head to head · open source
Payload vs WordPress
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars, 4,384 forks, 1,127 open issues and last shipped yesterday. WordPress has 21,523 stars, 13,083 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Payload leads on adoption by 112% (45,624 vs 21,523 stars). Payload is written in TypeScript under MIT; WordPress is written in PHP under a custom or non-standard licence. Payload has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, WordPress 61%. Payload 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Payload | WordPress | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 22K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.4K | ⑂ 13K |
| 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 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
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 WordPress
WordPress & 8250; ReadMe Semantic Personal Publishing Platform First Things First Welcome. WordPress is a very special project to me. Every developer and contributor adds something unique to the mix, and together we create something beautiful that I am proud to be a part of. Thousands of hours have gone into WordPress, and we are dedicated to making it better every day. Thank you for making it part of your world. & 8212; Matt Mullenweg Installation: Famous 5 minute install Unzip the package in an empty directory and upload everything. Open wp admin/install.php in your browser. It will take you through the…
read the full WordPress overview →
More in Content & Publishing
Related comparisons
More Content Management Systems (CMS) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Content Management Systems (CMS) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Payload or WordPress more popular?
Payload has 45,624 GitHub stars and WordPress has 21,523. 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 (45,624 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose WordPress if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.