Contentful
Contentful is the API-first CMS procurement teams often already know. We build on it happily, and we are equally happy to tell you when Sanity is the better call.
- Type
- API-first headless CMS
- Best for
- Enterprise / incumbent stacks
- Delivery
- REST and GraphQL APIs
- Our take
- Great when set; Sanity when open
What Contentful is
Contentful is a mature, API-first headless CMS aimed at larger organisations. It offers content modelling, a hosted editing interface, strong role management and a well-documented delivery API, and is a common incumbent in enterprise stacks.
Editor & developer experience
For editors, Contentful is a clean, hosted editing interface with strong content modelling and mature role management — the sort of governance a large content team needs when dozens of people touch the same estate. It is capable and dependable, but the editing experience is fixed: you work the way Contentful works, rather than in an interface tailored to your content, which is the main thing that separates it from Sanity’s customisable Studio.
For developers, it is a solid, well-documented API-first platform. Content models are typed, delivery is over stable REST and GraphQL APIs, and the SDKs are mature, so building a fast Next.js front end on top of it is a known quantity. The friction tends to be commercial rather than technical — API and record limits, and pricing that climbs as usage grows — so we model the content and the plan carefully to keep it predictable.
Where it earns the shortlist
Contentful earns the shortlist when a client is already standardised on it, or when procurement wants the established enterprise name on the stack. The content model and delivery APIs are solid and the governance features suit large teams. Where the CMS choice is already made and the front end needs modernising, we build a fast, clean Next.js layer on top and it works well — the case is strongest when the decision is not ours to make.
- Organisations already standardised on Contentful
- Enterprise content teams that need mature roles and governance
- Stacks where the CMS choice is set and the front end needs modernising
When teams choose it — and when they don’t
Choose Contentful when
You are already on Contentful
The stack is standardised and re-platforming the CMS is not on the table.
Procurement wants the market name
An established enterprise incumbent that ticks the vendor box.
Governance is a hard requirement
Mature roles, permissions and workflow for a large content team.
The front end needs modernising
A fast Next.js layer on top of a CMS choice that is already set.
Look elsewhere when
The choice is genuinely open
With a free hand and product-like content, we usually recommend Sanity.
Cost matters as you scale
Contentful can grow expensive on usage; alternatives are often more forgiving.
You want a tailored editor
Sanity’s customisable Studio beats a fixed hosted interface for editor experience.
Pricing, in plain terms
Contentful has a limited free tier, then plans that step up quickly — priced on users, records, API calls and features — with enterprise pricing that can run well into four or five figures a year. It is typically the costliest CMS we work with as usage grows, which is exactly why we recommend it mainly where the choice is already made. When the decision is open, a usage-based platform like Sanity usually lands lower for the same job.
The SmartaStudio take
Contentful is a capable, grown-up CMS, and when a client is already on it we build happily on top and get a great result. Our candid view is that it rarely wins a straight fight when the choice is open: the editing experience is less tailorable than Sanity’s and the cost climbs faster as you scale. So we reach for it when it is the incumbent, and when the decision is genuinely ours we recommend Sanity — and we can migrate you across cleanly if and when that makes sense.
Not sure Contentful is the right call?
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Build with Contentful?
Tell us about the project and we will confirm whether this is the right platform for it — and scope the build if it is.