Payload
About Payload
Payload is an open-source, headless CMS and application framework built with TypeScript, Node.js, and React.
With Payload's free self-hosted option, you own all your data and distribute content wherever you need through automatically available GraphQL and REST API. You have a turn-key solution for user authentication, file uploads, localization, input validation, access control, programmatic hooks, and admin panel.
Save developer time by providing a configuration that Payload uses to model your content however needed. You don't need to learn Payload, you just write JavaScript to extend your application.
Enjoy the benefits of nesting objects or relating data to give content authors robust tools to manage web and mobile experiences.
You can also deploy your entire stack in one place with
Payload Cloud. Payload Cloud works for any Node + Mongo app.
Whether you're using Remix, Next, SvelteKit, or something else entirely, deploy it on Payload Cloud.
Key benefits of Payload
Completely free and open-source
GraphQL, REST, and Local APIs
Easily customizable ReactJS Admin
Fully self-hosted
Extensible Authentication
Local file storage & upload
Version History and Drafts
Field-based Localization
Block-based Layout Builder
Array field type
Field conditional logic
Extremely granular Access Control
Document and field-level hooks for every action Payload provides
Built with Typescript & very Typescript-friendly
Intensely fast API
Highly secure thanks to HTTP-only cookies, CSRF protection, and more
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Reviews
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- Industry: Design
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Seamless adoption by web agency
Reviewed on 2024/08/14
There's always a nervousness when adopting a new platform but looking back there was nothing to be...
There's always a nervousness when adopting a new platform but looking back there was nothing to be nervous about. It's been an easy & seamless process and gaining support as an agency partner has been great. We look forward to a bright future with Payload!
Pros
Show + Tell is a UK based Payload Agency... we've used payload as a web agency on multiple projects now as the feedback from IT & Marketing teams client side have been hugely positive. Client have found the content management process fare quick and more flexible to their needs meaning time saved in their day to day role.
From development perspective the whole development team enjoy building on the platform and now dread if they have to develop on any of our legacy CMS systems we still support. It's been a big thumbs up from a programmers perspective.
Cons
The Enterprise is expensive from smaller companies however the product is great and well worth it for larger Enterprise level clients.
- Industry: Information Technology & Services
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Payload - The best application framework on the market
Reviewed on 2024/08/15
Been using Payload since summer 2022. The platform can be used as a CMS, or as an application...
Been using Payload since summer 2022. The platform can be used as a CMS, or as an application framework. You can turn Payload into anything, either a rapid prototyping framework, or a content management hub
Pros
Developer experience, speed of development, and ease of extendability
Cons
Bundle size can be quite large for small scale projects
Alternatives Considered
DirectusReasons for Choosing Payload
Strapi was too slow, and Contentful had a frustrating developer experience.Reasons for Switching to Payload
The developer experience is unparalleled, and the ability to change everything in the platform is a major plus.- Industry: Computer Software
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Payload: The Next-Gen CMS You've Been Waiting For
Reviewed on 2025/02/27
We needed a quick solution that would allow a content admin to control content for a multi-faceted...
We needed a quick solution that would allow a content admin to control content for a multi-faceted marketing site. The flexibility to create new pages and re-use content across the site. It allowed us to develop a custom solution tailored very closely to the customers needs with ease.
Pros
The documentation was clear and effective, there were many examples that could be found on their own GitHub, and they have a very active discord community that are always willing to help when you run into problems. Extremely fast turn around time from blank slate to production. The ease of use, one command and you're up and running. Having Typescript across the project helps to not shoot yourself in the foot. It's a very modern and sleek workflow, and can solve many of the required tasks out of the box. Their hosting solution was very easy to use and at an affordable/fair price.
Cons
Nothing at this time, they have a great roadmap of future implementations that solve all niche issues as well.
- Industry: E-Learning
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
Highly customisable CMS with a great i18n model
Reviewed on 2023/05/31
Pros
Payload's i18n model is incredible for large scale projects, and managing complexity. Additionally the admin panel is highly customisable and can be tailored to any kind of business.
Cons
There is no way to generate admin thumbnails for files other than images. Mangling of node.js environment and browser environment pose a bit of an issue, but manageable.
Alternatives Considered
SanityReasons for Choosing Payload
Strapi's i18n model is not up to par for projects relying on data integrity (each translation has a unique id, despite the document in theory being the same).Switched From
StrapiReasons for Switching to Payload
Ease of use and it's self hostable.
- Industry: Telecommunications
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
-
Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Our go to framework
Reviewed on 2024/08/13
For us, Payload strikes the perfect balance between providing everything you need to not start from...
For us, Payload strikes the perfect balance between providing everything you need to not start from scratch while still being completely customisable for our requirements. We've built everything from websites, online shops to management platforms and our clients love it!
Pros
- No limitations for extending functionality
- Super fast experience for the end user, low resource requirements especially compared to Wordpress
- Open source, easy to self-host
Cons
Some convenient functionalities are still missing, e.g. bulk upload, display where media elements are used across the system, locking documents for other users while being edited/live collaboration. I assume they will be available at some point in the future, currently you'd just have to implement them yourself
Payload FAQs
Below are some frequently asked questions for Payload.Q. What type of pricing plans does Payload offer?
Payload offers the following pricing plans:
- Starting from: US$35.00/month
- Pricing model: Free Version, Subscription
- Free Trial: Available
Q. Who are the typical users of Payload?
Payload has the following typical customers:
Self Employed, 2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500, 501–1,000, 1,001–5,000
Q. What languages does Payload support?
Payload supports the following languages:
Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Q. Does Payload support mobile devices?
Payload supports the following devices:
Q. What other apps does Payload integrate with?
Payload integrates with the following applications:
Algolia, Datadog, HubSpot CRM, Okta, Stripe, Zapier
Q. What level of support does Payload offer?
Payload offers the following support options:
Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support, 24/7 (Live rep)
Related categories
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Headless CMS software
