consider:

• Bandwidth and storage overages

• Support and SLA tiers

• Custom integrations or professional services

For example, Storyblok’s enterprise SLA adds 24/7 support at an extra $2,000/month, while Sanity offers custom SLAs only at the enterprise level. Payload avoids licensing costs but requires infrastructure and maintenance budget.

Your Next Steps: Making the Right Call

Now that you’ve seen both classic feature breakdowns and deeper criteria—from AI workflows to TCO—you’re ready to pick the CMS that maps to your team’s skill set, compliance needs and growth plans. If you need a visual editor and turnkey security, Storyblok wins. If you’re all about code flexibility and zero fees, Payload is ideal. If real-time collaboration and enterprise compliance top your list, Sanity stands out. Choose wisely and build confidently.