Strapi vs Payload
A side-by-side comparison of Strapi and Payload — 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
payloadcms.com
Open-source alternative to Contentful.
| Feature | Strapi | Payload |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Model | Open-source | Open-source |
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 | MIT |
| Deployment | Self-hosted, Cloud | Cloud, Self-hosted |
| Category | Content Management Systems (CMS) | Contentful alternatives |
| Self-hosted | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Free tier | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
Pick Strapi if…
- ✓Broader tag coverage in our catalog (proxy for feature breadth).
Pick Payload if…
- ✓You prefer Payload's feature set or ecosystem fit.