head to head · open source
Payload vs frappe
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars, 4,164 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. frappe has 10,791 stars, 5,327 forks, 2,003 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 315% (44,793 vs 10,791 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; frappe is written in Python under MIT. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, frappe 49%. Payload was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cms, javascript), 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 | frappe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 11K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 5.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Payload if
- You weight community size — 45K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick frappe if
- You want the frappe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and frappe fits your workflow better
About Payload
Payload is an open source, MIT licensed headless CMS and fullstack framework, written in TypeScript and built to run natively inside a Next.js /app folder, aimed at developers who want a TypeScript backend and admin panel without signing up for another SaaS.
read the full Payload overview →
About frappe
Frappe Framework is a full stack, low code web framework written in Python and JavaScript, licensed under MIT. It runs on the server side on Python and MariaDB, and it ships with a tightly integrated client side library that handles the browser layer of an application. The project sits in the Python and JavaScript web development ecosystem, and it has been developed for roughly fifteen years, with its first work beginning in 2005 and its repository now holding over ten thousand stars and more than five thousand forks.
read the full frappe overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or frappe more popular?
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars and frappe has 10,791. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and frappe free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and frappe under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Payload and frappe?
Payload is written in TypeScript and frappe in Python. 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 frappe?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (44,793 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose frappe if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.