Top 5 Headless CMS Platforms by G2 Ratings (2026)

The headless CMS market is projected to grow from $3.94 billion in 2026 to $22.28 billion by 2034—over 21% annual growth. That's not just hype; organizations are realizing legacy systems can't keep pace with content demands across web, mobile, and emerging AI channels.

But with dozens of options, which platforms actually deliver? Instead of marketing claims, let's look at what real users say. Here are the top 5 headless CMS platforms according to G2's user-driven rankings.

Quick Comparison

Platform	G2 Score	Best For	Self-Hosted
Sanity	4.7/5	Complex content, AI readiness	No (hosted)
Strapi	4.5/5	Open-source, data sovereignty	Yes
Storyblok	4.4/5	Visual editing, marketing teams	No
Kontent.ai	4.3/5	Enterprise governance, compliance	No
Contentful	4.2/5	Enterprise integrations, localization	No

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1. Sanity — The Content Operating System

G2 Score: 4.7/5 ⭐

Sanity has topped G2 rankings for four consecutive years. But calling it just a "headless CMS" undersells what it's become—it's evolved into a Content Operating System designed for organizations treating content as strategic data.

Why Users Rate It Highest

Real-time Collaboration: Multiple users work on the same document simultaneously, Google Docs-style. No more "this document is locked" messages.

Schema as Code: Developers define content models in TypeScript/JavaScript. This means version control, safe deployments, and content structures that match actual business logic.

// Content models live in your codebase
export default defineType({
  name: "product",
  type: "document",
  fields: [
    defineField({ name: "title", type: "string" }),
    defineField({ name: "price", type: "number" }),
    defineField({
      name: "description",
      type: "array",
      of: [{ type: "block" }],
    }),
  ],
});

Customizable Studio: The editing interface is an open-source React app. Need a custom dashboard for your merchandising team? Build it. Want AI-powered content suggestions? Add them.

AI Readiness: Because Sanity stores content as structured data in a "Content Lake," AI agents can understand and work with your content. This matters as AI-driven interfaces become standard.

Trade-offs

• Learning curve for teams new to code-first CMS
• Requires developer involvement for initial setup
• GROQ query language (powerful but different from GraphQL)

Best For

Teams who want to build a future-proof content foundation. High-velocity product teams. Organizations preparing for AI-driven content operations.

Pricing: Free tier with 100K API requests/month. Growth at $15/user/month.

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2. Strapi — Open-Source Freedom

G2 Score: 4.5/5 ⭐

Strapi dominates the open-source headless CMS space. For teams with strict data sovereignty requirements—banking, healthcare, government—Strapi lets you keep everything on your own servers.

Why Users Choose It

Full Control: Deploy on your infrastructure. Your data never leaves your firewall. For industries with compliance requirements, this isn't optional—it's mandatory.

Familiar Stack: Built on Node.js with a standard REST/GraphQL API. If your team knows JavaScript, they'll feel at home.

Plugin Ecosystem: Extend functionality without reinventing the wheel. Auth, media handling, SEO—there's likely a plugin.

Trade-offs

Infrastructure Management: Freedom comes with responsibility. You're managing servers, scaling, backups, and security. That's a distraction from building product value unless you have dedicated DevOps.

Less Customizable UI: While you can extend Strapi, the admin panel isn't as deeply customizable as Sanity Studio.

Scaling Complexity: What works for a small site may require significant re-architecture at scale.

Best For

Tech-savvy teams with DevOps capability. Organizations with strict on-premise hosting requirements. Startups wanting to avoid vendor lock-in.

Pricing: Self-hosted is free. Strapi Cloud starts at $99/month.

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3. Storyblok — Visual Editing Champion

G2 Score: 4.4/5 ⭐

Storyblok bridges the gap between headless architecture and the visual editing experience marketers expect. It's the platform that finally answers: "Can we make it as easy as Squarespace but as powerful as a headless CMS?"

Why Users Love It

True Visual Editor: Not a preview pane—actual WYSIWYG editing. Drag components, see changes live. Marketing teams create pages without filing developer tickets.

Component-Based Building: Content is structured in reusable blocks. Create a "Hero Section" component once, use it across hundreds of pages with different content.

Low Developer Dependency: After initial setup, marketers can build entire campaigns independently. G2 reviews consistently highlight this as the top benefit.

Trade-offs

Content Locked to Presentation: Storyblok's component approach is great for page building but can trap content in presentation-specific blocks. Reusing that same content for a mobile app or voice assistant? More difficult than with pure data-first platforms.

Less Flexible Data Modeling: Complex content relationships and deeply nested structures are harder to model compared to Sanity or Payload.

Best For

Marketing-led teams prioritizing visual page building. Companies where reducing developer bottlenecks is critical. Landing page-heavy businesses.

Pricing: Free tier available. Business at $106/month.

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4. Kontent.ai — Enterprise Governance

G2 Score: 4.3/5 ⭐

Formerly Kentico Kontent, Kontent.ai targets large organizations where compliance, approval chains, and content governance aren't nice-to-haves—they're requirements.

Why Enterprises Choose It

Built-in Workflows: Scheduling, approval gates, versioning—configured out of the box. When a product description needs legal review before publishing, Kontent.ai handles it.

Content Governance: Role-based permissions, audit trails, and compliance features. If your industry has regulatory requirements around content, this matters.

Modular Content: Strong support for content reuse across channels. Create once, publish to website, app, and partner portals.

Trade-offs

Rigid Workflows: The governance features that make it enterprise-ready can feel restrictive for agile teams. Moving fast and iterating? The approval chains might slow you down.

Premium Pricing: You're paying for the governance tools. If your team is small and doesn't need strict workflows, you're paying for features you won't use.

Best For

Highly regulated industries—financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals. Large organizations where content approval chains are mandatory.

Pricing: Starts around $499/month for small teams. Enterprise custom pricing.

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5. Contentful — The Enterprise Standard

G2 Score: 4.2/5 ⭐

Contentful pioneered the headless CMS category and remains a reliable choice for enterprises with complex integration needs and global content operations.

Why It Persists

Integration Ecosystem: Pre-built connections to basically everything—commerce platforms, DAMs, translation services, marketing tools. For enterprises locked into complex tool stacks, Contentful slots in.

Localization: One-click localization workflows. Managing content in 20 languages across 30 markets? Contentful handles this better than most.

Stability: Mature platform with enterprise SLAs. When reliability is non-negotiable, Contentful's track record matters.

Trade-offs

Aggressive Pricing: Costs scale based on API calls and asset usage. What starts affordable can become expensive at volume—and surprisingly quickly.

Inflexible UI: You're stuck with Contentful's interface. Unlike Sanity where you can build custom editing experiences, Contentful's admin is what it is.

Rigid Data Modeling: Once you've set up content types, changes can be painful. Plan carefully upfront.

Best For

Large enterprises with established tool stacks needing integration stability. Global organizations requiring robust localization. Teams willing to accept rigidity for reliability.

Pricing: Free Community tier. Team starts at $300/month. Enterprise custom.

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The Bigger Picture: From CMS to Content Operations

The choice in 2026 isn't just "which headless CMS." It's about choosing a foundation for content operations.

If you're preparing for AI: Sanity's structured data approach gives AI agents the context they need to automate workflows.

If you need data sovereignty: Strapi's self-hosting lets you keep everything in-house.

If marketing independence matters: Storyblok's visual editor eliminates developer bottlenecks.

If governance is mandatory: Kontent.ai's workflows satisfy compliance requirements.

If integration stability is key: Contentful's ecosystem connects to everything.

The question isn't which CMS is "best"—it's which foundation supports where you're going.

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Making the Decision

Here's my recommendation framework:

Choose Sanity if: You want maximum flexibility, real-time collaboration, and are thinking about AI-powered content workflows. You have developers who appreciate a great DX.

Choose Strapi if: Data must stay on your servers. You have DevOps capacity. Budget is tight but you need power.

Choose Storyblok if: Your marketing team needs to move fast without developer support. Visual page building is a primary use case.

Choose Kontent.ai if: Approval workflows and compliance aren't optional. You're in a regulated industry.

Choose Contentful if: You need to integrate with an existing enterprise tool stack. Global localization is critical.

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Related Reading

• 10 Best Headless CMS Platforms in 2026 — My comprehensive guide with 10 platforms including Payload, Directus, and more
• Headless CMS Explained Simply — New to headless? Start here
• Sanity + Next.js: The Complete Guide — Deep dive into my recommended stack

Need help choosing? Let's talk — I help teams find the right content platform for their specific needs.

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Evaluating headless CMS options? Reach out for a free consultation on choosing the right platform.