The verdict in three sentences
Choosing the CMS for a corporate site comes down to 3-year total cost of ownership (TCO), not the initial quote. WordPress costs USD 38,000 to 77,000 (EUR 35,000 to 70,000) over 3 years including maintenance, plugins and security, while Sanity + Next.js costs USD 50,000 to 99,000 (EUR 45,000 to 90,000), including a license of USD 0 to 16,500 a year. The headless premium pays off once the group requires a multi-level editorial workflow, several languages, multichannel publishing and minimal exposure to security flaws.
3-year total cost, line by line
| Item (3 years, excl. tax) | WordPress | Sanity + Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Design and initial build | USD 22,000 to 44,000 | USD 33,000 to 60,000 |
| CMS licenses and premium plugins | USD 1,650 to 5,500 | USD 0 to 49,500 (0 to 16,500 a year) |
| Hosting and CDN | USD 2,750 to 6,600 | USD 1,650 to 5,500 |
| Maintenance, updates and security patches | USD 8,800 to 16,500 | USD 4,400 to 9,900 |
| Feature changes | USD 3,300 to 6,600 | USD 3,300 to 6,600 |
| 3-year TCO | USD 38,000 to 77,000 | USD 50,000 to 99,000 |
Sanity stays at USD 0 for a small number of users, then rises with advanced roles, SSO and volume. A group with 15 to 30 contributors needing SSO usually lands between USD 6,600 and 16,500 a year. WordPress, by contrast, concentrates its cost in maintenance: around twenty plugins to update every month, each with a regression risk.
Editorial workflow, security, performance: the comparison
| Criterion | WordPress | Sanity + Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-level approval workflow | Through plugins (PublishPress), fragile | Native, customizable roles and drafts |
| Simultaneous editing by several editors | Page locking | Real-time collaboration |
| Attack surface | High: about 90% of reported CMS vulnerabilities target the WordPress ecosystem | Low: static front end, isolated SaaS back office |
| Mobile load time (LCP) | 2.5 to 4 s without heavy optimization | 1 to 1.8 s |
| Multilingual (EN, ES, FR) | Paid plugins (WPML) | Native field modeling |
| Multichannel publishing (site, intranet, app) | Limited | One content source via API |
| Developer availability in New York | Very high, USD 90 to 140 per hour | Scarcer, USD 120 to 180 per hour |
For a group subject to security audits or a strict IT policy, separating the back office from the public site often outweighs the price gap. For a 30-page site updated once a month, a well-maintained WordPress remains a rational choice.
How to decide at board level
Three questions usually settle it. How many people publish, and how many approve? Beyond 10 contributors and 2 approval levels, headless is more comfortable. Must content feed other channels, such as an intranet, an app or in-branch screens? If so, Sanity avoids duplicate entry. Finally, what is your tolerance for security risk? An incident on a corporate site easily costs USD 16,500 to 55,000 in remediation, crisis communication and lost time.
Mini case study
Claire, digital director of a 2,000-employee services group in New York, compares two quotes. WordPress: USD 35,000 build, then USD 12,000 a year for maintenance and plugins, or USD 71,000 over 3 years. Sanity + Next.js: USD 53,000, then USD 10,000 a year including license, or USD 83,000 over 3 years. The gap is USD 12,000. By cutting the approval cycle for a news item from 6 days to 2 and removing a yearly corrective audit estimated at USD 9,000, headless becomes cheaper by year three, on this estimate.
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FAQ
Is Sanity really free?
The free plan covers a few users and limited volume. A group with SSO, custom roles and 15 to 30 editors pays USD 6,600 to 16,500 a year in practice.
Is WordPress too risky for a corporate site?
Not if it is maintained monthly, with few plugins and managed hosting. Budget USD 275 to 500 a month for serious maintenance.
How long does a headless corporate site take?
Between 10 and 16 weeks for 20 to 40 templates, versus 8 to 12 weeks for an equivalent WordPress build.
Will our editorial teams need training?
Yes, about half a day per profile. Editors typically get comfortable with Sanity within a week of real use.
Can we migrate from WordPress to Sanity later?
Yes, but content and redirect migration costs USD 8,800 to 27,500. Decide at specification stage if a complex workflow is foreseeable.
Let's scope your project. Share your number of contributors, approval levels and IT constraints: we will price both options over 3 years, from USD 38,000 to 99,000, with a schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
