The verdict in three sentences
For a 2,000-employee group in Toronto, the three-year total cost of ownership of a corporate site runs from 45,000 CAD (classic WordPress) to 110,000 CAD (Sanity with an advanced editorial workflow). The right choice depends less on technology than on three measurable variables: number of editors, number of languages and IT security requirements. Beyond 15 editors and 3 languages, a headless CMS becomes cheaper than classic WordPress from year two.
The four options compared over 3 years
Corporate communications teams often reason on build cost alone. Yet licensing, hosting, security maintenance and editorial time weigh as much as the initial build.
| Item (3 years, CAD) | Classic WordPress | Headless WordPress | Self-hosted Strapi | Sanity (Growth) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial build | 27,000 to 41,000 | 44,000 to 62,000 | 47,000 to 66,000 | 44,000 to 62,000 |
| CMS licence | 0 to 2,200 (plugins) | 0 to 2,200 | 0 (Community) | 7,300 (9 paid seats) to 14,500 (18) |
| Hosting (back end + front end) | 5,300 to 10,600 | 9,500 to 16,000 | 10,600 to 18,500 | 4,300 to 8,000 (front end only) |
| Maintenance and security updates | 10,600 to 15,900 | 10,600 to 15,900 | 13,300 to 21,200 | 6,400 to 10,600 |
| Minor enhancements | 4,400 to 8,800 | 6,600 to 11,000 | 6,600 to 11,000 | 6,600 to 11,000 |
| Estimated total | ≈ 45,000 to 78,000 | ≈ 71,000 to 107,000 | ≈ 78,000 to 117,000 | ≈ 69,000 to 106,000 |
2026 order of magnitude, based on Sanity Growth at 15 USD per user per month (about 21 CAD) and Vercel or AWS Canada hosting for the front end. Strapi Community is free, but database hosting, backups and upgrades rest entirely on your vendor or IT team.
The criteria that tip the decision
Cost is only one axis. Communications teams in large groups often stumble on approvals: a financial press release must clear communications, legal and sometimes investor relations before going live.
| Criterion | Classic WordPress | Headless WordPress | Strapi | Sanity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comfortable concurrent editors | 5 to 10 | 5 to 10 | 10 to 30 | 20 to 50+ |
| Native multi-level workflow | Plugin (PublishPress) | Plugin | Yes (Enterprise) or custom | Yes, customisable |
| Multilingual (EN/FR and more) | WPML, 99 to 199 USD/yr | WPML | Native (i18n) | Native, field or document level |
| Attack surface | High (plugins) | Medium | Medium (server hardening) | Low (SaaS, static front end) |
| Editorial preview | Native | Custom build | Custom build | Native (Presentation) |
| Data residency | Any region | Any region | Your choice, incl. Canada | Selectable region |
| Core Web Vitals | Average | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
For a security-minded IT department, the strongest headless argument is separation: the public site is a static or server-rendered front end with no exposed database. Annual penetration tests (7,500 to 18,000 CAD) typically surface far fewer issues on these architectures.
When to choose what
Classic WordPress remains sensible for fewer than 8 editors, 2 languages and a tight budget: it is the cheapest option and the easiest for another vendor to take over. Strapi suits groups that want to host data in-house (regulated sectors, defence, health) and have an operations team. Sanity wins when 15 to 40 people publish in several languages with legal approval, because editorial time saved offsets the licence. Headless WordPress is a useful compromise if teams already know the WordPress interface. For Ontario groups, remember AODA accessibility obligations: all four options can meet WCAG 2.0 AA, but only if the front end is built for it.
Mini case study
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Sarah, VP communications at a 2,000-employee industrial group in Toronto, manages 22 editors across head office and subsidiaries, in English, French and Spanish. With classic WordPress, each approved publication takes on average 45 minutes of manual handling (copy, review, republish in each language) for 600 publications a year: 450 hours. With Sanity and a built-in approval workflow, that drops to 20 minutes, or 200 hours. Saving: 250 hours a year, valued at 80 CAD loaded, or 20,000 CAD a year and 60,000 CAD over 3 years. Sanity's premium over WordPress (about 29,000 CAD over 3 years) is covered twice.
FAQ
Is Sanity compliant with Canadian privacy law?
Sanity signs a data processing agreement and supports regional hosting. The public site only collects form data, stored in your own CRM, which keeps your PIPEDA footprint small.
Is free Strapi really free?
The Community licence is free, but budget 300 to 520 CAD per month for redundant hosting and 4,400 to 7,000 CAD a year for maintenance. Advanced features (SSO, review workflows) sit in the Enterprise plan, priced on request.
Can we migrate an existing WordPress site to a headless CMS?
Yes, a 300 to 800 page site migrates in 3 to 5 weeks with import scripts. 301 redirects are essential to keep existing search rankings.
Which CMS for an interactive annual report?
Sanity or Strapi, because structured blocks (key figures, charts, quotes) are reused year after year. An interactive annual report costs 18,000 to 44,000 CAD depending on volume.
How long to launch the new corporate site?
10 to 16 weeks for a site with 40 to 80 page templates, including 2 weeks of discovery and 2 weeks of acceptance testing with editorial teams.
Let's scope your project. Share your editor count, languages and IT constraints: we will cost all four options over 3 years and recommend the most cost-effective, for a budget of 45,000 to 110,000 CAD. 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.
