Payload, Sanity, or Strapi: choosing a headless CMS
There's no single best headless CMS — only the right fit for the project. Here's how I decide between Payload, Sanity, and Strapi.
Clients ask which headless CMS is "the best." The honest answer: none of them. The right choice depends on who edits the content, how the data is shaped, and where it has to live.
Payload
TypeScript-native, self-hosted, and it owns its database. If the project already runs on Next.js and Postgres, Payload feels like part of the app rather than a separate service. Great when you want full control and a tight type-safe pipeline from schema to frontend.
Sanity
A hosted content lake with a superb editing experience and real-time collaboration. The structured content model and GROQ queries are excellent. The catch worth naming up front: it's single-tenant by design, so multi-tenant products need extra plumbing.
Strapi
The pragmatic middle ground. Open source, self-hosted, REST or GraphQL out of the box, and a familiar admin panel that non-technical editors pick up quickly.
How I actually decide
| Question | Leans toward |
|---|---|
| Heavy TypeScript app, want it in-repo? | Payload |
| Best-in-class editing, hosted, structured content? | Sanity |
| Non-technical editors, self-hosted, fast to ship? | Strapi |
Pick for the team and the content model, not the hype. The CMS the editors will actually use beats the one with the prettier landing page.