Payload CMS vs Bunny.net
TypeScript-first open-source headless CMS — code-first, config-driven
vs. Ridiculously affordable CDN + video streaming + edge compute
Pricing tiers
Payload CMS
Open Source (self-host)
MIT license. Run free on any Node host. Full admin + APIs.
$0 base (usage-based)
Cloud — Standard
$35/month. 3 GB DB storage, 30 GB file storage, 40 GB bandwidth.
$35/mo
Cloud — Pro
$199/month. Higher resources + priority support.
$199/mo
Cloud — Enterprise
Custom cloud hosting with dedicated support.
Custom
Bunny.net
CDN Volume — 1-2 PB
$0.002/GB at 1-2 PB volume.
$0/mo
CDN Volume — First 500 TB
$0.005/GB Volume Network (10 PoPs) for high-volume.
$0/mo
CDN Standard — EU/NA
$0.01/GB. 119 PoPs Standard Network in Europe + North America.
$0/mo
CDN Standard — Asia + Oceania
$0.03/GB.
$0/mo
CDN Standard — South America
$0.045/GB.
$0/mo
CDN Standard — ME/Africa
$0.06/GB.
$0/mo
Monthly Minimum
Minimum $1/month.
$1/mo
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing oss on Payload CMS vs volume-1pb-2pb on Bunny.net.
| Metric | Payload CMS | Bunny.net |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Payload CMS · 18 features
- Access Control — Function-based per-collection/field access rules.
- Admin UI — React admin — fully customizable components + views.
- Authentication — Built-in JWT + HTTP-only cookies + API keys.
- Blocks — Flexible page-builder pattern via block field.
- Collections — Schema-defined content types with fields, hooks, access control.
- Drafts & Versions — Version every change. Autosave, drafts, scheduled publish.
- Field Types — Rich field library: text, textarea, richText (Lexical), upload, relation, blocks…
- Form Builder Plugin — Dynamic forms with submissions storage.
- Globals — Single-instance documents (site settings, header, footer).
- GraphQL API (auto) — Full schema auto-generated.
- Hooks — Lifecycle hooks: beforeChange/Read/Delete, afterChange, etc.
- i18n — Multi-locale field values + admin UI translations.
- Live Preview — Side-by-side editor + iframe preview of Next.js site.
- Local API (zero latency) — Direct in-process data access. Ideal for Next.js server components.
- Multi-Tenancy Plugin — Multi-tenant content isolation via plugin.
- @payloadcms/plugin-seo — Built-in SEO meta fields.
- Plugins — Official + community plugins (SEO, Stripe, Form Builder, multi-tenant, etc.).
- REST API (auto) — Auto-generated REST endpoints for every collection.
Bunny.net · 14 features
- Bunny CDN — Standard + Volume networks. 119 PoPs globally.
- Bunny Database — Edge-distributed key-value DB.
- Bunny DNS — Free anycast DNS.
- Bunny Optimizer — On-the-fly image + video optimization.
- Bunny Shield (WAF + DDoS) — DDoS protection + WAF + bot defense.
- Bunny Stream — Video hosting + transcoding + HLS delivery.
- Custom Hostname — Use yourdomain.com with CDN.
- Edge Scripting — JavaScript at the edge (like CF Workers).
- Edge Storage — Object storage replicated across regions.
- Free Let's Encrypt SSL — Auto cert issuance/renewal.
- Hot-linking Protection — Block unauthorized embeds.
- Instant Purge — Global invalidation.
- Magic Containers — Serverless containers at edge.
- Real-Time Analytics — Per-zone + per-country usage stats.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Payload CMS | Bunny.net |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | create-payload-app | — |
| SDK | @payloadcms/next (Node) | bunnycdn.js (community) |
| REST | Payload REST API | Bunny.net API |
| GRAPHQL | Payload GraphQL API | — |
| OTHER | Admin UI, Local API (Node.js direct) | Bunny Dashboard, CDN HTTP base URL, Edge Scripting |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Payload CMS and Bunny.net may be affiliate links — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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