[opensourcedex]

head to head · open source

Payload vs mediacms

Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars, 4,164 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mediacms has 5,113 stars, 957 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 776% (44,793 vs 5,113 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; mediacms is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, mediacms 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.

Payload ★ 45K mediacms ★ 5.1K category Content & Publishing

← all 8884 open source comparisons

Side by side

Payload mediacms
GitHub stars ★ 45K ★ 5.1K
License MIT AGPL-3.0
Written in TypeScript JavaScript
Last push 2026-09-17 2026-09-17
Forks ⑂ 4.2K ⑂ 957
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

full Payload profile →

pick mediacms if

  • You want the mediacms feature set and don't need the biggest community
  • You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
  • Your stack matches JavaScript
  • You evaluated both and mediacms fits your workflow better

full mediacms profile →

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 mediacms

MediaCMS is a modern, fully featured open source video and media CMS, written in Python/Django and React with a REST API, for anyone who wants to build and run a self hosted small to medium video and media portal.

read the full mediacms overview →

More in Content & Publishing

next.js ★ 142K storybook ★ 91K hugo ★ 90K Understand-Anything ★ 83K Strapi ★ 73K nuxt ★ 61K

Related comparisons

hugo vs payload strapi vs payload hugo vs strapi hugo vs halo hugo vs filament strapi vs halo hugo vs wagtail hugo vs decap-cms next-js vs nuxt next-js vs gatsby next-js vs ghost next-js vs jekyll next-js vs hexo next-js vs nextra next-js vs kit next-js vs vike storybook vs understand-anything storybook vs devdocs storybook vs docsify understand-anything vs devdocs storybook vs wiki storybook vs mkdocs-material understand-anything vs docsify understand-anything vs wiki

More Content Management Systems (CMS) projects

Compare either of these against the rest of the Content Management Systems (CMS) field.

Payload vs hugo Payload vs Strapi Payload vs halo Payload vs filament Payload vs wagtail Payload vs decap-cms Payload vs TinaCMS Payload vs frappe Payload vs Instatic Payload vs OrchardCore Payload vs Publii Payload vs sanity

Frequently asked questions

Is Payload or mediacms more popular?

Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars and mediacms has 5,113. Payload has the larger community by that measure.

Are Payload and mediacms free?

Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and mediacms under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.

What is the difference between Payload and mediacms?

Payload is written in TypeScript and mediacms in JavaScript. 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 mediacms?

Choose Payload if you want the larger community (44,793 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mediacms if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.