We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page. It never changes a score or a ranking. How we make money
Most buyers should pick Sanity.
Kirby is a customizable CMS for websites and digital projects. Its self-hosting option and one-time per-site prices suit teams that want to run their own deployment. Sanity is a content operations platform built around structured documents and a configurable Studio, with a free tier and monthly plans that scale by seats and usage. Choose Kirby for a self-hosted site CMS; choose Sanity when editorial workflows, multi-platform content, and automation matter more.
01Side by side
| Kirby | Sanity | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $115 or $399 one-time per site | Free; Growth $15 per seat monthly |
| Free tier | No free plan; unlimited trial | 20 seats, 2 datasets, 10k documents |
| Platforms | Web | Web and mobile |
| Content modeling | Projects, team, clients, and pages | Structured JSON documents with configured schemas |
| Editor | Panel; customers praise its simplicity | Configurable Studio with editorial tools |
| Customization | Customizable to client needs | Configurable Studio and content applications |
| Integrations | No third-party integrations named | MCP Server connects to Cursor, Claude Code, v0 |
| Developer entry point | PHP 8 and Vue.js shown | npm CLI and JavaScript schema example |
Kirby Choose Kirby if
- Choose Kirby if you want to self-host a website CMS.
- Choose Kirby if one-time per-site pricing fits your budget.
- Choose Kirby if its Panel and client customization meet your editorial needs.
Sanity Choose Sanity if
- Choose Sanity if you need structured content for web and mobile.
- Choose Sanity if a free tier helps you start small.
- Choose Sanity if you need configurable workflows, automation, or AI tools.
02Pricing at real usage
Kirby has no free plan, but its trial has no time limit. Kirby Basic costs $115 one-time per site for organizations under €1 million in annual revenue or funding. Kirby Enterprise costs $399 one-time per site, with no revenue limit. Both include all features; seat limits are not published. Optional three-year update extensions cost $65 for Basic and $285 for Enterprise, excluding VAT.
Sanity's Free plan costs $0 per month and includes 20 user seats, 2 roles, 2 public datasets, 10k documents, and 100GB of assets. Growth costs $15 per seat per month and includes 50 user seats, 5 roles, 2 datasets, 25k documents, and 1m API CDN requests per month. Sanity lists add-on charges for usage beyond quotas, including $1 per 250k additional API CDN requests. Enterprise pricing is custom.
03API, SDKs and integration
Kirby's homepage shows a website content example organized into projects, team members, clients, and pages, plus PHP 8 and Vue.js. It presents the Panel as the editor and describes Kirby as customizable to client needs. The homepage does not name third-party integrations or detail an API, SDK, or CLI. If your integration depends on a specific protocol or client library, confirm the supported options with Kirby before committing.
Sanity stores structured JSON documents, with schemas managed in Sanity Studio configuration. Its homepage shows JavaScript schema code importing from the sanity package and a function example using @sanity/client. The documented developer entry point shown there is npm create sanity@latest. Sanity also lists APIs for web and mobile applications, an MCP Server that connects to Cursor, Claude Code, and v0, and programmable functions that can sync with other systems. Its editorial tools include in-context preview, releases, and team editing.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Kirby can be self-hosted, giving teams control over where the website runs. Sanity's self-hosting options are not published; ask the vendor about deployment requirements if running the CMS in your own environment is essential. Neither product's licence is identified in the facts available here, so confirm the terms for your intended use before adopting either one.
Sanity's structured JSON documents provide a defined content model, but the vendor does not publish a data-export or migration path in the information summarized here. Kirby's homepage shows content files in its example, but that alone does not establish a supported export process. For either product, ask about bulk export formats, asset transfer, schema portability, and what remains usable if you leave. Those answers determine how much application code and editorial content you would need to migrate.
Questions people ask
Is Kirby cheaper than Sanity?
Kirby charges $115 one-time per site for Basic or $399 one-time per site for Enterprise. Sanity has a free plan and Growth at $15 per seat per month. Which costs less depends on how long you run the site, how many Sanity seats you need, and whether Sanity usage exceeds plan quotas.
Can I self-host Kirby or Sanity?
Kirby is self-hostable. Sanity's self-hosting options are not published, so ask the vendor directly if your deployment must run in your own environment. Sanity is described as a content operations platform, but that description alone does not establish whether self-hosting is available.
Which is better for structured content and applications?
Sanity is built around structured JSON documents and schemas configured in Sanity Studio. It lists web and mobile applications as target platforms and provides editorial tools, automation, and AI workflows. Kirby's homepage demonstrates a website CMS organized around projects, team members, clients, and pages.
What developer tools and integrations do Kirby and Sanity list?
Kirby's homepage shows PHP 8 and Vue.js but names no third-party integrations. Sanity shows an npm CLI command and JavaScript schema code, and says its MCP Server connects to Cursor, Claude Code, and v0. Sanity also lists functions that can sync with other systems.