Strapi vs Payload CMS
A side-by-side comparison of Strapi and Payload CMS — pricing, license, deployment, and where each tool wins.
Strapi
strapi.io
The most advanced open-source Content Management Framework (headless-CMS) to build powerful API with no effort.
Payload CMS
payloadcms.com
Developer-first headless CMS and application framework.
| Feature | Strapi | Payload CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Model | Open-source | Open-source |
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Deployment | Self-hosted, Cloud | Self-hosted |
| Category | Content Management Systems (CMS) | Content Management Systems (CMS) |
| Self-hosted | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Free tier | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
Pick Strapi if…
- ✓You prefer Strapi's feature set or ecosystem fit.
Pick Payload CMS if…
- ✓You prefer Payload CMS's feature set or ecosystem fit.