Tools/payloadcms/payload

Payload

Open source fullstack Next.js framework with backend superpowers

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The Lens

By Erik Loyd, SaaS CEO and former COO/CFO of an AWS Premier Partner.

Updated Aug 2026

Payload is a CMS that runs inside your Next.js app. Define collections in TypeScript and you get an admin panel, REST and GraphQL APIs, auth, access control, drafts and versions, localization, and file uploads. The core is MIT and free, and that survived Figma buying the company in June 2025.

Self-hosting is now the only path for a new project. Payload Cloud stopped taking signups after the acquisition and existing customers are parked until Figma ships a replacement. In practice you deploy a Next.js app plus Postgres or MongoDB plus object storage: Vercel with a Neon database, Cloudflare Workers with D1 and R2, or Docker on a $5 to $20 per month VPS.

Solo and small teams: this is still the strongest free CMS for Next.js work. Medium teams should get an Enterprise quote before committing, because SSO, audit logs, the visual editor, and multiplayer editing all sit behind it and Payload does not publish the price. Teams that want the CMS decoupled from the app should look at strapi/strapi or directus/directus.

The catch: Payload belongs to Figma now, and Figma bought it to power Figma Sites. The MIT license protects the code shipped today. It says nothing about which half of the roadmap gets built for self-hosters and which half becomes the hosted product Figma is assembling.

Free vs Self-Hosted vs Paid

open core

Free (Self-Hosted)

MIT licensed core: content modeling in TypeScript, admin panel, REST and GraphQL APIs, authentication, access control, drafts and versions, localization, block and rich text editors, file uploads, live preview. Latest stable is 3.88.0 (2026-08-11), with 4.0 in canary.

Paid (Enterprise)

Pricing is not published; it is a sales conversation. The Enterprise page lists SSO against any SAML or OAuth 2.0 provider, a visual editor for editing outside the admin panel, publishing workflows with approvals, audit logs with rollback, multiplayer editing, A/B variant testing, field-level access control, AI auto-embedding, and AI translation and writing tools. Treat any third-party dollar figure you find as a guess.

Self-Hosted Costs

Payload Cloud is closed to new signups since the Figma acquisition, so budget for a normal Next.js deployment. Vercel hobby plus a Neon free tier gets a small site to $0. Cloudflare Workers with D1 and R2 typically runs $5 to $10/mo. Docker on a VPS is $5 to $20/mo and behaves better for busy editors than a cold-starting serverless function. Add object storage for media.

When to Pay

Pay when SSO or audit logs stop being optional, which usually means a compliance review rather than a feature request. Everything else you need to launch is in the free core. Compare against strapi/strapi, which also self-hosts free but paywalls its own enterprise features, and directus/directus if you want the CMS running as a separate service instead of inside your app.

MIT core, free forever to self-host. Payload Cloud is closed to new signups, so self-hosting is the only path. SSO and audit logs need an Enterprise quote.

What to do by team size

Solo: free; self-host on Vercel with a Neon free tier database
Small team: free; the MIT core already covers auth, access control, drafts, and localization
Medium team: free core, but get an Enterprise quote early if SSO or audit logs are coming
Large team: Enterprise when SSO and audit logs are non-negotiable; pricing is quote only, so start that conversation before you build

Self-hosting ops:moderate

View pricing page →

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