The verdict in three sentences
WordPress remains the cheapest option at build time (EUR 8,000 to 20,000 excl. VAT) for a 15 to 40 page corporate site run by an autonomous marketing team. A headless CMS (Sanity, Strapi, Payload) costs 1.5 to 2 times more upfront, but its monthly maintenance is lower and its 3-year total cost catches up with WordPress once the site exceeds 50 pages or several languages. If your site generates B2B leads and every second of load time matters, headless pays for itself through performance (LCP 1.2 s vs 2.8 s) and fewer security incidents.
Total cost over 3 years, line by line
The build price is only part of the bill. Premium plugins, updates, hosting and security patches weigh heavily on WordPress, while headless concentrates spending at launch.
| Item (2026 order of magnitude) | WordPress | Headless (Sanity, Strapi, Payload) |
|---|---|---|
| Build (design + development) | EUR 8,000 to 20,000 | EUR 15,000 to 40,000 |
| Maintenance and plugins per month | EUR 150 to 400 | EUR 50 to 300 |
| Maintenance over 36 months | EUR 5,400 to 14,400 | EUR 1,800 to 10,800 |
| Hosting per year | EUR 300 to 1,200 | EUR 0 to 1,500 (Vercel, Netlify, SaaS CMS) |
| Premium plugin licences per year | EUR 300 to 900 | EUR 0 to 600 (paid CMS plans) |
| Total cost over 3 years | EUR 13,400 to 34,400 | EUR 16,800 to 50,800 |
On a median project, the final gap lands around 15 to 25 %, far from the doubling shown on the initial quote. Sanity or Strapi Cloud licences stay free up to a certain number of editors and requests, which is enough for most SMEs.
Performance, security, autonomy: what you are really buying
The real trade-off is about day-to-day site quality. A Next.js front end served from a CDN with a headless CMS shows much better Core Web Vitals than a WordPress site loaded with 25 plugins.
| Criterion (typical 2026 measurements) | Standard WordPress | Headless + Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Median mobile LCP | 2.8 s | 1.2 s |
| Lighthouse performance score | 55 to 75 | 90 to 99 |
| Attack surface | Public admin, third-party plugins | Static front end, isolated CMS |
| Security patches per year | 15 to 40 updates | 3 to 8 updates |
| Marketing team autonomy | Very high (Gutenberg editor) | High if the schema is well designed |
| Multilingual, multi-site | Paid plugins, fragile | Native in the content model |
| Cost of a new page template | EUR 300 to 800 | EUR 600 to 1,500 |
WordPress keeps one clear advantage: the marketing team's freedom to build pages without a developer. In headless, that freedom depends on the quality of the blocks planned at the start. A well-thought schema (reusable sections, live preview) gives the same autonomy; a rushed one creates a costly dependency on the agency.
Which architecture for which profile
- Corporate site of 10 to 30 pages, one language, little paid traffic: WordPress with a lightweight theme and 8 to 10 plugins at most.
- B2B lead generation site with an ads budget: headless, because every 1 second gained in load time lifts conversion by 7 to 12 % according to reference studies.
- Multi-country or multilingual group: headless, as a shared content model avoids running three WordPress installs.
- Team without a developer and a tight budget: WordPress, with a serious maintenance contract rather than none.
Mini case study
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Claire, marketing director of a mid-sized industrial company in Lyon, is weighing two quotes: WordPress at EUR 14,000 plus EUR 280 per month, or headless Sanity + Next.js at EUR 26,000 plus EUR 120 per month. Over 36 months, WordPress comes to 14,000 + 10,080 = EUR 24,080, headless to 26,000 + 4,320 = EUR 30,320. The gap is EUR 6,240. Her site receives 4,000 visits a month from Google Ads, with a 1.8 % conversion rate and an average value of EUR 1,200 per qualified lead. If the speed gain lifts conversion by 10 %, she gains 7 extra leads a year, worth EUR 8,400 annually. The gap is recovered in under 9 months.
FAQ
Is a headless site harder to manage day to day?
Not if the content model is well designed. With Sanity or Payload, the team edits in a clear interface with live preview, and onboarding usually takes 2 to 3 hours of training.
Can an existing WordPress site be migrated to a headless CMS?
Yes, content is exported and re-imported by script. Budget EUR 3,000 to 8,000 for migrating 50 to 200 pages, on top of the front-end redesign.
Can WordPress reach good performance?
Yes, with a lightweight theme, server caching and few plugins you can reach an LCP of 1.8 to 2 s. It takes a discipline few teams maintain over 3 years.
Which headless CMS should I pick between Sanity, Strapi and Payload?
Sanity is hosted and free up to 20 users; Strapi and Payload are open source and self-hostable for EUR 20 to 80 per month of server. The choice mostly depends on your data hosting constraints.
Is headless WordPress a good compromise?
It keeps the editor your teams know with a fast front end, but you pay for two maintenance streams. It suits sites that already hold 500 pages or more in WordPress.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current sitemap, traffic and lead goals: we price both architectures over 3 years, with an indicative budget and go-live date. 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.
