head to head · open source
Payload vs Publii
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars, 4,164 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Publii has 7,312 stars, 468 forks, 300 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 513% (44,793 vs 7,312 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; Publii is written in HTML under GPL-3.0. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Publii 6%. 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.
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Side by side
| Payload | Publii | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 468 |
| 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 Publii if
- You want the Publii feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and Publii 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 Publii
Publii is a desktop based content management system for Windows, Mac and Linux, built with Electron, that produces static websites from a graphical interface. It is licensed under GPL 3.0, carries over 7,300 stars and 469 forks on GitHub, and sits in the static site generator ecosystem alongside HTML and Handlebars based tooling. Themes and templating use Handlebars, and the shipped application targets Linux distributions including Fedora, macOS and Windows.
read the full Publii overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or Publii more popular?
Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars and Publii has 7,312. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and Publii free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and Publii under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Payload and Publii?
Payload is written in TypeScript and Publii in HTML. 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 Publii?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (44,793 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Publii if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.