Side-by-side NPM package comparison
Version 3.78.0
Node, React, Headless CMS and Application Framework built on Next.js
Version 5.12.0
Sanity is a real-time content infrastructure with a scalable, hosted backend featuring a Graph Oriented Query Language (GROQ), asset pipelines and fast edge caches
Choosing between Payload and Sanity? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.
Sanity leads with 398.2K weekly downloads — roughly 1.5x more. Payload has 262.7K weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Payload has the smallest gzipped bundle at 2.0 MB. Sanity comes in at 6.1 MB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Payload has an overall health score of 88/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, quality, security, popularity scores. Sanity has an overall health score of 81/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
Choose Payload if you value actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Sanity if you value actively maintained, strong security track record.
Both Payload and Sanity are solid choices for JavaScript development. Payload has the edge in overall health score (88/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.