PT-866 demo · compare CMS lenses · edit live in the CMS →
Bixter
CMS approach

Two lenses, one public site

Both produce the same fast, SEO-clean pages your visitors see. The difference is the editor experience, price and lock-in — not the output. Both lenses are live in this demo, rendered by the same components from two different CMSs: Sanity site · Contentful site.

Running this demo

Sanity

Best Next.js developer experience, flexible billing, real live preview — what you are clicking through right now.

Strong
  • Code-defined schema + typed queries (typegen)
  • Real Visual Editing / live preview
  • No per-locale pricing cliff for en/de/es+
Watch-outs
  • No first-party AI-agent suite
  • Content Lake is still a hosted dependency
Second live lens

Contentful

Mature market leader with the strongest AI/governance story — but priced and locked for the enterprise.

Strong
  • AI Actions + official MCP server (66 tools)
  • Enterprise governance: SSO, custom roles, audit
  • Polished editorial workflows
Watch-outs for Bixter
  • Multilingual + EU residency both force opaque Premium
  • Lossy export; engineering-first (SEO built by the agency)
DimensionSanityContentful
ModelSaaS backend + open-source (MIT) Studio you can embed in the appProprietary SaaS — no self-hosting offered
Editor experienceCode-defined schema, real-time, embedded Studio (this demo)Polished web app: entries, content types, workflows
Live previewPresentation / Visual Editing — click-to-edit, instant (used here)Mature Live Preview SDK + draft mode (on-demand revalidation is DIY)
Entry pricingFrom ~$15/seat, flexible usage-based billing, generous free tierFree (2 locales) → Lite $300/mo (3 locales) → Premium “contact sales”
LocalizationModelled in schema — no per-locale price jump>3 locales forces the opaque Premium tier
EU data residencyConfigurable; not gated behind the top tierPremium-only, as a separate EU organisation, via Sales
AI toolingSolid, but no first-party agent suiteStrongest: official MCP server (66 tools) + AI Actions (on-brand copy, SEO, translate)
Marketing tools, no-codeFewer one-click apps — the typical marketing stack (GA4/GTM, Meta Pixel, forms) is wired once at the site level by the dev teamOfficial Apps Marketplace — GA4, HubSpot, Klaviyo, Braze, Surfer SEO, Typeform installed by a marketer, no developer needed
ExtensibilityOpen-source Studio: custom fields, plugins, code-first schema — effectively unlimited, but developer-ledApp Framework, marketplace apps and UI extensions — guided rails; deep custom needs a developer too. Both expose full APIs & webhooks
GovernanceRoles & SSO on higher tiersEnterprise-grade: SSO/SAML, custom roles, audit (Premium)
Lock-in / exitMedium; schema & types are code (typegen)High; export is lossy (workflows, app config, webhook secrets, roles)
Next.js DXBest-in-class: next-sanity, GROQ, typed queries, revalidationGood toolkit + live-preview; ISR-on-publish built by you

What this means for Bixter

Contentful’s two most expensive triggers both land on Bixter’s exact profile:

Multilingual — en/de/es and beyond pushes past the 3-locale limit, into Premium (“contact sales”).
EU data residency (Denmark / GDPR) — Premium-only, provisioned as a separate EU organisation through Sales.

Both are solid choices and we build and run either — the decision is yours. The factual trade-off for Bixter’s profile: the cost asymmetry (locales + EU residency) favours Sanity; Contentful gets compelling if no-code marketing apps, AI Actions and enterprise governance become core to how your team works.

Inside both admins

A marketer’s tour — without logging in

Key moments from the two real admin panels behind this demo, captured as-is. Click any screenshot to open it full-size.

All articles at a glance — covers, language versions, draft/published state.
SanityAll articles at a glance — covers, language versions, draft/published state.
The editor: title, clean URL generated by the rules, language version — and one Publish button.
SanityThe editor: title, clean URL generated by the rules, language version — and one Publish button.
SEO lives next to the content: meta title with the template hint, snippet description.
SanitySEO lives next to the content: meta title with the template hint, snippet description.
Sector and country are structured fields — they drive the static SEO pages, not free text.
SanitySector and country are structured fields — they drive the static SEO pages, not free text.
Share image for LinkedIn/Facebook cards and the noindex toggle — no developer needed.
SanityShare image for LinkedIn/Facebook cards and the noindex toggle — no developer needed.
Live preview: the real site next to the editor — edits show up as you type.
SanityLive preview: the real site next to the editor — edits show up as you type.
Same content in the Contentful web app — entries, statuses, search and filters.
ContentfulSame content in the Contentful web app — entries, statuses, search and filters.
Entry editor with field-level character counters and a status panel.
ContentfulEntry editor with field-level character counters and a status panel.
Locales settings: 2 of 2 used — “need more locales? Talk to us.” This is the pricing cliff, verbatim.
ContentfulLocales settings: 2 of 2 used — “need more locales? Talk to us.” This is the pricing cliff, verbatim.
Apps Marketplace: GA4, Cloudinary, Shopify, Slack — one-click installs.
ContentfulApps Marketplace: GA4, Cloudinary, Shopify, Slack — one-click installs.
Marketing automation category: HubSpot, Klaviyo, Braze, Surfer SEO — a marketer installs these without a developer.
ContentfulMarketing automation category: HubSpot, Klaviyo, Braze, Surfer SEO — a marketer installs these without a developer.

Sales-enablement artifact — “how it would look”. Bixter has not chosen a CMS or vendor. Comparison facts verified in research (2026-06-01); Premium pricing is opaque (third-party estimates ~$20K–$179K/yr) and should be confirmed with a vendor quote before estimating.