--- title: "What is the best headless CMS for Next.js?" url: "https://glokki.com/blog/what-is-the-best-headless-cms-for-nextjs" locale: "en" updated: "2026-11-02T23:49:11.716Z" --- # What is the best headless CMS for Next.js? glokki team · Nov 2, 2026 It depends on where you want schemas to live, who hosts the CMS and who edits pages. Seven options compared, with a recommendation for each kind of team. There's no single best headless CMS for Next.js. If you want everything in one repo, use Payload. For structured content beyond pages, use Sanity. For marketers who build pages from components, look at Storyblok, Prismic or Builder.io. If AI agents will work on the site alongside people, that's what we built glokki for. The choice comes down to three questions: do you want schemas in code, will you host the CMS yourself, and do non-developers need to build pages? We build glokki, so read our recommendation with that in mind. We've said below where it isn't the right pick. ## The three questions **1. Where should the schema live?** If it lives in your repo, it goes through code review and stays next to the component that renders it. If it lives in the CMS UI, non-developers can change the content model, but it can drift away from the code. **2. Who runs the CMS?** A self-hosted CMS means no vendor and no per-seat bill, but you run the database, backups and upgrades. With a hosted one, the vendor runs all of that and you pay according to its pricing. **3. Who edits pages, and how?** A form next to a preview suits people editing text. Click-to-edit on the real site suits people who want to see what they're changing. A drag-and-drop canvas lets marketers arrange components themselves, and moves layout decisions out of code. ## The options ### Payload Payload installs into your Next.js app and uses your own database. Collections and fields are TypeScript config, and it's open source under MIT. **Pick it if** you want one repo and one deployment, and you're happy to run the database and the admin yourself. ### Sanity Content types are TypeScript in Sanity Studio, an open-source React app you can embed in your Next.js project. Sanity stores content in its hosted Content Lake. The Presentation tool adds click-to-edit overlays, and `next-sanity` connects it to Draft Mode. **Pick it if** you have structured content beyond pages, and developers who like configuring their CMS in code. ### Storyblok Your site runs in a live preview, and components become clickable when you mark them with `storyblokEditable()`. By default, schemas live in the CMS. Since July 2026, `@storyblok/schema` also lets you define them in TypeScript and push them with a CLI. Storyblok also has a hosted Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes its Management API, with setup instructions for Claude Code. **Pick it if** editors build a lot of pages and you want SDKs for most frameworks. Prices are per space, which matters if you run many sites. ### Prismic Prismic saves each page section ("slice"), with its model and component, in your site's code. New projects model slices in the Type Builder and the Prismic CLI, because Slice Machine is deprecated, though existing Slice Machine projects still work. Editors work in a page builder made of those slices. **Pick it if** your site is mostly marketing pages assembled from slices, and you want a simulator that renders your components with mock data. ### Builder.io You register React components with `Builder.registerComponent()` and editors arrange them on a drag-and-drop canvas. Registered components must be client components, because Builder doesn't support registering React Server Components. **Pick it if** marketers need to arrange components on the page themselves and you accept that layout decisions move out of code. ### Contentful Contentful describes itself as API-first and cloud-native. You define content types, with up to 50 fields each, in its web app and through its API. The entry editor can show a preview beside it on the same page. Live updates and inspector mode need its live preview SDK, which has a Next.js integration. Studio, its visual editor, is an add-on to the Enterprise plan. As of 1 November 2026, the Free plan costs $0 and has hard usage caps, including 100,000 API calls and 50 GB of asset bandwidth a month. Lite costs $300 a month and includes 1 million API calls and 100 GB of asset bandwidth. Above that you pay $5 per million calls and $0.15 per GB. **Pick it if** your content runs across markets, brands and channels, not only a Next.js site. ### glokki Blocks are your React components, declared with `defineBlock()` and a Zod schema, and glokki generates the visual editor's props panel from that schema. There's no push step. When the visual editor opens your site, the site sends its blocks to the CMS. The CMS is hosted, and your site runs wherever you deploy it. The visual editor loads your site in an iframe and adds overlays with block selection and drag handles. You change a block's content in the props panel. An MCP server lets agents like Claude Code build and publish pages from your blocks, using an API key with the right scopes. After you deploy a new or changed block, a person has to open the visual editor once before agents can use it. **Pick it if** you're on Next.js or React, want schemas in TypeScript without a push step, and want agents to work on the site. **Skip it for now if** you need a long track record, SDKs for other frameworks or a self-hosted editor. We're in beta, and there's no WordPress or Contentful importer yet. Nested object fields in block schemas aren't supported, but arrays of objects are. The Free plan covers building, translating by hand and publishing. AI features aren't part of it, and A/B tests are only on the Enterprise plan, so a new organization doesn't get them. ## Side by side | Option | Schema lives | CMS hosting | Editing | Open source | |---|---|---|---|---| | Payload | Code | Self-hosted, in your app | Form next to a live preview | Yes (MIT) | | Sanity | Code | Hosted content, Studio anywhere | Click-to-edit (Presentation) | Studio: yes | | Storyblok | CMS, with a TypeScript option | Hosted | Click-to-edit preview | Not stated | | Prismic | Repo (Type Builder and CLI) | Hosted | Page builder made of slices | Not stated (Slice Machine: Apache-2.0) | | Builder.io | Code (registration) | Hosted | Drag-and-drop canvas | SDKs: MIT; platform not stated | | Contentful | Web app and API | Cloud-native, in its words | Preview beside the entry editor; Studio is an Enterprise add-on | Not stated (open-source field editors) | | glokki | Code (Zod), no push step | Hosted, beta | Your site in an iframe, with overlays and a props panel | No | We checked the facts for Payload and Sanity on 26 October 2026, and for Storyblok, Prismic, Builder.io and Contentful on 1 November 2026. Our [Storyblok alternatives comparison](/blog/storyblok-alternatives-for-nextjs) has prices for Payload, Sanity, Storyblok and Prismic. ## What to check on any shortlist Before you commit, build one real page on your site with each finalist. That page will show you what a feature list won't: - Does the preview work with your data fetching and caching? - Can you keep public pages static, and how fast do edits go live? - What happens to a field when you rename it in code? - Can an editor change a page without asking you for help? - Can you get your content out again? The [integration guide](/docs/integration) shows what a glokki setup looks like, so you can judge the code before you sign up. To try it on one page of your site, [accounts are free](https://app.glokki.com/register?utm_source=blog&utm_campaign=what-is-the-best-headless-cms-for-nextjs) during the beta. # More from the blog ## Build your site with glokki Free during beta · No credit card required [Create free account](https://app.glokki.com/register?utm_source=blog) [Read the docs](https://glokki.com/docs)