What is the main difference between Craft CMS and Payload?

Craft CMS and Payload are both headless cms tools but differ in their approach, features, and target audience. Compare their GitHub stats, technology stack, and community adoption to make the best choice.

Which is better: Craft CMS or Payload?

The choice between Craft CMS and Payload depends on your specific needs, technical requirements, and team preferences. Both are quality open source solutions with active communities.

Can I migrate from Craft CMS to Payload?

Migration between Craft CMS and Payload is possible but requires careful planning. Consider data export/import capabilities, feature parity, and potential workflow changes.

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Craft CMS vs Payload

Learn how Craft CMS and Payload differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these headless cms tools is best for you.

Craft CMS

Build custom websites with a user-friendly CMS that puts content first. Features flexible architecture, GraphQL API, and powerful ecommerce capabilities.

Visit Craft CMS Read more

3,623stars+12(+0.3%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
14 hours ago
Repository age
10 years
Version
5.12.0.1
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
craftcms/cms

Payload

A powerful, flexible, and developer-friendly content management system that prioritizes customization and scalability.

Visit Payload Read more

45,724stars+556(+1.2%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
1 day ago
Repository age
6 years
Version
v3.93.0
License
MIT
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
payloadcms/payload

Detailed Comparison

Payload appears to have several advantages over Craft CMS, particularly in popularity, growth and licensing. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, growth, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Payload wins

Community & Popularity

Payload significantly outpaces Craft CMS in community adoption with 45,724 stars compared to 3,623 stars on GitHub. This 12.6x difference suggests Payload has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Payload has 4,410 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Payload wins

Growth Momentum

Payload is growing faster, adding 556 stars in the last 30 days (+1.2%) against adding 12 stars for Craft CMS (+0.3%). Payload is both larger and pulling further ahead.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Craft CMS last updated 14 hours ago and Payload 1 day ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, CSS, Typescript, SCSS. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Craft CMS uses PHP, Vue, Yii2 while Payload leverages Bash, JSX, Next.js, Remix.

Craft CMS wins

Project Maturity

Craft CMS has been in development longer, starting 10 years ago, compared to Payload which began 6 years ago. This 4.0-year head start suggests Craft CMS may have more mature features and established processes.

Payload wins