The verdict in three sentences
For a 900-employee company with 6 content editors and an approval chain across communications, legal and management, a headless Sanity + Next.js build costs more upfront (290,000 to 575,000 SEK versus 170,000 to 345,000 SEK for WordPress) but the gap shrinks to 10 to 20% over 3 years. WordPress remains the right choice if the site is mainly editorial, lightly integrated and run by one person. Headless becomes rational once you have several languages, several sites (group and subsidiaries) or strong security and performance requirements.
Classic WordPress or headless: what you are really buying
Classic WordPress bundles administration, database and rendering on one server. A headless site separates content (Sanity, hosted as SaaS) from the front end (Next.js, deployed on a CDN). For a head of communications, the difference shows up at three moments: the monthly plugin update, the approval of a sensitive news item and the next redesign.
| Criterion | Classic WordPress | Headless Sanity + Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Build budget (2026 ballpark) | 170,000 to 345,000 SEK | 290,000 to 575,000 SEK |
| Delivery time | 8 to 12 weeks | 10 to 16 weeks |
| CMS licence | 0 SEK (premium plugins 3,500 to 17,000 SEK/year) | $0 to $15/user/month |
| Approval workflow | Third-party plugin (PublishPress, etc.) | Native: drafts, roles, history |
| Attack surface | High (plugins, exposed wp-admin) | Low (static front end, SaaS CMS) |
| Typical mobile load time | 2.5 to 4 s | 0.8 to 1.8 s |
| Group and subsidiary sites | WordPress Multisite, heavy to maintain | One dataset, several front ends |
The main headless trap is paying extra for features WordPress gives you "for free": forms, internal search, live preview. Insist that they are priced in the initial quote, not discovered during acceptance testing.
Total cost over 3 years for 6 editors
The calculation below assumes a 40 to 60 page site in Swedish and English, with a newsroom, a press area and a careers page connected to your ATS. Amounts are 2026 estimates for the Stockholm market.
| Item (3 years) | Classic WordPress | Headless Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| Build | 275,000 SEK | 435,000 SEK |
| CMS licence (6 users, Growth plan $15) | 27,500 SEK in plugins | about 34,500 SEK |
| Hosting | 41,500 SEK (1,150 SEK/month managed) | 20,500 SEK (Vercel Pro + CDN) |
| Maintenance | 186,000 SEK (5,200 SEK/month) | 83,000 SEK (2,300 SEK/month) |
| Unplanned security fixes | 34,500 to 69,000 SEK | 0 to 17,000 SEK |
| Enhancements (2 releases a year) | 103,500 SEK | 103,500 SEK |
| Estimated total | 668,000 to 702,500 SEK | 676,500 to 693,500 SEK |
At 3 years both options converge. The difference comes afterwards: redesigning a headless site only touches the front end, the Sanity content stays intact. On WordPress, a redesign often means a new theme and a full content migration, roughly 40 to 60% of the initial cost.
Approval workflow: the deciding factor in a large company
In a company of this size, a news item about financial results or an acquisition goes through communications, legal and sometimes the CEO's office. Sanity lets you define roles (writer, reviewer, publisher), shared drafts and a full history of every change. On WordPress, this chain relies on an extra plugin you must maintain and secure.
| Editorial need | WordPress | Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| Custom roles | Possible via plugin | Native on paid plans |
| Several people editing at once | Page locking | Real time, like a shared document |
| History and rollback | Limited revisions | Full per-field history |
| Scheduled publishing | Native | Native |
| Preview before approval | Native | To be built (2 to 4 days) |
Mini case study
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Ingrid, head of communications at a 900-employee industrial company in Stockholm, manages 6 editors split between headquarters and two subsidiaries. Her current WordPress site costs 5,200 SEK a month in maintenance and suffered two plugin-related incidents in 18 months, billed 25,000 SEK in total. She compares a WordPress rebuild at 275,000 SEK with a headless rebuild at 435,000 SEK. Over 3 years, maintenance drops from 186,000 SEK to 83,000 SEK, saving 103,000 SEK, and incident risk falls sharply. The real gap is therefore around 57,000 SEK, recovered at the first visual redesign. This scenario is illustrative.
FAQ
Is Sanity paid for 6 editors?
The free plan covers up to 20 users with limited features. For custom roles and extended history, budget about $15 per user per month, close to 11,500 SEK a year for 6 people.
Does a headless site rank well on Google?
Yes, as long as the front end is server-rendered or statically generated, which Next.js does. Load times of 0.8 to 1.8 s even improve Core Web Vitals, which count in rankings.
Will our teams need training?
Half a day to one day is usually enough. The Sanity interface is configured around your own content types, which often makes it simpler than the WordPress admin.
Can existing WordPress content be migrated?
Yes, by script: posts, pages, media and authors. Allow 3 to 8 days depending on volume, for example 600 posts and 2,000 images.
What annual budget should we plan after launch?
As a 2026 ballpark, 34,500 to 57,500 SEK a year for hosting, licence and maintenance of a headless site, versus 69,000 to 92,000 SEK for a managed WordPress.
Let's scope your project. Send us your sitemap, number of editors and approval constraints: we price both options and the 3-year cost. 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.
