head to head · open source
Payload vs Umbraco-CMS
Payload has 44,806 GitHub stars, 4,166 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Umbraco-CMS has 5,251 stars, 2,922 forks, 525 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 753% (44,806 vs 5,251 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; Umbraco-CMS is written in C# under MIT. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Umbraco-CMS 56%. Umbraco-CMS 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 | ★ 45K | ★ 5.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 2.9K |
| 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 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
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 Umbraco-CMS
Umbraco CMS is a free and open source .NET content management system, released under the MIT licence, for .NET developers and editorial teams who need to build and operate content managed websites on infrastructure they control.
read the full Umbraco-CMS overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or Umbraco-CMS more popular?
Payload has 44,806 GitHub stars and Umbraco-CMS has 5,251. 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 (44,806 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Umbraco-CMS if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.