head to head · open source
Payload vs OrchardCore
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars, 4,164 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OrchardCore has 8,184 stars, 2,598 forks, 854 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 447% (44,793 vs 8,184 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; OrchardCore is written in C# under BSD-3-Clause. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, OrchardCore 32%. OrchardCore 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 | OrchardCore | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 8.2K |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 2.6K |
| 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 OrchardCore if
- You want the OrchardCore feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and OrchardCore 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 OrchardCore
Orchard Core is an open source, modular, multi tenant application framework and content management system built on ASP.NET Core, for .NET teams that want to build or self host modular web applications and content driven sites under the BSD 3 Clause licence.
read the full OrchardCore overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or OrchardCore more popular?
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars and OrchardCore has 8,184. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and OrchardCore free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and OrchardCore under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Payload and OrchardCore?
Payload is written in TypeScript and OrchardCore 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 OrchardCore?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (44,793 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OrchardCore if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.