CraftCMS vs Payload CMS
| Tagline | Content-first CMS crafted for developers and editors | Developer-first headless CMS and application framework built with TypeScript |
| Category | Blogging & CMS | Blogging & CMS |
| Replaces | Contentful, WordPress.com, Squarespace | Contentful, WordPress.com |
| GitHub stars | 3.6k | 43k |
| Language | PHP | Nodejs |
| License | ⊘ Proprietary | MIT |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 3/5 Moderate |
| Deploy options | Docker Manual | Docker Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | today | today |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
CraftCMS
- Commercial license required for multi-user and team workflows; cost can exceed SaaS alternatives
- Plugin ecosystem is strong but most premium plugins are paid
- No built-in e-commerce; requires the separate paid Craft Commerce plugin
- Headless GraphQL API is behind a Pro license paywall
Payload CMS
- Entirely code-first; non-technical editors cannot modify content schema without developer help
- No built-in CDN or image optimization; requires external services
- Plugin and integration marketplace is smaller than Contentful or Strapi
- Real-time collaborative editing is not natively supported
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose Payload CMS for the larger community and ecosystem. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Payload CMS
Developer-first headless CMS and application framework built with TypeScript