head to head · open source
Payload vs daptin
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars, 4,384 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. daptin has 1,899 stars, 122 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 2,303% (45,624 vs 1,899 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; daptin is written in Go under LGPL-3.0. Payload has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, daptin 6%. Payload was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (graphql, headless-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 | daptin | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 122 |
| 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 daptin if
- You want the daptin feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and daptin 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 daptin
Daptin A self hosted application server built around your data model. Define resources once. Daptin runs their APIs, identity, permissions, files, automation, integrations, realtime delivery, and operational controls. Website · Quickstart · Feature map · Automation explained · Documentation One model, many backend surfaces Daptin loads schema files into its runtime configuration. Each configured table is recorded as world metadata and becomes a permission aware JSON:API resource at /api/{entity} . The running server attaches its other API, automation, storage, integration, and protocol surfaces around that…
read the full daptin overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or daptin more popular?
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars and daptin has 1,899. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and daptin free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and daptin under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Payload and daptin?
Payload is written in TypeScript and daptin in Go. 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 daptin?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (45,624 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose daptin if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.