head to head · open source
Payload vs Umbraco-CMS
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars, 4,384 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Umbraco-CMS has 5,280 stars, 2,947 forks, 525 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 764% (45,624 vs 5,280 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; Umbraco-CMS is written in C# under MIT. Payload has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Umbraco-CMS 56%. 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 | Umbraco-CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 5.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Payload if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Umbraco-CMS if
- You want the Umbraco-CMS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and Umbraco-CMS fits your workflow better
About Payload
Explore the Docs · Community Help · Roadmap · View G2 Reviews [!IMPORTANT] Star this repo or keep an eye on it to follow along. Payload is the first ever Next.js native CMS that can install directly in your existing /app folder. It's the start of a new era for headless CMS. Benefits over a regular CMS It's both an app framework & headless CMS Deploy anywhere, including serverless on Vercel for free Combine your front+backend in the same /app folder if you want Don't sign up for yet another SaaS Payload is open source Query your database in React Server Components Both admin and backend are 100% extensible No…
read the full Payload overview →
About Umbraco-CMS
Umbraco CMS Umbraco is a free and open source .NET content management system. Our mission is to help you deliver delightful digital experiences by making Umbraco friendly, simpler and social. Learn more at umbraco.com Looking to install Umbraco? You can get started using the following commands on Windows, Linux and MacOS (after installing the .NET Runtime and SDK): Documentation Our comprehensive documentation takes you from the fundamentals on how to start with Umbraco to deploying it to production. Some important documentation links to get you started: Installing Umbraco CMS Getting to know Umbraco Tutorials…
read the full Umbraco-CMS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or Umbraco-CMS more popular?
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars and Umbraco-CMS has 5,280. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and Umbraco-CMS free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT and Umbraco-CMS under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Payload and Umbraco-CMS?
Payload is written in TypeScript and Umbraco-CMS 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 Umbraco-CMS?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (45,624 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Umbraco-CMS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.