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Sanity vs Payload: catalog facts
Sanity	Payload
Freemium Free to start building, with paid plans and sales-led options for larger teams.	Free Free and open source under the MIT license; enterprise features are sold separately.
Web	Self-hosted
Content model defined in code Customizable editing studio for non-technical editors	Installs inside an existing Next.js app folder Full TypeScript backend with an extensible admin panel
Requires developer setup before editors can use it Content is stored on Sanity's hosted platform	Configured in code, so it needs a developer Tied to the Next.js and React ecosystem
Web application, Hosted service	Self-hosted
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
Account needed	No account needed
Needs internet	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.