Payload CMS vs Formspree
TypeScript-first open-source headless CMS — code-first, config-driven
vs. Form backend as a service — point your HTML form at a URL and done
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
Formspree
Free
$0. 50 submissions/mo. 1 form. Formspree branding in emails. Basic spam filtering.
Free
Basic
$10/mo. 500 submissions/mo. Unlimited forms. Custom success redirect. Honeypot anti-spam.
$10/mo
Professional
$20/mo. 1,000 submissions/mo. reCAPTCHA, webhooks, integrations, rules engine.
$20/mo
Unlimited
$40/mo. 2,500 submissions. File uploads, team members, priority support.
$40/mo
Enterprise
Custom. SSO, SAML, HIPAA, high volume, dedicated support.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing oss on Payload CMS vs free on Formspree.
| Metric | Payload CMS | Formspree |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
Formspree · 11 features
- Custom Success Redirect — Redirect after submit.
- Email Notifications — Submissions delivered to inbox.
- File Uploads — Accept attachments (Unlimited).
- IP Filtering — Block spam IPs.
- React SDK — Hooks + state management.
- Rules Engine — Conditional routing, auto-responders.
- Spam Protection — Honeypot + reCAPTCHA + keyword filter.
- Submission Analytics — Volume + source stats.
- Team Members — Multi-user (Unlimited).
- Webhooks — POST submissions to your server.
- Zero Backend — HTML <form action> → email.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Payload CMS | Formspree |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | create-payload-app | — |
| SDK | @payloadcms/next (Node) | @formspree/core, @formspree/react |
| REST | Payload REST API | Formspree REST API |
| GRAPHQL | Payload GraphQL API | — |
| OTHER | Admin UI, Local API (Node.js direct) | Direct HTML Form Submit, Formspree Dashboard, Formspree Webhooks |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Payload CMS and Formspree 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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