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APIs · head to head

Sanity vs Skyflow

Sanity logo

Sanity

APIs

Headless CMS with real-time collaborative editing and structured content APIs

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skyflow logo

Skyflow

APIs

Data privacy vault that holds sensitive records outside your own systems

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Sanity has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Sanity free plan limited to 10,000 documents and 100GB assets; Skyflow reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • They diverge on capability: Sanity covers Content API, Skyflow covers Tokenised storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sanity and Skyflow actually diverge.

Attributes where Sanity and Skyflow differ
AttributeSanitySkyflow
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebAPI, Web, Self-hosted
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

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 Sanity

  • Content API
  • Collaborative editing
  • Structured content
  • Webhooks
  • Third-party services
  • GROQ query language
  • Cloud support
  • JavaScript SDK support

Only in Skyflow

  • Tokenised storage
  • Polymorphic encryption
  • Field level access policies
  • Data residency
  • Secure functions
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Detokenisation gateway
  • Audit trail

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Sanity

  • Headless CMS for structured content managementnot Skyflow
  • Collaborative content editing with real-time multiplayer supportnot Skyflow
  • API-driven content delivery with GROQ query languagenot Skyflow

Skyflow

  • A fintech that wants card and bank account data out of its own infrastructure so its application servers leave PCI DSS assessment scopenot Sanity
  • A company entering India or the EU with data localisation obligations that would otherwise require standing up regional databases and operationsnot Sanity
  • A health technology business that needs protected health information isolated from the analytics stack while still supporting aggregate reportingnot Sanity
  • An engineering team that wants support agents to see masked identifiers and payment services to see real ones, enforced centrally rather than in every servicenot Sanity

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

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

Skyflow

  • Reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • Every read of a protected field becomes a network call to a third party, so latency and an external availability dependency enter paths that were previously local database reads, and outage planning has to account for a vendor you do not control.
  • Analytics and joins on vaulted data are constrained; work that was a simple SQL join now happens through secure functions or on tokens, and data teams routinely discover this after the engineering team has committed.
  • Unwinding the vault later is a rewrite rather than a migration because tokens are threaded through every service, so the switching cost climbs steadily and the negotiating position at renewal weakens with each release.
  • Scope reduction is an architectural claim your own assessor must accept, so the audit saving is real only if the implementation genuinely keeps sensitive values off your systems, and partial implementations that leave a cache or a log line in place deliver the cost without the benefit.

Pricing, plan by plan

Sanity

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 20 seats
    • 2 public datasets only
    • 10,000 documents included
  • Growth$15/month
    • Up to 50 seats per seat
    • 2 private or public datasets
    • 25,000 documents included
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom seats
    • Custom datasets
    • Custom document limits

Skyflow

On request
  • Skyflow Data Privacy Vault$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus usage by data subject count
    • Priced additionally per data residency region
    • PCI Level 1, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose Sanity if

  • You need content api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want collaborative editing.
Sanity review

Choose Skyflow if

  • You need tokenised storage.
  • You work on API, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want polymorphic encryption.
Skyflow review

Questions people ask

Is Sanity or Skyflow better?
Neither clearly leads. Sanity starts at Free and Skyflow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sanity or Skyflow?
Sanity has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Sanity and On request for Skyflow.
Does Sanity or Skyflow run on more platforms?
Sanity runs on Web. Skyflow runs on API, Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Sanity for free?
Yes. Sanity has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skyflow starts at On request.
What is Sanity best used for?
Sanity is most often used for headless cms for structured content management, collaborative content editing with real-time multiplayer support, api-driven content delivery with groq query language. Of those, headless cms for structured content management and collaborative content editing with real-time multiplayer support are not what Skyflow is typically brought in for.
What can Sanity do that Skyflow cannot?
Sanity covers Content API, Collaborative editing, Structured content, Webhooks. Skyflow covers Tokenised storage, Polymorphic encryption, Field level access policies, Data residency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Sanity: What does the Sanity Free plan include?

The Free plan includes up to 20 seats, 2 public datasets, 10,000 documents, 1 million API CDN requests per month, and 2 permission roles.

Source
Skyflow: Does Skyflow really take my systems out of PCI scope?

It can, if card data never touches your infrastructure and the detokenisation happens at the boundary. Your QSA has to agree the design, so validate the architecture with your assessor before signing.

Sanity: How much does Sanity Growth plan cost per user?

The Growth plan costs $15 per seat per month, with up to 50 seats, and includes 25,000 documents, 1 million API CDN requests, and 5 permission roles.

Source
Skyflow: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Reported annual contracts sit around 195,000 US dollars, built from a platform fee plus usage by data subject count and additional charges per data residency region.

Sanity: What is included in Sanity Enterprise pricing?

Enterprise pricing is custom and requires contacting sales. It includes custom seat limits, custom datasets, Single Sign-On, and dedicated support.

Source
Skyflow: How does it help with data localisation?

Records can be pinned to a specified region, so an Indian or EU residency requirement is met by the vault rather than by you running regional databases and operations teams.

Sanity: Does Sanity offer annual billing discounts?

Annual and invoice payment options are available exclusively for Enterprise customers. Self-serve plans (Free and Growth) use monthly billing only.

Source
Skyflow: Can I still run analytics on vaulted data?

Partly. Aggregates and comparisons are supported through polymorphic encryption and secure functions, but arbitrary joins against other datasets are harder than they were, and this is the most common late surprise.

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