knut
@knut.fyi
developer edu and community @sanity.io \n (he/him) \n ask me about real-time text fields in front of delightful JSON \n endorsed for dry jokes on linkedin \n Oakland, CA \n 🌐 https://knut.fyi
Appreciate it – hope it didn't come off overly defensive! Just wanted to clarify, since I know our engineers do care a lot about what you brought up.
Let us know what you think, if you do try it out! There's plenty of areas of improvements to be had for sure. And feel free to ask, if anything 🙇
Let us know what you think, if you do try it out! There's plenty of areas of improvements to be had for sure. And feel free to ask, if anything 🙇
November 11, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Appreciate it – hope it didn't come off overly defensive! Just wanted to clarify, since I know our engineers do care a lot about what you brought up.
Let us know what you think, if you do try it out! There's plenty of areas of improvements to be had for sure. And feel free to ask, if anything 🙇
Let us know what you think, if you do try it out! There's plenty of areas of improvements to be had for sure. And feel free to ask, if anything 🙇
All this to say, I/we agree with you! We care a lot about keeping dependencies down, and about architecture, security issues etc.
But these graphs aren't necessarily telling that story fairly.
But these graphs aren't necessarily telling that story fairly.
November 10, 2025 at 11:02 PM
All this to say, I/we agree with you! We care a lot about keeping dependencies down, and about architecture, security issues etc.
But these graphs aren't necessarily telling that story fairly.
But these graphs aren't necessarily telling that story fairly.
Is even this a fair comparison? Probably not. Payload gives you the complete application (except database) on top of Next.js, but you have to host it somewhere. Sanity Studio connects to real-time backend/CDN/asset pipeline with on-demand transforms etc. This is where things gets complicated.
November 10, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Is even this a fair comparison? Probably not. Payload gives you the complete application (except database) on top of Next.js, but you have to host it somewhere. Sanity Studio connects to real-time backend/CDN/asset pipeline with on-demand transforms etc. This is where things gets complicated.
If you do that, you'll get the following:
Sanity:
# of dependencies (1,050)
node_modules (535MB)
Much smaller build (732KB)
99% tree-shaken
Payload w/sqlite:
Dependencies (887)
node_modules (831MB)
Much larger build (8.8MB)
20% tree-shaken
Sanity:
# of dependencies (1,050)
node_modules (535MB)
Much smaller build (732KB)
99% tree-shaken
Payload w/sqlite:
Dependencies (887)
node_modules (831MB)
Much larger build (8.8MB)
20% tree-shaken
November 10, 2025 at 11:02 PM
If you do that, you'll get the following:
Sanity:
# of dependencies (1,050)
node_modules (535MB)
Much smaller build (732KB)
99% tree-shaken
Payload w/sqlite:
Dependencies (887)
node_modules (831MB)
Much larger build (8.8MB)
20% tree-shaken
Sanity:
# of dependencies (1,050)
node_modules (535MB)
Much smaller build (732KB)
99% tree-shaken
Payload w/sqlite:
Dependencies (887)
node_modules (831MB)
Much larger build (8.8MB)
20% tree-shaken
I'd argue that Sanity Studio comes with more features OOB.
And most of these deps aren't bundled in the production build, because they are related to CLI tooling, dev server etc. Payload doesn't have a CLI.
A more "realistic" comparison is to look at a clean studio project vs a clean payload.
And most of these deps aren't bundled in the production build, because they are related to CLI tooling, dev server etc. Payload doesn't have a CLI.
A more "realistic" comparison is to look at a clean studio project vs a clean payload.
November 10, 2025 at 11:02 PM
I'd argue that Sanity Studio comes with more features OOB.
And most of these deps aren't bundled in the production build, because they are related to CLI tooling, dev server etc. Payload doesn't have a CLI.
A more "realistic" comparison is to look at a clean studio project vs a clean payload.
And most of these deps aren't bundled in the production build, because they are related to CLI tooling, dev server etc. Payload doesn't have a CLI.
A more "realistic" comparison is to look at a clean studio project vs a clean payload.
If you want faster, you can tap into the listener/event source API for patches, but then the limit for concurrent connections is orders of magnitude much lower.
November 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
If you want faster, you can tap into the listener/event source API for patches, but then the limit for concurrent connections is orders of magnitude much lower.
To be fair: The industry conception of "real-time" is all of the place. We have seen competitors talk up to 10s updates as "real time".
It's a trade-off: The live content API is built on our CDN infrastructure which scales globally and "for cheap". In that perspective, 1-2s is pretty good.
It's a trade-off: The live content API is built on our CDN infrastructure which scales globally and "for cheap". In that perspective, 1-2s is pretty good.
November 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
To be fair: The industry conception of "real-time" is all of the place. We have seen competitors talk up to 10s updates as "real time".
It's a trade-off: The live content API is built on our CDN infrastructure which scales globally and "for cheap". In that perspective, 1-2s is pretty good.
It's a trade-off: The live content API is built on our CDN infrastructure which scales globally and "for cheap". In that perspective, 1-2s is pretty good.
So, are we actually comparing apples to apples here? And what is the implication?
I reckon these are the `sanity` vs `payload` dependencies?
I reckon these are the `sanity` vs `payload` dependencies?
November 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
So, are we actually comparing apples to apples here? And what is the implication?
I reckon these are the `sanity` vs `payload` dependencies?
I reckon these are the `sanity` vs `payload` dependencies?