API Management · head to head
Liveblocks vs Sanity

Liveblocks
API Management
Realtime collaboration infrastructure for building multiplayer features
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Sanity
API Management
Headless CMS with real-time collaborative editing and structured content APIs
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Liveblocks on the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.; Sanity free plan limited to 10,000 documents and 100GB assets
- They diverge on capability: Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors, Sanity covers Content API.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Liveblocks and Sanity actually diverge.
| Attribute | Liveblocks | Sanity |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | subscription |
| Platforms | web, api | Web |
| Founded | Unknown | 2011 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (API Management).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Liveblocks
- Realtime presence and cursors
- Comments
- Version history
- Custom notifications
- SSO and SOC 2
- Management API
Only in Sanity
- Content API
- Collaborative editing
- Structured content
- Webhooks
- Third-party services
- GROQ query language
- Cloud support
- JavaScript SDK support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Liveblocks
- Adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editornot Sanity
- Building threaded comments on documents or designsnot Sanity
- Sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actionsnot Sanity
- Restoring previous versions of collaborative contentnot Sanity
Sanity
- Headless CMS for structured content managementnot Liveblocks
- Collaborative content editing with real-time multiplayer supportnot Liveblocks
- API-driven content delivery with GROQ query languagenot Liveblocks
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Liveblocks
- On the Free plan, each metered feature has a hard cap and simply pauses when exceeded rather than allowing overage.
- The jump from Pro ($30/month) to Team (starting at $600/month) is steep for teams that outgrow Pro but don't need full Team scale.
- Multi-region hosting and SCIM provisioning are Enterprise-only and require custom pricing.
Sanity
- Free plan limited to 10,000 documents and 100GB assets
- Free plan supports only public datasets
- Growth plan capped at 50 seats maximum
- Private datasets, scheduled drafts, and comments/tasks require paid plans
- Annual billing unavailable for Growth plan; Enterprise-only
Pricing, plan by plan
Liveblocks
Free- FreeFree
- 10 projects
- 3 dashboard seats
- 10 simultaneous connections per room
- Pro$30/month
- $30 monthly credits
- Removes Liveblocks branding
- 3 dashboard seats
- Team$600/month
- SSO and SOC 2
- 10 dashboard seats
- 50 connections/room
Sanity
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Sanity review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Liveblocks if
- You need realtime presence and cursors.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want comments.
Choose Sanity if
- You need content api.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want collaborative editing.
Questions people ask
- Is Liveblocks or Sanity better?
- Neither clearly leads. Liveblocks starts at Free and Sanity at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Liveblocks or Sanity?
- Liveblocks starts at Free and Sanity at Free.
- Does Liveblocks or Sanity run on more platforms?
- Liveblocks runs on web, api. Sanity runs on Web.
- Can I use Liveblocks for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Liveblocks best used for?
- Liveblocks is most often used for adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editor, building threaded comments on documents or designs, sending realtime notifications tied to collaborative actions, restoring previous versions of collaborative content. Of those, adding live cursors and presence to a collaborative editor and building threaded comments on documents or designs are not what Sanity is typically brought in for.
- What can Liveblocks do that Sanity cannot?
- Liveblocks covers Realtime presence and cursors, Comments, Version history, Custom notifications. Sanity covers Content API, Collaborative editing, Structured content, Webhooks.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Liveblocks: What does Liveblocks cost?
Liveblocks offers a Free plan with hard usage caps, a Pro plan at $30/month ($25/month billed annually) including $30 in monthly credits, a Team plan from $600/month, and custom Enterprise pricing.
SourceLiveblocks: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
Yes, the Free plan includes 10 projects, 3 dashboard seats, 10 simultaneous connections per room, 3,000 collaboration minutes, 200 comments, and 1GB of realtime data storage, with features pausing once a cap is hit.
SourceLiveblocks: How is usage metered?
Paid plans include monthly credits covering collaboration minutes, comments, and storage; usage beyond the credit is billed at metered rates such as $0.002 per collaboration minute and $0.01 per comment, with credits resetting each billing cycle without rollover.
SourceRelated pages
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