head to head · open source
Payload vs WordPress
Payload has 44,806 GitHub stars, 4,166 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. WordPress has 21,428 stars, 12,979 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped today. Payload leads on adoption by 109% (44,806 vs 21,428 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; WordPress is written in PHP under a custom or non-standard licence. Payload has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, WordPress 61%. WordPress was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 21K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.2K | ⑂ 13K |
| 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 WordPress if
- You want the WordPress feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and WordPress 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 WordPress
WordPress is a PHP based website builder and personal publishing platform. It lives in the open source web publishing ecosystem and is distributed as a self hosted package installed on a web server. The project provides an administrative interface for creating, customizing, and managing a website, and it relies on a MySQL or MariaDB database for site content and configuration.
read the full WordPress overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or WordPress more popular?
Payload has 44,806 GitHub stars and WordPress has 21,428. Payload has the larger community by that measure.
Are Payload and WordPress free?
Both are open source. Payload is licensed under MIT, and WordPress has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Payload and WordPress?
Payload is written in TypeScript and WordPress 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 WordPress?
Choose Payload if you want the larger community (44,806 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose WordPress if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.