Strapi vs Payload: A Comprehensive Headless CMS Comparison

General
General	Strapi	Payload
Company Size	75	11-50
Stars	60K	18K
NPM Weekly Downloads	90 K	30K
Funding	$31M Series B	$4.7M Seed
France	USA
Developer Experience
Hosting	PaaS + Self Hosted	PaaS + Self Hosted
Open Source	✅	✅
API Tokens	✅	❌
Design System	https://design-system.strapi.io/	❌
GraphQL	✅	✅
Documentation	✅	✅
Authentication & Permissions	✅	✅
Multi-databases support (SQLite, MySQL, Postgres)	PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL and MariaDB	MongoDB, PostgreSQL
Single Types	✅	✅
Custom fields	✅	UI field
Webhooks	✅	✅
Codebase language	JavaScript, TypeScript, React	TypeScript
API Playground	❌	❌
Customizable API	✅	✅
JWT authentication	✅	✅
Content modeling	✅	✅
Plugins	✅	✅
SDK	❌	❌
Cron	✅	❌
Editing Experience
Previews	Has to be setup manually	Has to be setup manually
Scheduling	❌	❌
Media Library	✅	✅
Draft & Publish	✅	✅
Collaboration
Releases	✅	❌
Review Workflows	✅	✅
Versionning	❌	✅
i18n	✅	✅
Marketplace	✅	❌
Real-time editing	❌	❌
Visual editing	❌	Vercel Visual Editing
Security & Compliance
SSO	✅	✅
Audit Logs	✅	✅
Role Base Access Control	✅	✅

When selecting a headless content management system (CMS), Strapi and Payload are two powerful options offering unique features and capabilities tailored to diverse project needs. This comparison will help you understand the key differences between Strapi and Payload, enabling you to make an informed decision for your content management requirements.

Overview

Strapi is an open-source headless CMS that gives developers complete control over their content and data. With its customizable API and admin panel, Strapi offers high flexibility and adaptability. Built with JavaScript, it is an excellent choice for developers familiar with the language and its ecosystem.

Payload is a modern headless CMS that focuses on developer experience and flexibility. It is built with TypeScript and Node.js, offering powerful customization options and a seamless developer workflow. Payload is designed to handle complex content models and high-performance applications.

Features

Strapi offers:

• Open-Source Flexibility: Strapi's open-source nature allows for extensive customization and extension to meet specific project needs.
• Customizable API: Developers can quickly create custom APIs for efficient content delivery.
• Self-Hosted Option: Strapi can be self-hosted, giving users complete control over their data and infrastructure.
• Extensible Plugin System: Strapi supports plugins, enabling developers to add functionalities easily.
• Role-Based Access Control: Advanced access control features ensure appropriate permissions for different users.

Payload provides:

• TypeScript and Node.js: Built with modern technologies, Payload offers strong type safety and powerful development tools.
• Flexible Content Modeling: Payload's schema builder allows for defining complex content models with ease.
• Customizable Admin Panel: The admin panel is fully customizable to fit specific project needs.
• GraphQL and REST APIs: Payload provides both GraphQL and REST APIs, giving developers flexibility in how they query and manipulate data.
• Authentication and Access Control: Built-in support for authentication and fine-grained access control.

Performance

Strapi is known for its performance, particularly when self-hosted. Its lightweight architecture and customizable nature allow developers to optimize the platform according to their needs, resulting in faster content delivery.

Payload also offers excellent performance due to its modern tech stack. With Node.js and TypeScript, Payload ensures fast and reliable content delivery, making it suitable for high-traffic applications.

Flexibility and Customization

Strapi excels in flexibility, allowing developers to customize almost every aspect of the CMS, from the admin panel to API endpoints. This makes it a preferred choice for projects requiring unique workflows or specialized features.

Payload provides significant flexibility through its schema builder and customizable admin panel. Developers can tailor the CMS to fit their specific requirements, making it ideal for complex and dynamic content models.

Pricing

Strapi is a cost-effective solution due to its open-source nature, with no licensing fees. The main costs associated with Strapi come from hosting and maintenance, which can be managed based on the project's scale and requirements.

Payload also offers a free tier for self-hosted deployments, making it budget-friendly. Additional costs may arise from hosting and premium features, but its flexible pricing model accommodates various project sizes and budgets.

Conclusion

Choosing between Strapi and Payload depends on your project's specific needs. If you require a highly customizable, JavaScript-based CMS with complete control over your data, Strapi is an excellent choice. On the other hand, if you prefer a modern CMS built with TypeScript and Node.js that offers powerful content modeling and a customizable admin panel, Payload is a great option.

Evaluate your project requirements, budget, and technical expertise to determine which platform best suits your needs. Both Strapi and Payload offer unique strengths, ensuring that whichever you choose, you'll have a powerful tool for effective content management.