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

Stars
3,559
Forks
690
Last commit
13 hours ago
Repository age
9 years
Self-hosted
Yes

View Repository

Auto-fetched 8 hours ago.

Payload

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

Visit Payload Read more

Stars
41,863
Forks
3,593
Last commit
15 hours ago
Repository age
5 years
License
MIT
Self-hosted
Yes

View Repository

Auto-fetched 8 hours ago.

Detailed Comparison

Both Craft CMS and Payload have their unique strengths and serve similar purposes effectively. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Payload wins

Community & Popularity

Payload significantly outpaces Craft CMS in community adoption with 41,863 stars compared to 3,559 stars on GitHub. This 11.8x difference suggests Payload has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Payload has 3,593 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Craft CMS last updated 13 hours ago and Payload 15 hours 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 9 years ago, compared to Payload which began 5 years ago. This 4.0-year head start suggests Craft CMS may have more mature features and established processes.

Payload wins