Sanity vs Payload CMS vs Directus: Pricing Comparison 2026
Pricing for headless CMS platforms is genuinely hard to compare because each charges on a different axis — seats, API calls, bandwidth, compute, or a mix. This post puts Sanity, Payload CMS, and Directus side by side with concrete numbers so you can make a real decision before you commit to one. Why this trio keeps coming up These three platforms attract similar buyers: teams building…
When selecting a headless CMS for your project, understanding the pricing structure is crucial. In this comparison of Sanity, Payload CMS, and Directus, three platforms targeting similar teams, we examine their pricing models to help you make an informed decision.
Sanity offers a generous free tier that includes three projects, 10 GB of bandwidth, and 20 GB of asset storage. For most small marketing sites with a single person managing content, this free tier covers costs completely. The only way to increase capacity is by upgrading to the Growth plan at $15 per project per month, which provides 50 GB of bandwidth and five non-admin user seats. Overages for both bandwidth and asset storage are charged at $0.10 per GB, allowing for predictable budgeting.
Payload CMS, on the other hand, is a self-hosted, open-source solution with a Community edition that is free forever. You only pay for the infrastructure required to run it, such as a PostgreSQL database and storage. A basic setup on platforms like Railway or Render can cost between $5 and $15 per month. The Cloud offering offers managed services, starting at $19 per month for a single project with 1 GB of database space and 5 GB of storage.
However, additional seats can range from $7 to $10 per month, depending on the tier. Directus also provides a self-hosted option for free under the AGPL license, which avoids per-seat costs. However, the Cloud version starts at around $15 per month for a single project and one included seat. Additional seats cost between $7 and $10 per month, which can add up quickly for larger editorial teams.
In summary, if you are looking for a zero-configuration option with minimal infrastructure management, Sanity's Growth plan at $15 per project per month offers the best value. For larger teams without per-seat charges and comfortable with self-hosting, Payload CMS on the self-hosted route provides the most cost-effective solution. Directus can be a good fit for organizations that prefer a managed solution but may quickly become expensive for larger editorial teams due to per-seat costs.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
