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head to head · open source

Payload vs squidex

Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars, 4,164 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. squidex has 2,509 stars, 522 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Payload leads on adoption by 1,685% (44,793 vs 2,509 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; squidex is written in C# under MIT. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, squidex 21%. Payload was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (cms, headless-cms, mongodb), 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 squidex ★ 2.5K category Content & Publishing

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Side by side

Payload squidex
GitHub stars ★ 45K ★ 2.5K
License MIT MIT
Written in TypeScript C#
Last push 2026-09-17 2026-09-16
Forks ⑂ 4.2K ⑂ 522
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 squidex if

  • You want the squidex feature set and don't need the biggest community
  • You prefer the MIT license terms
  • Your stack matches C#
  • You evaluated both and squidex fits your workflow better

full squidex 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 squidex

Squidex is an open source headless CMS and content management hub built in C on ASP.NET Core under the MIT licence, for development teams that model content in a backend service and build their own website, native app, or downstream server on top of its API.

read the full squidex 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 squidex more popular?

Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars and squidex has 2,509. Payload has the larger community by that measure.

Are Payload and squidex free?

Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and squidex under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.

What is the difference between Payload and squidex?

Payload is written in TypeScript and squidex 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 squidex?

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