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TL;DR - Payload

  • Payload is an open-source headless CMS built with TypeScript
  • It provides an admin panel, API, and authentication out of the box
  • Free and open-source, Cloud hosting available
Pricing: Free plan available
Best for: Growing teams
4.9/5 across review platforms

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Modern headless CMS
  • Code-first approach
  • Self-hostable
  • TypeScript native
  • Good documentation

Cons

  • Newer platform
  • Smaller community
  • Learning curve
  • Node.js required
  • Less hosting options

Ratings Across the Web

4.9(48 reviews)

Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more

Key Features

Headless CMSTypeScriptSelf-hostedAccess controlGraphQLOpen source

Pricing Plans

Free

Free

Self-hosted

  • Unlimited everything
  • TypeScript
  • Full control
Most Popular

Standard

$35/month

Payload Cloud

  • 1 project
  • 50GB storage
  • Email support

Pro

$199/month

Teams

  • 5 projects
  • 500GB storage
  • Priority support

What is Payload?

Editorial review
Payload provides headless CMS that's code-first. TypeScript CMS where developers define content-headless that fits development workflows. The code-first approach suits developers. The TypeScript integration is native. The self-hosting works. Developers wanting code-first CMS choose Payload for TypeScript headless content.

Reviews

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Payload FAQ

Is Payload free?

Yes, Payload is free and open source. MIT license. Self-host for free. Cloud hosting coming soon.

What is Payload?

Payload is a headless CMS and application framework. Code-first configuration. Built on Node.js and MongoDB.

Payload vs Strapi?

Payload is more code-first and TypeScript-native. Strapi has GUI configuration. Payload for developers; Strapi for non-devs.

What makes Payload different?

Configuration is pure JavaScript/TypeScript. Full type safety. Can serve as both CMS and application backend.

Guides & Articles