When comparing APIs, it's clear that Payload stands out as a simpler, yet highly extensible and customizable headless CMS, especially when contrasted with Strapi.

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Highly customizable admin UI with Payload

Building with Payload can be done quickly and effectively, thanks to its code‑based customization and developer-friendly features.

Sowmya Reddy Peta, Engineer

BY THE NUMBERS

Payload is 7x faster than Strapi

The code for this test is available and open source. You can also read the full study.

Not just compatible with Next.js—built for it.

Being native to Next.js means that Payload delivers seamless integration and unmatched performance for modern web development.

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Harmonious Deployment

Bring your front and back-end together in perfect harmony, simplifying deployment and enhancing collaboration across your entire stack.

Fully Leverage React Server Components

Extend your admin panel with server components, reducing client-side load and keeping business logic behind the scenes.

Turbopack Out of Box

Payload supports Turbopack from the start, accelerating development with instant updates and a brilliant developer experience.

Deploy Serverlessly

A Next.js foundation allows effortless deploy of your full stack to serverless platforms like Vercel, streamlining your workflow and boosting scalability.

Payload vs Strapi

01

True visual editing

While both Payload and Strapi provide features labeled as 'visual editing,' the similarities stop there. Strapi redirects users to the corresponding content block in the CMS for edits. In contrast, Payload enables users to click, point, and edit as they navigate—bypassing the need to interact with the CMS.

Explore Visual Editor

a laptop depicting a blog post about space, and how to edit various elements such as rich text, relationships, and media with the Payload visual editor

02

Effortless extensibility & future-proofing

Payload's code-first architecture ensures long-term efficiency and cost-effectiveness by simplifying extensions and maintenance, in contrast to Strapi's more complex "pseudo no-code" approach.

Learn about Hooks

1import type { FieldHook } from 'payload/types'
2
3// Field hook type is a generic that takes three arguments:
4// 1: The document type
5// 2: The value type
6// 3: The sibling data type
7
8type ExampleFieldHook = FieldHook<ExampleDocumentType, string, SiblingDataType>
9
10const exampleFieldHook: ExampleFieldHook = (args) => {
11  const {
12    value, // Typed as `string` as shown above
13    data, // Typed as a Partial of your ExampleDocumentType
14    siblingData, // Typed as a Partial of SiblingDataType
15    originalDoc, // Typed as ExampleDocumentType
16    operation,
17    req,
18  } = args
19
20  // Do something here...
21
22  return value // should return a string as typed above, undefined, or null
23}
24                          

03

Code-first vs GUI-based

Payload is config-based, not generated via GUI. If you're going to write code, then write code. Leverage your version control, share fields and functions between projects, and get started without clicking around a GUI for every project.

Read the Docs

1import { CollectionConfig } from 'payload/types'
2
3export const Orders: CollectionConfig = {
slug: 'orders',
fields: [
  {
    name: 'total',
    type: 'number',
    required: true,
  },
  {
    name: 'placedBy',
    type: 'relationship',
    relationTo: 'customers',
    required: true,
  },
],
                        

04

You don't need to "learn" Payload

Payload's extensibility is made simple through a native TypeScript, config-based approach. In contrast, extending Strapi demands a deeper dive into its specific concepts, slowing speed to and after production.

Read the Docs

1import { buildConfig } from 'payload/config';
2import { mongooseAdapter } from '@payloadcms/db-mongodb';
3import { viteBundler } from '@payloadcms/bundler-vite';
4import { lexicalEditor } from '@payloadcms/richtext-lexical';
5
6export default buildConfig({
admin: {
  bundler: viteBundler(),
},
db: mongooseAdapter({}),
editor: lexicalEditor({}),
collections: [
  {
    slug: 'pages',
    fields: [
      { name: 'title', type: 'text', required: true },
      { name: 'content', type: 'richText', required: true },
    ],
  },
],
globals: [
  {
    slug: 'header',
    fields: [
      {
        name: 'nav',
        type: 'relationship',
        relationTo: 'pages',
      },
    ],
  },
],
33});
34
                        

05

Feature-rich

Payload distinguishes itself from Strapi with advanced features such as conditional logic, multi-level nested blocks, relationship ordering, live preview, and more.

Read the Docs

1{
fields: [
  {
    name: 'enableGreeting',
    type: 'checkbox',
    defaultValue: false,
  },
  {
    name: 'greeting',
    type: 'text',
    admin: {
      condition: (data, siblingData, { user }) => {
        if (data.enableGreeting) {
          return true
        } else {
          return false
        }
      },
    },
  },
]
22}
                        

With Payload, you can power anything. Or everything.

01

Headless CMS

Create with a minimal, powerful editing experience. Extend effortlessly.

02

Enterprise App Builder

Build modern, sophisticated tools—while saving development costs.

03

Headless Ecommerce

Manage all your content, alongside your products, in a single, powerful editing experience.

04

Digital Asset Management

Ensure brand consistency by seamlessly managing digital assets within your CMS.

Connect with us.

Whether you need help from our active community or have questions about using Payload at the enterprise level, we’re here to help.

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Payload on Discord

npx create-payload-app