# Payload Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about Payload Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Headless CMS products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS --- # Payload Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on March 13, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. Independent research methodology Capterra’s researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. 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[Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/) [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) Payload ## What is Payload? Payload is a CMS designed for developers from the ground up to deliver them what they need to build great digital products. If you know JavaScript, you know Payload. It's a code-first CMS, which allows you to build whatever you want in JavaScript or TypeScript - reducing unnecessary complexity brought by GUIs. You can bring your own Express server and do whatever you need on top of Payload. You're in complete control of the Admin panel since you can use your own React components as needed. ## What is Payload used for? [Headless CMS](https://www.capterra.com/headless-cms-platform-software/) Top alternative Featured Overall rating Based on 48 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 100% Neutral 0% Negative 0% Starting price $35 Other, Per Month Free trial available Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Do you work for Payload?[Manage this product listing](https://digitalmarkets.gartner.com/get-listed/claim-bx?url=https://payloadcms.com&name=Payload) ## Compare with a popular alternative Capterra selects software alternatives based on relevant features, verified user reviews and user interactions. Placement may be influenced by client status. ### Payload 4.9 (48) VS. [4.3 (144)](https://www.capterra.com/p/142300/Adobe-Experience-Manager/reviews/) Starting Price $35 Other, Per Month Starting Price Contact vendor Free Trial Free Version Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version Ease Of Use 4.8 (48) Ease Of Use 3.9 (142) Value For Money 4.9 (36) Value For Money 3.9 (109) Customer Service 4.8 (39) Customer Service 4.1 (109) ## Payload alternatives [4.5 (52)](https://www.capterra.com/p/168433/Kontent/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [4.4 (48)](https://www.capterra.com/p/88191/Agility-CMS/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 92% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars Highest Rated [Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/) [4.7 (65)](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/reviews/) Starting price $99.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 97% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/) [Contentful](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/) [4.5 (63)](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 92% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/alternatives/) ## Features Features with the highest number of reviews are displayed first. Those that have no reviews appear next, sorted alphabetically. API 5.0 (39) 66.67% of 39 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases Content Publishing Options 4.8 (38) 50.00% of 38 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Facilitates online authoring and publishing of the content Access Controls/Permissions 4.9 (37) 56.76% of 37 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems De-Coupled Front & Back Ends 4.9 (34) 50.00% of 34 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Separate front and back end platforms to make coding changes without affecting user experience Mobile Access 4.7 (22) 22.73% of 22 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Access software remotely via mobile devices SDKs 4.6 (14) 14.29% of 14 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important A set of software tools and programs used by developers to create applications for specific platforms Payload 44 features Test multiple versions of emails, forms, content, or other campaign elements to gauge effectiveness Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases Manage the process of evaluating documents or requests submitted for approval Manage assets throughout their lifecycle to optimize profit Organize and group data or items based on various criteria Provides a channel for team members to share media files, communicate, and work together Configure existing workflows to meet your organization's needs Centralized repository to store content and assets Handles digital content throughout its lifecycle, from creation and storage to distribution and archiving Facilitates online authoring and publishing of the content Customize contracts and forms to collect specific information Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements Separate front and back end platforms to make coding changes without affecting user experience Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location Assemble applications and processes by dragging over and arranging pre-built components Find & retrieve relevant data or documents For the intention to be used by developers For the intention to be used by marketing teams Search for specific words or phrases within a document or database Information, data and reports that are being tracked over time Edit, touch up, and convert images for publishing Access software remotely via mobile devices Multiple channels (email, web link, or social media) to distribute products, services, or surveys to customers Manage inventory, communication, marketing, orders & more across warehouses, stores and online channels Coordinate marketing efforts across channels (email, landing pages, social media, etc.) Manage and support multiple languages Preview materials before finalizing projects Input different types of content and edit text formats, fonts, font sizes, and colors Set & manage permission levels based on user roles and restrict access to only authorized individuals Plan availability and assign specific time slots for tasks and resources A set of software tools and programs used by developers to create applications for specific platforms Optimize and manage the search engine optimization efforts for a website or digital content Allow users to access multiple services after entering their login credentials once Attach digital tags to documents and assets for identification, search, or monitoring purposes Create, save, and re-purpose templates for emails, forms, etc. Edit text as needed Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes Extra layer of security that requires not only a password and username but also something specific to that user Manage user accounts, profiles, roles, permissions, and other details across applications, devices or networks Track revisions and updates made to files and navigate between different versions Web form that allows users to enter data that is sent and processed for different reasons Built-in website builder or integration with third-party site Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.7 (48) 4.7 Based on 48 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.9 (36) Free Trial Free Version Basic $35.00 Other,Per Month Value for money 4.9 (36) 4.9 Based on 36 reviews ## Integrations [ HubSpot CRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/152373/HubSpot-CRM/)[ Stripe](https://www.capterra.com/p/123889/Stripe/)[ Zapier](https://www.capterra.com/p/130182/Zapier/)[ Okta](https://www.capterra.com/p/119653/Okta/)[ Datadog](https://www.capterra.com/p/135453/Datadog-Cloud-Monitoring/)[ Algolia](https://www.capterra.com/p/148915/Algolia-Search/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.8 (39) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.8 (39) 4.8 Based on 39 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.9 Based on 48 reviews Filter by rating 5(42) 4(6) 3(0) 2(0) 1(0) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent LM Lou M. Software Developer Computer Software ### "Payload: The Next-Gen CMS You've Been Waiting For" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 February 27, 2025 We needed a quick solution that would allow a content admin to control content for a multi-faceted marketing site. The flexibility to create new pages and re-use content across the site. It allowed us to develop a custom solution tailored very closely to the customers needs with ease. Pros The documentation was clear and effective, there were many examples that could be found on their own GitHub, and they have a very active discord community that are always willing to help when you run into problems. Extremely fast turn around time from blank slate to production. The ease of use, one command and you're up and running. Having Typescript across the project helps to not shoot yourself in the foot. It's a very modern and sleek workflow, and can solve many of the required tasks out of the box. Their hosting solution was very easy to use and at an affordable/fair price. Cons Nothing at this time, they have a great roadmap of future implementations that solve all niche issues as well. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. MB Mark B. CTO Information Technology and Services ### "Payload - The best application framework on the market" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 15, 2024 Been using Payload since summer 2022. The platform can be used as a CMS, or as an application framework. You can turn Payload into anything, either a rapid prototyping framework, or a content management hub Pros Developer experience, speed of development, and ease of extendability Cons Bundle size can be quite large for small scale projects Switched from [Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/) [Contentful](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/) Strapi was too slow, and Contentful had a frustrating developer experience. Alternatives considered [Directus](https://www.capterra.com/p/156619/Directus/) Reasons for choosing Payload The developer experience is unparalleled, and the ability to change everything in the platform is a major plus. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JH Jay H. CEO Marketing and Advertising ### "Payload: An open source Headless CMS you'll love" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 14, 2024 Pros Payload offers the best developer and content manager experience of all the headless CMSs we've tried. It's open source, and the Payload team are very supportive and easy to reach. Cons Like all headless CMSs there's a learning curve compared to a traditional CMS like WordPress. It's dashboard UI can be a little underwhelming for users first trying the product. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) [DatoCMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/10004474/DatoCMS/) [Contentful](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/) Payload is open source, flexible and offers a great developer experience. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JY Jen Y. Director of Digital Experience Design ### "Efficient and User-Friendly CMS" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 14, 2024 My overall experience with Payload has been very positive. The tool is user-friendly and provides a robust set of features that greatly facilitate content management. Its speed and precision are impressive, making it a reliable choice for our needs. Pros I appreciated the intuitive user interface and the comprehensive features that made it easy to manage content. Cons N/A. There's nothing that I don't like about Payload Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Charlie H. Co-Founder Design ### "Seamless adoption by web agency" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 14, 2024 There's always a nervousness when adopting a new platform but looking back there was nothing to be nervous about. It's been an easy & seamless process and gaining support as an agency partner has been great. We look forward to a bright future with Payload! Pros Show + Tell is a UK based Payload Agency... we've used payload as a web agency on multiple projects now as the feedback from IT & Marketing teams client side have been hugely positive. Client have found the content management process fare quick and more flexible to their needs meaning time saved in their day to day role. From development perspective the whole development team enjoy building on the platform and now dread if they have to develop on any of our legacy CMS systems we still support. It's been a big thumbs up from a programmers perspective. Cons The Enterprise is expensive from smaller companies however the product is great and well worth it for larger Enterprise level clients. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) Wordpress is 20 years old now and comes with a lot of bloat and performance issues. Payload solves these problems. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Hrithik U. CEO Information Technology and Services ### "Best Headless CMS" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 14, 2024 Pros The packed-in features, robust scalability and support from the Payload team outperform every other option! Cons I do not have anything to pinpoint as such, but there are absolutely more features to come in and once it does, Payload is going to be the top option for many. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Sandro W. CEO Telecommunications ### "Our go to framework" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 4.0 4.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 August 13, 2024 For us, Payload strikes the perfect balance between providing everything you need to not start from scratch while still being completely customisable for our requirements. We've built everything from websites, online shops to management platforms and our clients love it! Pros \- No limitations for extending functionality - Super fast experience for the end user, low resource requirements especially compared to Wordpress - Open source, easy to self-host Cons Some convenient functionalities are still missing, e.g. bulk upload, display where media elements are used across the system, locking documents for other users while being edited/live collaboration. I assume they will be available at some point in the future, currently you'd just have to implement them yourself Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) [Sanity](https://www.capterra.com/p/199501/Sanity/) [Contentful](https://www.capterra.com/p/134266/Contentful/) Extendability, option to self-host & own your data (GDPR) Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. FM Filip M. Developer Computer Software ### "Modern way to build website with headless CMS" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 May 1, 2024 Pros Payload has many great features and amazing and fast support. The advantage is that the project is open source and some people are creating amazing ideas. The Payload team is very reliable and tries to answer and accommodate everyone. Project is very active and always releases amazing new versions, which usually don't cause any problems with older versions. Cons I would have expected more examples in the documentation, some things are missing or incorrect. Payload also doesn't use concepts that some may be used to. If you're not a developer, sometimes it can be harder to understand or learn some features. But despite this, Payload CMS is a very powerful and flexible CMS. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. JK Jon Kristian N. Web developer Internet ### "A powerful cms for the future" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 10, 2023 Pros PayloadCMS is an impressive content management system that strikes a perfect balance between flexibility and ease of use. Its intuitive interface and robust features make it a top choice for businesses and developers looking to create and manage dynamic websites efficiently. Cons I would love for it to support frameworks like svelte and astro so that I can use local api and bundle everything. I would love to see features like what gutenberg provides for WordPress, more visual ways to build content. Switched from [WordPress](https://www.capterra.com/p/131687/WordPress/) I come from WordPress which often can get very clunky. With Payload I can eliminate the clunky-ness and provide a tailored experience for my customers, no more ugly semantics. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Christopher S. Sr. Full-Stack Software Developer Information Technology and Services ### "The best option for developers" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 0.0 0.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 6, 2023 It has been a pleasant experience to use Payload as my backend option. Only one place to configure my DB, API, and CMS in a simple way. It's awesome to have a backend so fast and easy. Pros Developer friendly. It's very useful and beneficial that we can customize and extend almost anything. We can define rules for each collection or field and create our own endpoints. The admin panel is easy to use and nice-looking. Cons I'm waiting for that Postgres adapter so we can have a relational database alternative. I believe Payload would be almost perfect if we could also customize the admin panel with Svelte components instead of React components. Alternatives considered [Firebase](https://www.capterra.com/p/160941/Firebase/) [Strapi](https://www.capterra.com/p/170599/Strapi/) Reasons for choosing Payload I thought I could use Firebase as a CMS but I discovered that I was totally wrong. I also tried Strapi, because it's leading in GitHub stars, but I didn't like the admin panel, I found it complicated to use for non-tech users and I didn't find how to customize it to work and look the way I wanted. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/218666/Payload-CMS/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Popular comparisons [Kontent.ai vs Payload](https://www.capterra.com/compare/168433-218666/Kontent-vs-Payload-CMS)[Strapi vs Payload](https://www.capterra.com/compare/170599-218666/Strapi-vs-Payload-CMS)[Contentful vs Payload](https://www.capterra.com/compare/134266-218666/Contentful-vs-Payload-CMS) [Directus vs Payload](https://www.capterra.com/compare/156619-218666/Directus-vs-Payload-CMS)[Sanity vs Payload](https://www.capterra.com/compare/199501-218666/Sanity-vs-Payload-CMS)  Independent research methodology Capterra's researchers use a mix of verified reviews, independent research and objective methodologies to bring you selection and ranking information you can trust. While we may earn a referral fee when you visit a provider through our links or speak to an advisor, this has no influence on our research or methodology. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/proprietary-data-research/) How Capterra verifies reviews Capterra carefully verified over 2.5 million+ reviews to bring you authentic software experiences from real users. Our human moderators verify that reviewers are real people and that reviews are authentic. They use leading tech to analyze text quality and to detect plagiarism and generative AI. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-verify-reviews/) How Capterra ensures transparency Capterra lists all providers across its website—not just those that pay us—so that users can make informed purchase decisions. Capterra is free for users. Software providers pay us for sponsored profiles to receive web traffic and sales opportunities. Sponsored profiles include a link-out icon that takes users to the provider's website. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/resources/how-we-ensure-transparency/)