Headless CMS visual editing
5 products in this dataset are headless CMSs that added visual editing on top of structured content, which means editors click on a live preview while the data model stays typed and validated.
CMS-side visual editing solves a different problem from an embeddable builder. You are not shipping an editor to your users — you are giving your own content team a click-to-edit preview of a site your developers built.
5 of 5 products
| Framework | Website | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Builder.io | Commercial SDK | React, Vue, Angular | Proprietary | No | Unverified | from $19/mo | Not benchmarked | builder.io |
| Contentful Studio | Headless CMS | React | MIT | No | No | Quote only | Not benchmarked | contentful.com |
| Directus | Headless CMS | Any framework | BSL-1.1 | Yes | Yes | from $99/mo | Not benchmarked | directus.io |
| Sanity Visual Editing | Headless CMS | React, Vue | MIT | Unverified | No | from $15/mo | Not benchmarked | sanity.io |
| Storyblok | Headless CMS | Any framework | Proprietary | No | No | Free tier, paid plans undisclosed | Not benchmarked | storyblok.com |
What is in this list
- Builder.ioBuilder.io is a commercial visual development platform whose SDKs let non-developers edit pages built from your own components, and whose 2026 pricing is credit-based rather than seat-based.
- Contentful StudioContentful Studio is Contentful's visual experience builder, sold as a paid add-on on top of the CMS platform; its React SDK has been on npm under MIT since March 2024 and there is no built-in visual editing without the add-on.
- DirectusDirectus is a self-hostable data platform and headless CMS licensed under BSL 1.1, free to self-host for organisations under $5M in annual revenue, with visual editing delivered as live-preview and editable-overlay features rather than a drag-and-drop page canvas.
- Sanity Visual EditingSanity is a headless content platform whose Presentation tool adds click-to-edit visual editing over a live preview of your front end; the @sanity/visual-editing package has been on npm under MIT since February 2024 and visual editing is available on every plan including the free tier.
- StoryblokStoryblok is a headless CMS whose visual editor renders a live preview of your own front end and lets editors click a component to edit its fields, with a free Starter plan and paid plans from about €99 per month per space.
Comparisons within this category
Use cases and guides
Not sure this is the right list? The Editor Finder combines several requirements at once and explains each match.
Membership of this list is computed from the dataset, not curated by hand, so it changes when the data changes. See the methodology for the rule behind each flag, or take the raw data from the dataset page. The full table across every category is in the editor database.