CometCMS vs Payload

Comparing two open source alternatives to Contentful. Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

CometCMS

Apache-2.0

Headless, simple CMS with a PHP backend and a convenient Vue admin frontend.

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Payload

MIT

Payload is an open-source, TypeScript-first headless CMS and application framework built on Next.js, Express, and React.

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Side-by-side comparison

	CometCMS	Payload
License	Apache-2.0	MIT
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	7	45,180
Forks	2	4,288
Open Issues	—	1,287
Last Commit	Oct 6, 2026	Oct 10, 2026
First Released	May 7, 2026	Jan 5, 2021
Categories	Headless CMS	Headless CMS
Tags	#cms	#headless cms #self hosted

GitHub stars over time

CometCMS

Payload45,180

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