> For the full index of Sherpa pages for agents, see https://www.withsherpa.ai/llms.txt

URL: https://www.withsherpa.ai/compare/custom-code
Title: Sherpa vs Custom Code (2026) | Code You Own, Run by AI
Description: How running your marketing site on Sherpa compares to building and maintaining it yourself in code. Your team ships from Claude or ChatGPT, and Sherpa handles the rest.

# Sherpa vs Custom code

[Try Sherpa](https://cal.com/team/sherpa/sherpa-websites-intro)

## Custom code and Sherpa, side by side.

### Built for agents out of the box.

Sherpa comes with 200+ built-in tools for agents, so your team doesn't have to build or maintain them.

### Still your code.

Sherpa sites are custom code your team owns. Engineers can build anything they want on the site.

### No merge conflicts.

Sherpa keeps every change in its own draft and preview, so everyone can work on the site at once.

### No ticket needed.

Anyone can ask Claude for a change and get a preview, with roles and approvals, without waiting on another team.

### Every tool built in, optimized for agents.

Sherpa comes with hosting, CMS, A/B tests, analytics and forms, all ready for agents. A custom site needs each one built or bought.

### No one has to staff it.

Sherpa reviews your site every week, then builds and suggests improvements, so no one has to be on website duty.

## Everything, in one table.

| Job | Custom code | Sherpa |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fix a typo on pricing | File a ticket, wait for an engineer | Ask Claude and publish |
| Launch a landing page | Design, build, review, deploy | Ask for it, check the preview, publish |
| Publish a change | An engineer approves the PR | Anyone with the right role publishes |
| Two people editing at once | Branches and merge conflicts | Separate drafts, no conflicts |
| Roles and approvals | Build them yourself | Built in |
| Drafts and previews | Build them yourself | Built in |
| Stay on brand | Design sprawl as more people ship | Every change uses your components |
| Edit a blog post | Build or buy a CMS first | In Sherpa's CMS, or ask an agent |
| Run an A/B test | Pick a testing tool and wire it in | Ask for a test in a prompt |
| See which AI agents visit | Add logging or another tool | Built in on every plan |
| Build something custom | Anything, it's code | Anything, it's code |
| Host it | Manage it yourself | Included |
| Keep it fast and up to date | Manage it yourself | Sherpa reviews it every week |
| Own it | It's already yours | It's yours, custom code you can take anywhere |
| What it costs | However many people it takes to run it | $49/mo to start, $299/mo on Growth |

## Hear from teams running on Sherpa.

[Watch Lindy's story Lindy > “It's one of the most beneficial changes we've made to our marketing stack this year. You just tell Sherpa what you want, and it does it.” **Ryan Kaldani** Head of Marketing, Lindy](https://www.withsherpa.ai/customers/lindy)

[Pillar > **“It was one of the best decisions we've made when it comes to our website.”** **Faisal Younus** Co-founder and CEO, Pillar Faisal Younus, Co-founder & CEO of Pillar](https://www.withsherpa.ai/customers/pillar) [Bolto > **“Sherpa brought our website development up to the speed of the rest of the organization.** As fast as we ship products, do rebrands or form partnerships, the website is able to keep up.” **Owen Oktay** COO, Bolto Owen Oktay, COO of Bolto](https://www.withsherpa.ai/customers/bolto)

## On custom code? Let's talk about your site

Tell us how your site is built. We'll show you what running it on Sherpa looks like for your team.

[Talk to us about switching](https://cal.com/team/sherpa/sherpa-websites-intro)

## Sources

Checked November 5, 2026. Pricing and features change, so check their pages too.

- [Sherpa pricing](https://www.withsherpa.ai/pricing)

If something here is wrong or out of date, [tell us](mailto:ethan@withsherpa.ai?subject=Correction%20on%20Sherpa%20vs%20Custom%20code) and we'll fix it.

Also compare [Sherpa vs Webflow](https://www.withsherpa.ai/compare/webflow), [Sherpa vs Framer](https://www.withsherpa.ai/compare/framer) and [Sherpa vs WordPress](https://www.withsherpa.ai/compare/wordpress).