head to head · open source
Payload vs next-wp
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars, 4,164 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. next-wp has 1,296 stars, 320 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Payload leads on adoption by 3,356% (44,793 vs 1,296 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; next-wp is written in TypeScript under MIT. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, next-wp 25%. Payload was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (headless-cms, nextjs), 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 | next-wp | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 320 |
| 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 next-wp if
- You want the next-wp feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and next-wp 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 next-wp
Next WP is an MIT licensed TypeScript starter for a headless WordPress site built with the Next.js App Router and React Server Components. It combines a WordPress content source with a Next.js frontend using Tailwind CSS, shadcn/ui components, and routes for posts, pages, authors, categories, tags, search, sitemap, and Open Graph images.
read the full next-wp overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or next-wp more popular?
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars and next-wp has 1,296. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and next-wp free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and next-wp under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Payload and next-wp?
Payload is written in TypeScript and next-wp in TypeScript. 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 next-wp?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (44,793 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose next-wp if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.