# What are the best alternatives to Contentful, and who should switch?

Reviewed by Martin Dejnicki · facts verified 25 October 2026 · canonical: https://deploi.ca/sanity/compare/contentful-alternatives

## Short answer

Sanity is the Contentful alternative Deploi picks when a developer will own the content model: Growth costs $15 per seat a month, up to 50 seats ([Sanity pricing](https://www.sanity.io/pricing), October 2026). Contentful's pricing page lists Lite at $300 a month for 20 users ([Contentful pricing](https://www.contentful.com/pricing/), October 2026). Storyblok, Strapi, Payload, Hygraph, Contentstack and WordPress each fit another reason for leaving.

- **Contentful Lite:** $300 a month: 20 users, 3 roles, 3 locales. Contentful's pricing page lists $300 / month and its billing help describes monthly invoices; one Lite Space adds $850 a month, and only one can be bought ([Contentful, Pricing](https://www.contentful.com/pricing/); [Contentful Help Center, Usage limits](https://www.contentful.com/help/usage-limits-january-2026/); [Contentful Help Center, Billing](https://www.contentful.com/help/faq/billing/))
- **Sanity Growth:** $15 per seat a month, up to 50 seats. 25,000 documents with no document overage, or 50,000 with the $299 a month add-on; no fee per locale or content type ([Sanity, Plans that scale with you](https://www.sanity.io/pricing); [Sanity Docs, Plans and payments](https://www.sanity.io/docs/platform-management/plans-and-payments); [Sanity Docs, Extending the Growth plan with paid add-ons](https://www.sanity.io/docs/platform-management/growth-plan-add-ons); [Sanity, Sanity for Startups](https://www.sanity.io/startups))
- **Self-hosted, open-source options:** Strapi Community Edition and Payload, both MIT. Sanity Studio is open source and can be self-hosted, but the Content Lake that stores the content is hosted by Sanity only ([Strapi, CMS Pricing and Plans](https://strapi.io/pricing-cms); [Payload, MIT License (GitHub repository)](https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/blob/main/LICENSE.md); [Sanity Docs, Hosting and deployment](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/deployment); [Sanity Docs, Studio development](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/development))
- **Leaving Contentful:** Same export for all; only Sanity's importer checked. Contentful names its APIs as the primary export route for any destination; Sanity publishes contentful-to-sanity, and we checked no importer for the other six alternatives ([Contentful Help Center, Data export](https://www.contentful.com/help/admin/data-export/); [Sanity, Contentful to Sanity](https://www.sanity.io/plugins/contentful-to-sanity))

## Deploi's call

Leave Contentful for Sanity when a Lite cap is your reason and a developer will own the model after launch. For any other reason, pick the alternative built for it. Stay on Contentful if you fit Lite or depend on Enterprise features such as locale-based publishing, because every move costs a front-end rewrite.

**PICK: Pick Sanity as your Contentful alternative when**

- You're leaving over Contentful Lite's caps and want one destination with no fee per locale or content type, because Sanity's pricing page lists no fee for either and Growth runs to 50 seats as of October 2026.
- A developer will own the content model in code, so model changes go through code review.
- Your content fits Growth's 25,000 documents (50,000 with the $299 a month add-on) as of October 2026, counted with drafts.
- Sanity hosting your content is acceptable, because only Sanity Studio can be self-hosted.

**ALTERNATIVE: Pick Storyblok, Strapi, Payload, Hygraph, Contentstack or WordPress over Sanity when**

- Marketers build pages visually: Storyblok, if you don't need custom roles, because Storyblok lists them only on Premium and Elite as of October 2026.
- Policy says you host the database: Strapi or Payload, so the data stays on your servers.
- Your stack federates other application programming interfaces (APIs) over GraphQL: Hygraph, whose pricing page lists one remote source on Growth as of October 2026.
- You want an enterprise suite whose plans cap entries and content types as Contentful's Spaces do, as of October 2026: Contentstack.
- The site is marketing pages on one channel: WordPress, so you skip a separate front end.

## What are the best alternatives to Contentful in October 2026?

Sanity, Storyblok, Strapi, Payload, Hygraph, Contentstack and WordPress are the Contentful alternatives worth a shortlist in October 2026, and each fits a different reason for leaving. Staying on Contentful is the eighth option, and [the Contentful renewal decision](https://deploi.ca/sanity/migration/leaving-contentful) covers who should stay. The deciding question is where the content lives after the move: three options are vendor clouds like Contentful, Sanity hosts its own Content Lake, and Strapi, Payload and WordPress run on servers you choose. Rows come from each vendor's own pages, opened 24 October 2026.

**Each Contentful alternative fits one condition; the loses and fit columns are Deploi's judgment**

| Option | Hosting | Where it loses | Fit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sanity | Sanity only | No self-hosted content store | Our pick |
| Storyblok | Vendor cloud | Custom roles need Premium | Visual pages |
| Strapi | Yours or Strapi Cloud | You run upgrades | Self-hosting |
| Payload | Yours | Tied to Next.js versions | Content in your app |
| Hygraph | Vendor cloud | Custom roles need Enterprise | GraphQL federation |
| Contentstack | Vendor cloud | No custom roles on Build; 2 on Growth | Enterprise suite |
| WordPress | Yours or a managed host | You run PHP and plugins | Marketing site |
| Contentful | Vendor cloud | Past Lite, price is a quote | Stay |

Sources: [Sanity, Plans that scale with you](https://www.sanity.io/pricing); [Sanity Docs, Hosting and deployment](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/deployment); [Sanity Docs, Studio development](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/development); [Storyblok, Pricing](https://www.storyblok.com/pricing); [Strapi, CMS Pricing and Plans](https://strapi.io/pricing-cms); [Payload, Installation](https://payloadcms.com/docs/getting-started/installation); [Hygraph, Plans and Pricing](https://hygraph.com/pricing); [Contentstack, Plans comparison](https://www.contentstack.com/pricing); [WordPress.org, About](https://wordpress.org/about/); [Contentful, Pricing](https://www.contentful.com/pricing/). As of 24 October 2026.

## Which Contentful alternative fits your reason for leaving?

Your reason for leaving Contentful picks the alternative, because each one removes a different limit:

- **Plan caps and modeling in code: Sanity.** Growth charges no fee per locale or content type ([Sanity pricing](https://www.sanity.io/pricing), October 2026); [Sanity against Contentful](https://deploi.ca/sanity/compare/sanity-vs-contentful) goes deeper.
- **Visual page building: Storyblok.** Its Visual Editor still needs developer setup, and Storyblok "requires that you serve the preview over HTTPS" ([Storyblok Docs](https://www.storyblok.com/docs/concepts/visual-editor), October 2026). See [Sanity against Storyblok](https://deploi.ca/sanity/compare/sanity-vs-storyblok).
- **Self-hosting and open source: Strapi or Payload.** Strapi's Community Edition is free and open source ([Strapi pricing](https://strapi.io/pricing-cms), October 2026); Payload is "one open-source TypeScript codebase you own and deploy anywhere" ([Payload Docs](https://payloadcms.com/docs/getting-started/what-is-payload), October 2026). Compare [Strapi](https://deploi.ca/sanity/compare/sanity-vs-strapi) and Payload.
- **GraphQL and content federation: Hygraph.** Remote sources add content from other systems "without having to migrate the content itself" ([Hygraph Docs](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides/remote-data/overview), October 2026); see [Sanity against Hygraph](https://deploi.ca/sanity/compare/sanity-vs-hygraph).
- **An enterprise suite: Contentstack.** Its plans cap content types and entries, as Contentful's Spaces do ([Contentstack pricing](https://www.contentstack.com/pricing), [Contentful pricing](https://www.contentful.com/pricing/), October 2026); see Sanity against Contentstack.
- **A marketing site with no separate front end: WordPress**, "licensed under the GPLv2", version 2 of the General Public License ([WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/about/), October 2026); see [Sanity against WordPress](https://deploi.ca/sanity/compare/sanity-vs-wordpress).

## Why is Sanity our pick, and when isn't it?

Sanity is our pick when a developer will own the content model in code and your content fits Growth's document quota, because Growth moves the user cap from Lite's 20 to 50 and adds no fee per locale or content type. Growth costs $15 per seat a month for up to 50 seats ([Sanity pricing](https://www.sanity.io/pricing), [Sanity for Startups](https://www.sanity.io/startups), October 2026). Contentful Lite includes 20 users, 3 roles and 3 locales ([Contentful pricing](https://www.contentful.com/pricing/), October 2026).

Growth includes 25,000 documents, and the Free, Growth Trial and Growth plans "do not allow overages above the included document quota" ([Sanity Docs](https://www.sanity.io/docs/platform-management/plans-and-payments), October 2026). The Increased quota add-on, $299 a month, raises the total to 50,000; past that the path is Enterprise ([Sanity Docs](https://www.sanity.io/docs/platform-management/growth-plan-add-ons), October 2026). Sanity charges nothing for locales or content types, inside 10,000 unique attributes per dataset on Growth ([Sanity attribute limit docs](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/attribute-limit), October 2026).

> **When another Contentful alternative fits better than Sanity**
>
> - **You must host the content: Strapi or Payload.** Sanity Studio is open source, but it connects to the Content Lake, which only Sanity hosts ([Sanity's deployment docs](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/deployment), [Sanity Docs, Studio development](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/development), October 2026).
> - **Marketers must build pages visually and no developer will maintain Sanity Studio: Storyblok**, though its Visual Editor still needs developer setup ([Storyblok Docs](https://www.storyblok.com/docs/concepts/visual-editor), October 2026).

The Contentful renewal guide covers [other cases where a non-Sanity option wins](https://deploi.ca/sanity/migration/leaving-contentful).

## How hard is it to leave Contentful for each alternative?

Leaving Contentful starts with the same export for every alternative, and only Sanity has an official importer that we checked. You export the space as JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) through Contentful's application programming interfaces (APIs), which Contentful calls "the primary procedure" for export, or its command-line interface ([Contentful Help Center](https://www.contentful.com/help/admin/data-export/), October 2026). [The Contentful exit checklist](https://deploi.ca/sanity/migration/leaving-contentful/exit-checklist) covers that export step by step.

**The importer we checked for each Contentful alternative**

| Destination | Importer we checked | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sanity | contentful-to-sanity, published by Sanity | Run it on a copy of your space |
| Storyblok, Strapi, Payload, Hygraph, Contentstack, WordPress | None checked | Ask the vendor for one and test it on a copy |

A missing importer here is a gap in what we checked, not proof that none exists. Sources: [Sanity, Contentful to Sanity](https://www.sanity.io/plugins/contentful-to-sanity); [Contentful Help Center, Data export](https://www.contentful.com/help/admin/data-export/); [Sanity, What's new in August](https://www.sanity.io/blog/august-releases-2026); [Sanity, sanity-migration skill (GitHub)](https://github.com/sanity-io/agent-toolkit/blob/main/skills/sanity-migration/SKILL.md). As of 24 October 2026.

Sanity's importer "liberates Contentful spaces, creating Sanity projects and schemas as it goes" ([Sanity plugin page](https://www.sanity.io/plugins/contentful-to-sanity), October 2026); [the Contentful to Sanity migration plan](https://deploi.ca/sanity/migration/contentful-to-sanity) covers what it converts and drops. Sanity's migration skill for AI agents also has a Contentful guide ([Sanity's agent toolkit](https://github.com/sanity-io/agent-toolkit/blob/main/skills/sanity-migration/SKILL.md)), but Sanity says "This is agent-scaffolded, not fully automated" ([Sanity blog](https://www.sanity.io/blog/august-releases-2026), October 2026). Deploi hasn't assessed importers for the other alternatives.

## What should you check on an alternative's pricing page before you switch?

Check whether the feature you're leaving Contentful for sits on the alternative's entry paid plan or only on its top tier, because rivals' pricing pages gate roles, workflows and locales the way Contentful gates Lite, as of October 2026.

**Entry paid plans and the features each vendor keeps above them, as listed on 24 October 2026**

| Vendor | Entry paid plan (dollars a month) | Kept above the entry paid plan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sanity | Growth, $15 per seat | Custom roles, Content Releases |
| Storyblok | Growth, $99 with 5 seats and 2 locales | Custom roles and workflows, language-specific workflows |
| Hygraph | Growth, $199 billed yearly ($299 monthly) with 10 seats and 3 locales | Custom roles, scheduled publishing, single sign-on |
| Contentstack | Build, $29 with 3 users | Custom roles (2 on Growth, $299 with 10 users); Personalize |
| Strapi, self-hosted | Growth, $45 with 3 users | Review Workflows, Audit Logs |
| Contentful | Lite, $300 with 20 users and 3 locales | Locale-based publishing |

Dollars a month as each vendor lists them, before usage overages. Storyblok states billed monthly; Sanity self-serve and Strapi's self-hosted Growth plan bill monthly; Hygraph lists $199 billed yearly and $299 billed monthly; Contentstack states no billing cycle; Contentful's billing help describes monthly invoices. Strapi Cloud is priced separately, per project ([Strapi Cloud pricing](https://strapi.io/pricing-cloud)). Sources: [Sanity, Plans that scale with you](https://www.sanity.io/pricing); [Sanity Docs, Roles and permissions](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/roles-concepts); [Sanity Docs, Content Releases user guide](https://www.sanity.io/docs/user-guides/content-releases); [Storyblok, Pricing](https://www.storyblok.com/pricing); [Storyblok, Pricing plan fact sheet](https://a.storyblok.com/f/88751/x/010505f975/storyblok-pricing-plan-factsheet.pdf); [Hygraph, Plans and Pricing](https://hygraph.com/pricing); [Contentstack, Plans comparison](https://www.contentstack.com/pricing); [Strapi, CMS Pricing and Plans](https://strapi.io/pricing-cms); [Contentful, Pricing](https://www.contentful.com/pricing/); [Contentful Help Center, Locale-based publishing](https://www.contentful.com/help/localization/locale-based-publishing/); [Contentful Help Center, Billing](https://www.contentful.com/help/faq/billing/). As of 24 October 2026.

## Deploi's point of view

**Where we disagree.** Most alternatives lists rank by features or popularity and treat a rival's top-tier features as standard. Storyblok lists custom roles and language-specific workflows only on Premium and Elite, Hygraph puts custom roles and scheduled publishing on Enterprise, and Contentstack's plan table shows Personalize only on Enterprise, as of October 2026. That is the same plan gate that pushes teams off Contentful Lite. The second mistake is calling Sanity open source without saying the Content Lake is hosted by Sanity only: if self-hosting is your reason for leaving, Sanity is not your answer.

**What we've seen.** deploi.ca's Shopify sections restore their Sanity content from dataset exports, not by regenerating it, and new content arrives in waves of NDJSON files imported with the Sanity CLI. Getting content out of Sanity is a routine operation for us. Our view of Contentful rests on its documentation and public sources, and each rival's row rests on that vendor's own pages, opened 24 October 2026.

**Martin's take.** Martin Dejnicki has worked with content management systems for more than 20 years and built and managed hundreds of WordPress sites between 2005 and 2017.

**What we'd tell you to do first.** Name who will own the content model after launch before you compare features, because the feature grid changes every year and the owner doesn't.

**What we refuse to promise.** We won't rank these alternatives on total cost over a contract term. Contentful, Sanity, Storyblok and Contentstack publish no Enterprise prices, Hygraph's pricing FAQ says Enterprise generally ranges from about $32,000 to $300,000 per year, and the rebuild cost depends on your front end, not on the CMS.

## When this answer changes

- Contentful changes the Lite price, its 20 user or 3 locale limits, or its plan names under Salesforce
- Salesforce publishes pricing, contract or standalone availability terms for Contentful
- Storyblok, Hygraph or Contentstack moves custom roles or workflows onto its entry paid plan
- Sanity changes the Growth seat price, the 50 seat cap or the 25,000 document quota
- Strapi or Payload changes its license terms
- A vendor on this list publishes an official Contentful importer

## Should you renew Contentful or leave it?

See what Salesforce's ownership changes at your renewal, what staying costs, and when leaving for Sanity wins. [Read the Contentful renewal guide](https://deploi.ca/sanity/migration/leaving-contentful)

## Sources

1. [Sanity, Plans that scale with you](https://www.sanity.io/pricing), checked 24 October 2026
2. [Sanity Docs, Plans and payments](https://www.sanity.io/docs/platform-management/plans-and-payments), checked 24 October 2026
3. [Sanity Docs, Extending the Growth plan with paid add-ons](https://www.sanity.io/docs/platform-management/growth-plan-add-ons), checked 24 October 2026
4. [Sanity, Contentful to Sanity](https://www.sanity.io/plugins/contentful-to-sanity), checked 24 October 2026
5. [Sanity Docs, Hosting and deployment](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/deployment), checked 24 October 2026
6. [Sanity, Sanity for Startups](https://www.sanity.io/startups), checked 24 October 2026
7. [Sanity Docs, Attribute limit](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/attribute-limit), checked 24 October 2026
8. [Sanity Docs, Roles and permissions](https://www.sanity.io/docs/content-lake/roles-concepts), checked 24 October 2026
9. [Sanity Docs, Content Releases user guide](https://www.sanity.io/docs/user-guides/content-releases), checked 24 October 2026
10. [Contentful, Pricing](https://www.contentful.com/pricing/), checked 24 October 2026
11. [Contentful Help Center, Usage limits](https://www.contentful.com/help/usage-limits-january-2026/), checked 24 October 2026
12. [Contentful Help Center, Locale-based publishing](https://www.contentful.com/help/localization/locale-based-publishing/), checked 24 October 2026
13. [Contentful Help Center, Data export](https://www.contentful.com/help/admin/data-export/), checked 24 October 2026
14. [Storyblok, Pricing](https://www.storyblok.com/pricing), checked 24 October 2026
15. [Storyblok, Pricing plan fact sheet](https://a.storyblok.com/f/88751/x/010505f975/storyblok-pricing-plan-factsheet.pdf), checked 24 October 2026
16. [Storyblok Docs, Visual Editor](https://www.storyblok.com/docs/concepts/visual-editor), checked 24 October 2026
17. [Strapi, CMS Pricing and Plans](https://strapi.io/pricing-cms), checked 25 October 2026
18. [Strapi, Pricing Cloud](https://strapi.io/pricing-cloud), checked 24 October 2026
19. [Payload, What is Payload?](https://payloadcms.com/docs/getting-started/what-is-payload), checked 24 October 2026
20. [Payload, Installation](https://payloadcms.com/docs/getting-started/installation), checked 24 October 2026
21. [Payload, MIT License (GitHub repository)](https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/blob/main/LICENSE.md), checked 24 October 2026
22. [Hygraph, Plans and Pricing](https://hygraph.com/pricing), checked 25 October 2026
23. [Hygraph Docs, Remote data overview](https://hygraph.com/docs/developer-guides/remote-data/overview), checked 24 October 2026
24. [Contentstack, Plans comparison](https://www.contentstack.com/pricing), checked 24 October 2026
25. [WordPress.org, About](https://wordpress.org/about/), checked 24 October 2026
26. [Sanity Docs, Studio development](https://www.sanity.io/docs/studio/development), checked 24 October 2026
27. [Sanity, What's new in August](https://www.sanity.io/blog/august-releases-2026), checked 24 October 2026
28. [Sanity, sanity-migration skill (GitHub)](https://github.com/sanity-io/agent-toolkit/blob/main/skills/sanity-migration/SKILL.md), checked 25 October 2026
29. [Contentful Help Center, Billing](https://www.contentful.com/help/faq/billing/), checked 25 October 2026