Agency
Sanity development agency: senior builds, migrations and fixes, billed only for the hours you use
Short answer
Deploi, a Toronto-based web development agency, builds, migrates and fixes Sanity sites at $100 CAD an hour (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026). Each job gets an hours estimate you approve in writing, so you agree its cost first. Deploi's October 2026 estimate for a Sanity and Next.js marketing site is 350 to 600 hours, or $35,000 to $60,000 CAD before tax.
- Rate
- $100 CAD an hour, prepaidOne rate for every service, in Canadian dollars before applicable taxes, locked for 12 months from your first bank (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026)Source: Deploi (Pricing)
- Billing cap
- Billed hours never exceed the approved estimateUnless a cause outside Deploi's control, such as a third-party integration issue, changes the work; then Deploi reassesses the task with youSource: Deploi (Pricing)
- Marketing site on Sanity
- 350 to 600 hours, $35,000 to $60,000 CADDeploi's estimate, 25 October 2026: 6 to 8 templates in one language, about 7 to 12 weeks from kickoff to launch, before applicable taxesSource: Deploi (Pricing)
- Deploi's own Sanity sections
- 4,642 documents in two datasetsCounted 24 October 2026 across deploi.ca's Build vs. Buy hub, Shopify FAQ Hub, Shopify Builds and Shopify data sections; the count includes image asset documentsSources: Deploi (Build vs. Buy on Shopify, Shopify FAQ for Mid-Market and Enterprise Brands, Shopify Builds, Shopify data and statistics, every source shown)
Which agency offers Sanity development services?
Deploi, a web development agency, offers Sanity development services: new sites and sections built on Sanity, migrations into Sanity, and fixes and extensions to Sanity Studio and the frontends that read from it. Deploi bills $100 CAD an hour, and every job gets an hours estimate you approve in writing before work starts (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
What you get from a Sanity agency that works this way:
- One published rate. "Deploi bills every service at one rate", so development, design and search work cost the same per hour (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
- A bill capped by the estimate. Only logged hours count, never more than each job's approved estimate.
- Sanity work you can inspect. Deploi publishes 701 Build vs. Buy decision pages on deploi.ca from its own Sanity datasets, counted 24 October 2026.
If you're comparing Sanity CMS (content management system) development agencies, the questions that expose real Sanity experience apply to Deploi as much as to anyone else. Canadian buyers get the tax and provincial rules on Sanity development in Canada.
What does Deploi build on Sanity?
Deploi offers four sizes of Sanity project: a Sanity-powered section on an existing site, a marketing site on Sanity and Next.js, a larger content site, and a multilingual or multi-site platform. Deploi also offers content migration into Sanity, plus Visual Editing, custom Sanity Studio tools, integrations and an AI chatbot for sites already on Sanity.
- A section on your current site: a blog, resource library, FAQ or help center added to a Next.js or other React site, on its design system, so it matches the pages around it.
- New sites: marketing and content sites on Sanity and Next.js, with editor roles, environments, deployment and analytics set up; see how Sanity and Next.js work together.
- Migrations: moving WordPress, Contentful, Drupal or another CMS (content management system) into Sanity, with scripts that dry-run first.
- Visual Editing: click-to-edit previews for your marketing team on an existing Next.js site.
- Custom Sanity Studio tools: an approval workflow, custom inputs or document actions.
- Integrations: a CRM (customer relationship management system), forms, search, a DAM (digital asset management system) or commerce.
- An AI chatbot: answers drawn from your Sanity content, built from the FAQ Hub with AI Chatbot template, which Martin Dejnicki published on Sanity Exchange (Sanity Exchange, October 2026); see how a knowledge base with AI answers fits together.
How much does Sanity development cost at Deploi?
Sanity development at Deploi costs $100 CAD an hour; its estimates for four project sizes follow. These are Deploi's estimates as of 25 October 2026: the hours each part of the work takes (the content model, templates and components, integrations, content migration, testing and launch), priced at the published $100 CAD rate. Your project gets its own written estimate, and you agree the total before work begins; it changes only if the scope changes or a cause outside Deploi's control arises.
| Sanity project | Hours | CAD before tax | Kickoff to launch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Existing-site section | 100 to 280 | $10,000 to $28,000 | About 3 to 6 weeks |
| Marketing site on Next.js | 350 to 600 | $35,000 to $60,000 | About 7 to 12 weeks |
| Larger content site | 600 to 1,350 | $60,000 to $135,000 | About 11 to 20 weeks |
| Multilingual or multi-site | 1,300 to 2,350 | $130,000 to $235,000 | About 5 to 9 months |
The three site estimates include their content migration, SEO (search engine optimization) setup and accessibility to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA (double-A), so you don't add a migration on top. The section estimate covers metadata, sitemap, preview and content import; the full cost breakdown lists every line.
Can Deploi fix or extend a Sanity site someone else built?
Yes. Deploi can fix and extend a Sanity site that another team built, as jobs drawn from a prepaid bank of hours with no minimum purchase. Each job gets its own hours estimate, so a Sanity Studio upgrade or a new component has a known cost before work starts (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
| Sanity job | Hours | Price before tax (CAD) |
|---|---|---|
| Add a field and backfill existing documents | 4 to 12 | $400 to $1,200 |
| A new page component, schema to frontend | 8 to 24 | $800 to $2,400 |
| Upgrade Studio and plugins to the current major | 8 to 40 | $800 to $4,000 |
| Fix metadata, sitemaps and structured data | 16 to 40 | $1,600 to $4,000 |
| Visual Editing on an existing Next.js site | 15 to 40 | $1,500 to $4,000 |
| Custom Studio tools, such as an approval workflow | 20 to 80 | $2,000 to $8,000 |
| One integration, such as forms or search | 10 to 40 | $1,000 to $4,000 |
Each price is Deploi arithmetic: a Sanity Studio major upgrade at 8 to 40 hours is 8 times $100 to 40 times $100, or $800 to $4,000 CAD.
How does a Sanity project with Deploi run?
A Sanity project with Deploi runs on written estimates: Deploi scopes the work, estimates it in hours, and starts only after you approve it in writing. For a bigger project such as a new site or a migration, "You agree the total before work begins", and any extra work needs your written approval first (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
A Sanity engagement with Deploi
- Scope the work. You set the priorities; Deploi's senior engineers break the Sanity work into its parts.
- Estimate in hours. You get a written hours estimate; for a bigger project, the total.
- Approve in writing. Nothing starts without your written OK.
- Build and itemize. Every billed hour is itemized against your prepaid balance, never more than the approved estimate.
- Review, launch and train. Testing, launch, editor training and post-launch support close the project.
- Keep going from a bank of hours. Later changes are new estimated jobs; Deploi's estimate for keeping a Sanity site current, as of October 2026, is about 10 to 20 hours a month, drawn only when work is done.
Project management and strategic planning are never drawn from your bank, so the hours you prepay go to the Sanity work itself.
What protects your budget on a Sanity job at Deploi?
Deploi's written terms protect your budget on a Sanity job: you approve each estimate in writing first, and only logged hours count, never more than that estimate. If a job runs over, Deploi finishes it without extra hours from your prepaid bank, unless a cause outside Deploi's control arises (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
- Senior engineers write the estimates. Deploi's pricing page says so, and adds that the number reflects how the work will actually be built (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
- Extra work needs your written approval first, and nothing starts without your written OK.
- Every billed hour is itemized against your prepaid balance, so you can check it against the estimate.
- Overruns have their own answer. What happens when a Sanity project runs over its estimate is answered on the Sanity cost page.
What has Deploi built on Sanity?
Deploi runs four public sections of deploi.ca on Sanity: a Build vs. Buy hub, a Shopify FAQ Hub, a Shopify Builds library and a Shopify data section. Together they hold 4,642 documents across two datasets in one Sanity project, counted 24 October 2026 (the count includes image asset documents), and editors work in one Sanity Studio with three workspaces.
| Section on deploi.ca | What its Sanity documents hold |
|---|---|
| Build vs. Buy hub | 701 decision pages, each with a verdict and 12 scored dimensions |
| Shopify FAQ Hub | 256 answers with a short answer, key facts, sources and Deploi's call as separate fields |
| Shopify Builds library | 96 builds and 62 capabilities |
| Shopify data section | 53 pages, 71 charts, 56 datasets and 355 sources |
Each section is live on deploi.ca, so you can open the pages a Sanity schema produces and judge the structure yourself: the Build vs. Buy hub, the Shopify FAQ Hub, the Shopify Builds library and the Shopify data section, all opened 25 October 2026. The deploi.ca pages outside these sections run on other CMSs (content management systems); only the Shopify sections run on Sanity.
Which Sanity template and practices has Deploi published?
Deploi has published a Sanity template on Sanity Exchange and documents two Sanity practices it runs on deploi.ca. The FAQ Hub with AI Chatbot template, which Martin Dejnicki published on Sanity Exchange, is "A Sanity-powered FAQ knowledge base with AI-powered search and chatbot capabilities, built with Next.js and CopilotKit", credited "Built by Deploi" (Sanity Exchange, FAQ Hub with AI Chatbot, October 2026).
- Semantic search in GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries). The template still calls the Embeddings Index API (application programming interface), which Sanity has deprecated (Sanity Docs, Migrate from the Embeddings Index API, October 2026). deploi.ca's FAQ assistant ranks answers with
text::semanticSimilarity()instead, with a keyword fallback: semantic search in plain GROQ. - Agent-scale publishing with a way back. Deploi writes deploi.ca's Sanity content in waves, imports each as a package with count checks, and keeps a rollback list by document ID; its release scripts dry-run by default: publishing 701 decision pages at agent scale.
Before you reuse the FAQ Hub with AI Chatbot template, plan to replace its Embeddings Index calls, and note that it has no Presentation tool, so Visual Editing isn't set up.
Questions buyers ask
How much does a Sanity developer cost per hour?
A Sanity developer at Deploi costs $100 CAD an hour, prepaid, before applicable taxes. Deploi bills every service at one rate, so Sanity development, design, SEO (search engine optimization) and AI search cost the same. Your rate is locked for 12 months from your first bank of hours, the prepaid block you buy upfront (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
Is there a minimum commitment or a monthly fee?
No. Deploi's bank of hours, the prepaid block you draw down as work gets done, has no minimum purchase, no monthly minimum, no contract term and no automatic renewal. You pay upfront, in full, for the hours you choose, and a quiet month uses no hours, so your balance waits for the next Sanity job (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
Do unused hours expire?
No. Hours in a Deploi bank of hours never expire, so a balance waits through a code freeze or a paused Sanity project. If you'd rather have the money back, Deploi refunds the unused balance when you ask in writing, in Canadian dollars before tax (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026).
Can Deploi design the site as well as build it?
Yes. Deploi bills design at the same $100 CAD an hour as development, because it bills every service at one rate (Deploi, Pricing, October 2026). Deploi's estimate for design, as of 25 October 2026, is about 25 to 35 hours per template, with components and three breakpoints included. Design is an add-on to the build estimates.
Can Deploi work alongside our in-house developers?
Yes. Deploi can work alongside your in-house developers by handing Sanity changes over as packages: an import file, count queries and a rollback list by document ID. Your developers apply, check and undo each package, so they decide what ships. Deploi hands its own deploi.ca content waves to developers that way; when each model fits is a separate question.
Can Deploi add an AI chatbot to our Sanity site?
Yes. Deploi's October 2026 estimate for an AI chatbot that answers from your Sanity content is 200 to 300 hours, or $20,000 to $30,000 CAD before tax. AI model and API (application programming interface) fees are billed by their providers, so they're extra. Deploi's FAQ assistant uses GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries) semantic search, not Sanity's deprecated Embeddings Index API.
Deploi’s point of view
- Our take
- Hire a Sanity agency for its content model and its release discipline, then hold it to a published rate and a written estimate that caps the bill. That pair lets you compare Sanity agencies line by line, and the cap means a quote can't grow after you sign unless the scope changes or a cause outside the agency's control arises.
- Where we disagree
- The standard line is that a Sanity build can't be priced before a paid discovery phase. Most of it can: the hours follow the number of templates, languages, integrations and how much content moves, so a buyer can get a range on day one and a written estimate once the scope is set. The second mistake is buying on design and page speed alone, because editors, queries and AI features all read the same structured documents, and a weak content model costs you on each of them.
- What we’ve seen
- All 256 answers in deploi.ca's Shopify FAQ Hub store a short answer, key facts, sources and Deploi's call as separate fields, counted 24 October 2026. The on-site assistant retrieves those answers with one GROQ semantic query, with a keyword query as the fallback, and no separate vector database.
- What we refuse to promise
- We don't promise rankings, AI citations, savings or launch dates. We promise a published rate, an hours estimate you approve before work starts, and billed hours capped at that estimate unless a cause outside our control, such as a third-party integration issue, changes the work.
- Where we would push back
- If a Sanity project's documents fail their own validation rules, we fix the content model and the data before building new features on top, because every new feature inherits the bad records.
When this answer changes
- Deploi changes its $100 CAD rate or its bank-of-hours terms
- Deploi revises its published Sanity estimates
- Sanity ships a new major version of Sanity Studio, which changes the upgrade job
- Sanity moves a feature such as Visual Editing between plans
- Document counts in Deploi's Sanity datasets change by a content wave or more
Sources
Every source opened and checked on 25 October 2026.
- Deploi, Pricing
- Sanity Exchange, FAQ Hub with AI Chatbot template
- Sanity Docs, Migrate from the Embeddings Index API to Dataset Embeddings
- Deploi, Build vs. Buy on Shopify
- Deploi, Shopify FAQ for Mid-Market and Enterprise Brands
- Deploi, Shopify Builds
- Deploi, Shopify data and statistics, every source shown