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Payload vs typo3

Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars, 4,164 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. typo3 has 1,208 stars, 707 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 3,608% (44,793 vs 1,208 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; typo3 is written in PHP under GPL-2.0. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, typo3 59%. typo3 was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cms, content-management), 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 typo3 ★ 1.2K category Content & Publishing

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Side by side

Payload typo3
GitHub stars ★ 45K ★ 1.2K
License MIT GPL-2.0
Written in TypeScript PHP
Last push 2026-09-17 2026-09-17
Forks ⑂ 4.2K ⑂ 707
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 typo3 if

  • You want the typo3 feature set and don't need the biggest community
  • You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
  • Your stack matches PHP
  • You evaluated both and typo3 fits your workflow better

full typo3 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 typo3

TYPO3 is an open source, PHP based enterprise content management framework, released under the GNU General Public License, and built for agencies, integrators and in house teams that need to run large, extensible websites on their own infrastructure.

read the full typo3 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 typo3 more popular?

Payload has 44,793 GitHub stars and typo3 has 1,208. Payload has the larger community by that measure.

Are Payload and typo3 free?

Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and typo3 under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.

What is the difference between Payload and typo3?

Payload is written in TypeScript and typo3 in PHP. 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 typo3?

Choose Payload if you want the larger community (44,793 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose typo3 if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.