In short: Payload is an open-source CMS written in TypeScript that installs inside a Next.js application: the admin panel, the database and the site all live in the same project. It pays off when content has a precise structure, you need several languages or the site has to grow like software. For a simple brochure site, run by people who already know WordPress, WordPress is still a good choice.
We say this as people who use both: this site is built with Payload, and every day we look after WordPress sites for companies and agencies.
What Payload is, in practice
A CMS is the admin panel you use to update a site’s content. WordPress started out as a complete system: theme, plugins and admin come ready-made, and you adapt the site to what’s there. Payload works the other way round: you describe in code the content you need (pages, products, events, technical data sheets) with their fields, and Payload builds the admin around them.
A few facts to get your bearings:
- it’s open source under the MIT licence: no licence fees, and the code stays yours;
- since version 3 it runs inside Next.js, so the site and the admin are deployed together;
- it uses PostgreSQL, MongoDB or SQLite as its database;
- drafts, versions, live preview and multilingual content come built in;
- since 2025 the Payload team has been part of Figma; the project remains open source.
If you want to dig deeper, the official documentation is clear, and Payload has its own page comparing it with WordPress (written by them, so not exactly neutral).
Payload and WordPress compared
|
|
Payload |
WordPress |
|---|---|---|
|
Licence |
open source (MIT), free |
open source (GPL), free |
|
Admin |
designed around your content |
the same for everyone, extended with plugins |
|
Extra features |
written in the project’s code |
third-party plugins |
|
Multiple languages |
field by field, built in |
with a plugin |
|
Technology |
TypeScript and Next.js |
PHP |
|
Developers available |
few, for now |
plenty |
When Payload pays off
- Your content has a structure. A catalogue of technical products, a network of branches, courses with dates and teachers: in Payload each thing has its own fields, and whoever updates the site sees only those.
- You need several languages. In Payload translation works field by field, with no separate plugin.
- The site has to talk to other systems. An ERP, a CRM, a client area: Payload is already a backend, with APIs and users.
- The site has to grow like a product. New features are added in code, tested and versioned, instead of piling up plugins.
- Speed and security matter. Fewer third-party parts mean fewer delicate updates and fewer weak spots.
When WordPress is still the better choice
- The site is simple and has to cost as little as possible up front.
- Whoever runs it already knows WordPress and doesn’t want to change habits.
- You need ready-made plugins for standard features (bookings, courses, memberships) and there’s no point rewriting them.
- You want to be able to change supplier easily: there are plenty of WordPress developers, and still few Payload developers, especially in Italy.
We’ve worked with WordPress for years: we explain how on the page about WordPress development.
Costs and timing
Payload has no licence fees, but every admin is designed around your site: up front there’s more development work than with a WordPress theme. In return, later on there are fewer plugins to update and fewer surprises. The price always depends on the project’s specifics, meaning how many content types, languages and integrations you need: after a chat we send you a written quote.
How we work with Payload
We design the site in Figma, define the content and its fields with you, build the site and admin in Next.js and put them live on our servers or wherever you prefer. Then, if you like, we look after it. You’ll find the details on the page about Payload CMS development in Italy.
