head to head · open source
Payload vs cofoundry
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars, 4,384 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cofoundry has 902 stars, 168 forks, 115 open issues and last shipped 9 months ago. Payload leads on adoption by 4,958% (45,624 vs 902 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; cofoundry is written in C# under MIT. Payload has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, cofoundry 19%. Payload was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cms), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Payload | cofoundry | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 902 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-02-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 168 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Payload if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cofoundry if
- You want the cofoundry feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and cofoundry fits your workflow better
About Payload
Explore the Docs · Community Help · Roadmap · View G2 Reviews [!IMPORTANT] Star this repo or keep an eye on it to follow along. Payload is the first ever Next.js native CMS that can install directly in your existing /app folder. It's the start of a new era for headless CMS. Benefits over a regular CMS It's both an app framework & headless CMS Deploy anywhere, including serverless on Vercel for free Combine your front+backend in the same /app folder if you want Don't sign up for yet another SaaS Payload is open source Query your database in React Server Components Both admin and backend are 100% extensible No…
read the full Payload overview →
About cofoundry
Cofoundry is an open source .NET CMS and application framework focusing on: Code first development Unobtrusive integration into your application Extensible & flexible architecture Simple & user friendly content management Getting Started Find out more at Cofoundry.org or head to the docs to get started. Feedback & Community If you have a technical question or issue, please either: Submit an issue To keep updated: Follow us on BlueSky Follow our blog To give informal feedback or talk more generally about the project: Contact us directly Roadmap For up to date information on what's going into up coming releases…
read the full cofoundry overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or cofoundry more popular?
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars and cofoundry has 902. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and cofoundry free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and cofoundry under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Payload and cofoundry?
Payload is written in TypeScript and cofoundry in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Payload or cofoundry?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (45,624 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose cofoundry if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.