Headless CMS Comparison: Contentful, Sanity, Strapi, WP

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, developers and content managers are increasingly turning to headless content management systems (CMS) to gain greater flexibility in content delivery. A headless CMS decouples the content management back-end from the front-end, allowing content to be delivered via APIs to multiple platforms from websites and mobile apps to smart devices. But not all headless CMSs are created equal. Among the leading solutions are Contentful, Sanity, Strapi, and WordPress (as a headless CMS). This article provides a comprehensive comparison to help you understand the strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases for each.

1. Contentful

Contentful is one of the most widely recognized headless CMS platforms, known for its enterprise capabilities, robust API, and strong performance. It serves as a content infrastructure platform that helps businesses manage and distribute content across multiple channels efficiently.

Features and Benefits:

• API-first architecture – Designed specifically to deliver content via RESTful and GraphQL APIs.
• Modern UI – A clean and intuitive interface that supports configurable content models.
• Content versioning and localization – Essential features for global businesses.
• Enterprise-ready – Offers SLA guarantees, team roles, and advanced permissions.

Cons:

• Premium pricing: The features come at a high cost, which may not be suitable for small to medium-sized projects.
• Limited free tier: Although there’s a free tier, it is quite restricted in its features and usage limits.

Contentful is optimal for enterprises and large-scale digital platforms needing strong scalability, omni-channel delivery, and collaborative workflows.

2. Sanity

Sanity has gained popularity for its real-time collaborative editing, flexible data modeling, and developer-first experience. It is built for structured content and comes with an open-source editing environment called Sanity Studio.

Features and Benefits:

• Customizable Studio – Built with React, allowing full control over the editing environment.
• Real-time synchronization – Enables multiple users to edit content in real-time.
• Portable Text – A content format designed for rich text structures, making it more adaptable to various front-ends.
• Flexible APIs – Offers GROQ and GraphQL for querying content.

Cons:

• Steeper learning curve: The advanced features and configuration can be overwhelming for beginners.
• Lack of built-in roles & permissions: Requires some customization to define granular access control.

Sanity is particularly well-suited for developers seeking a deeply customizable CMS that allows fine-grained control over the content model and UI experience.

3. Strapi

Strapi is an open-source, self-hosted headless CMS built with Node.js. It is especially appealing for developers who want a customizable and extensible platform with full control over the back-end setup.

Features and Benefits:

• 100% open-source – No licensing fees to worry about and complete access to the source code.
• Self-hosted or cloud – Gives you deployment flexibility and data ownership.
• Plugin system – Easily extend functionalities with custom or community-built plugins.
• Role-based access – Built-in functionality to manage workflows and user roles.

Cons:

• Requires infrastructure management: Since it’s self-hosted by default, you’ll need to handle server setup, maintenance, and scalability.
• Performance: Can require finely tuned configurations to offer enterprise-grade performance and uptime.

Strapi is an excellent choice for developers and teams who want complete control over their CMS infrastructure and prefer open-source software with strong API capabilities.

4. WordPress (as a Headless CMS)

Though traditionally a monolithic CMS, WordPress can be used in a headless architecture using its REST API or GraphQL (via plugins like WPGraphQL). Given its unparalleled adoption, many developers choose it for familiar workflows and massive community support.

Features and Benefits:

• Familiar interface – Editors love the Gutenberg block editor and the well-known admin dashboard.
• Extensive plugin ecosystem – Even in headless mode, many plugins are still helpful on the backend.
• Flexible front-end – Can work with React, Vue, Angular, or even native mobile front-ends.
• Large community – Countless tutorials, plugins, and agencies specialize in WordPress.

Cons:

• Not built API-first: Although WordPress supports REST APIs, it was originally designed as a traditional CMS.
• Security concerns: A very popular platform, making it a frequent target for attacks, especially when not properly maintained.

WordPress is a pragmatic option for teams with existing WordPress experience who wish to go headless, especially when they want to preserve editorial usability while embracing modern front-end frameworks.

Comparison Table

Choosing the Right Headless CMS

Deciding which headless CMS to use comes down to your specific project requirements, team expertise, and long-term scalability needs. Consider the following axes of comparison:

• Cost: Contentful is pricey but feature-rich. Strapi and WordPress can be economical if self-hosted.
• Developer Experience: Sanity and Strapi shine here with modern APIs and customizable interfaces.
• Editorial Experience: WordPress still leads in ease-of-use for non-technical users.
• Performance & Scalability: Contentful offers enterprise-grade provision, but self-hosted options require additional resources for scaling properly.

Ultimately, your choice should align with the core focus of your application—whether it’s speed of development, cost-efficiency, or deep customizability. Businesses with complex workflows and global content strategies may appreciate the robustness of Contentful or Sanity, while startups and agencies might turn to Strapi or WordPress to reduce initial overhead.

Final Thoughts

As content continues to be delivered across more platforms and devices than ever before, choosing the right headless CMS is critical