Strapi vs Sanity vs SonicJS: Headless CMS Showdown

Choosing between Strapi, Sanity, and SonicJS? Each takes a fundamentally different approach to content management. This comparison breaks down the real-world differences based on developer feedback, production experiences, and architectural trade-offs.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Strapi	Sanity	SonicJS
Hosting	Self-hosted or Cloud	Hosted (SaaS)	Cloudflare Workers
Pricing Model	Free tier + Cloud plans	Usage-based	Predictable flat rate
Database	PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite	Proprietary	D1 (SQLite at edge)
Query Language	REST/GraphQL	GROQ	REST API
Cold Starts	500-2000ms	N/A (SaaS)	0-5ms
Open Source	Yes (MIT)	Studio only	Yes (MIT)
Global Latency	Region-dependent	CDN-cached	Under 50ms worldwide

The Real Problems with Each Platform

Before diving into features, let's address what developers actually complain about. These aren't edge cases—they're patterns that emerge repeatedly in community discussions.

Strapi: Migration Nightmares

Strapi's upgrade paths have become notorious in the developer community. The v4 to v5 migration has caused significant pain:

"40+ hours converting our project from v4 to v5. 50+ breaking changes, countless undocumented gotchas."

Documented Performance Issues from GitHub:

Issue	Scenario	Reported Time	Notes
#5374	67 items with relations	9-12s	Complex queries
#13288	populate=*	20s	Deep population
#8553	Large collections	14s	Pagination issues
#21924	PostgreSQL queries	10s	Database specific

The migration documentation often lags behind releases, leaving developers to discover issues through trial and error. Database structure changes between versions require careful manual intervention.

Common Strapi frustrations:

• Breaking changes between minor versions
• Feature gating on free tier (only 3 roles allowed)
• Plugin compatibility issues after upgrades
• Complex self-hosting requirements for production

Sanity: Pricing Surprises and Learning Curves

Sanity's usage-based pricing model catches many teams off guard:

"Started at $99/month, ended up at $400+ with document growth and API calls we didn't anticipate."

The GROQ query language, while powerful, adds friction:

"GROQ is its own thing. Your team needs to learn yet another query syntax that's useful nowhere else."

Common Sanity frustrations:

• Custom roles require enterprise plan ($949/month)
• Studio performance issues with large datasets
• Keystroke lag in the editing interface (GitHub Issue #7456)
• Preview integration complexity with Next.js
• Proprietary data format creates lock-in

SonicJS: Honest Limitations

SonicJS is newer and building rapidly. Current limitations include:

• Smaller plugin ecosystem (growing with community)
• Fewer pre-built integrations (roadmap priority)
• Learning curve for edge concepts
• D1 database size limits (10GB on free tier)

The difference? These are actively being addressed with a transparent roadmap, and the edge-first architecture means you're not fighting against fundamental design decisions.

Architecture Comparison

Strapi: Traditional Server Model

Strapi runs on Node.js with a traditional server architecture:

// strapi-config.js
module.exports = {
  host: '0.0.0.0',
  port: 1337,
  app: {
    keys: env.array('APP_KEYS'),
  },
  // Requires persistent server hosting
}

Implications:

• You manage servers, scaling, and infrastructure
• Cold starts when containers spin up
• Database connections need pooling
• Geographic latency based on server location

Sanity: Proprietary SaaS

Sanity abstracts infrastructure entirely:

// sanity.config.js
export default defineConfig({
  projectId: 'your-project-id',
  dataset: 'production',
  // Data lives in Sanity's cloud
})

Implications:

• No infrastructure management
• Proprietary data storage (potential lock-in)
• Real-time collaboration built-in
• Usage-based costs can scale unpredictably

SonicJS: Edge-First Design

SonicJS runs on Cloudflare Workers across 300+ global locations:

// sonic.config.ts
import { createSonicJS } from '@sonicjs-cms/core'

const cms = createSonicJS({
  database: env.DB,     // D1 at the edge
  cache: env.CACHE,     // KV for instant reads
  storage: env.STORAGE, // R2 for files
})

export default cms.app

Implications:

• Zero cold starts (V8 isolates, not containers)
• Under 50ms response times globally
• Predictable Cloudflare pricing
• Your data, your infrastructure

Performance Deep Dive

Response Time Comparison

Scenario	Strapi	Sanity	SonicJS
API response (same region)	50-150ms	30-80ms	15-30ms
API response (cross-region)	200-500ms	50-150ms (CDN)	30-60ms
Cold start	500-2000ms	N/A	0-5ms
Complex query	100-300ms	50-200ms	20-50ms

Real-World Performance Issues

Strapi under load: Community reports indicate performance degradation with complex relations and large datasets. Without careful optimization, response times can exceed 1 second.

Sanity Studio lag: Multiple GitHub issues report keystroke lag in the Sanity Studio, particularly with large documents or slow connections. Issue #7456 documents typing delays that frustrate content editors.

SonicJS edge advantage: By running at the edge, SonicJS eliminates the geographic latency problem entirely. A user in Sydney gets the same performance as a user in New York.

Developer Experience

Content Modeling

Strapi uses JSON schemas or a visual builder:

{
  "kind": "collectionType",
  "collectionName": "articles",
  "attributes": {
    "title": { "type": "string", "required": true },
    "content": { "type": "richtext" }
  }
}

Sanity uses JavaScript schema definitions:

export default {
  name: 'article',
  type: 'document',
  fields: [
    { name: 'title', type: 'string' },
    { name: 'content', type: 'array', of: [{ type: 'block' }] }
  ]
}

SonicJS uses TypeScript-native definitions:

const article = defineCollection({
  name: 'articles',
  fields: {
    title: { type: 'string', required: true },
    content: { type: 'richtext' },
  },
})

Query Languages

Strapi: Standard REST and GraphQL—familiar to most developers.

Sanity: GROQ is powerful but proprietary:

*[_type == "article" && publishedAt < now()]{
  title,
  "author": author->name,
  categories[]->
}

SonicJS: Clean REST API with intuitive filtering:

curl https://your-site.workers.dev/api/content/articles?status=published

TypeScript Support

Platform	TypeScript Support
Strapi	Added in v4, JavaScript-first
Sanity	Good, but GROQ types can be tricky
SonicJS	Native, full type safety throughout

Pricing Comparison

Strapi Pricing

• Community (Self-hosted): Free, you pay for infrastructure
• Cloud Pro: $99/month (limited seats and features)
• Cloud Team: $499/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Hidden costs: Server hosting, database, CDN, DevOps time.

Sanity Pricing

• Free: 100k API requests/month, 500k documents
• Growth: $15/user/month + usage
• Enterprise: $949/month minimum

Watch out for:

• Document count limits
• API request overages
• Asset bandwidth charges
• Custom roles require enterprise

Real-world example: A mid-size marketing site can easily hit $300-500/month with moderate traffic and content updates.

SonicJS Pricing (Cloudflare)

• Free tier: 100,000 requests/day, 10GB D1 storage
• Workers Paid: $5/month flat + minimal usage fees
• Typical production site: $5-20/month

No surprise bills. No feature gating. No per-seat charges.

Migration and Lock-in

Data Portability

Strapi: Your database, your data. Easy to export, but migrations between versions are painful.

Sanity: Proprietary format. You can export, but transforming GROQ schemas to another system requires significant work. Cursor.com famously spent $260 and developer time migrating away.

SonicJS: Standard SQLite in D1. Export anytime, use anywhere.

Switching Costs

From	Effort Level	Main Challenge
Strapi → SonicJS	Medium	Schema conversion
Sanity → SonicJS	High	GROQ to REST, data transformation
SonicJS → Anywhere	Low	Standard SQLite export

Real-Time and Collaboration

Sanity's Strength

Sanity excels at real-time collaboration. Multiple editors can work on the same document with live presence and updates. This is genuinely best-in-class.

Strapi's Approach

Strapi offers draft/publish workflows but lacks real-time collaboration. Content locking prevents conflicts.

SonicJS Today

Real-time collaboration is on the roadmap. Current workflow uses optimistic locking with clear conflict resolution.

Admin Interface

Strapi Admin

• Full React application
• Feature-rich but heavier bundle
• Customizable via plugins
• Role-based access (limited on free tier)

Sanity Studio

• React-based, highly customizable
• Real-time preview capabilities
• Can be embedded or standalone
• Performance issues with large documents

SonicJS Admin

• HTMX-based, lightweight
• Fast initial load
• Mobile-friendly
• Plugin-extensible

When to Choose Each Platform

Choose Strapi If:

• You have DevOps capacity for self-hosting
• You need extensive plugin ecosystem
• You're committed to long-term version management
• You want full control over infrastructure

Choose Sanity If:

• Real-time collaboration is essential
• You have predictable, high-budget projects
• Your team can learn GROQ
• Enterprise features justify enterprise pricing

Choose SonicJS If:

• Global performance is critical
• You want predictable, low costs
• TypeScript-native development matters
• You prefer edge-first architecture
• You value open source with your own data

AI-Assisted Development

A key differentiator: SonicJS is built with AI-assisted development using Claude Code agents. This enables rapid iteration while maintaining code quality.

The result? Features ship faster, documentation stays current, and community issues get addressed quickly. Traditional CMS projects with large codebases often struggle with the pace of change.

FAQ

Is Sanity really worth the enterprise pricing?

For teams that heavily use real-time collaboration and can predict costs, Sanity delivers value. But many teams find the pricing escalates faster than expected, especially with document growth and API calls.

Why do Strapi migrations take so long?

Strapi's architecture evolved significantly between major versions. Database schemas, plugin APIs, and configuration formats change substantially, requiring manual intervention and testing.

Can SonicJS handle enterprise workloads?

Yes. Running on Cloudflare's infrastructure, SonicJS handles massive scale automatically. Cloudflare serves 20%+ of the internet—your CMS runs on the same infrastructure.

What about GraphQL support?

Strapi and Sanity both offer GraphQL. SonicJS focuses on REST for simplicity and edge performance. GraphQL adds complexity that often isn't needed for content delivery.

How does caching compare?

SonicJS implements three-tier caching (memory, KV, D1) at the edge. Sanity uses CDN caching. Strapi requires you to configure caching yourself.

Conclusion

Each CMS serves different needs:

• Strapi offers control and flexibility at the cost of operational complexity and migration pain
• Sanity provides best-in-class collaboration with premium pricing and potential lock-in
• SonicJS delivers edge-first performance with predictable costs and true data ownership

For teams prioritizing global performance, cost predictability, and modern TypeScript development, SonicJS offers a compelling alternative to established players.

Key Takeaways

• Strapi's v4→v5 migration has caused significant developer pain
• Sanity's usage-based pricing can surprise teams with unexpected costs
• SonicJS delivers under 50ms global latency with zero cold starts
• All three are capable platforms—the right choice depends on your priorities
• Edge-first architecture eliminates geographic performance penalties
• Predictable pricing prevents budget surprises

Ready to experience edge-first content management? Get started with SonicJS in under 5 minutes.

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Sources & References

Strapi

• Strapi Forum: An Honest Review
• Strapi v5 Breaking Changes
• GitHub Issue #5374: Complex Query Performance (9-12s)
• GitHub Issue #13288: Deep Population (20s)
• GitHub Issue #8553: Large Collection Performance (14s)
• GitHub Issue #21924: PostgreSQL Query Performance

Sanity

• Studio Performance (GitHub #7456)
• Sanity Pricing