Payload CMS vs Infisical
TypeScript-first open-source headless CMS — code-first, config-driven
vs. Open-source secrets, PKI and SSH — self-hostable Doppler/Vault alternative
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
Infisical
Free (Cloud)
$0. Unlimited users. 5 projects. 30-day audit. Community support.
Free
Self-Host CE (OSS)
Free forever. MIT license. Core features free. Docker Compose.
$0 base (usage-based)
Pro
$18/user/mo. Unlimited projects, secret rotation, dynamic secrets, 90-day audit, Slack alerts.
$18/mo
Enterprise
Custom. SAML, SCIM, SLA, dedicated deploy, HIPAA-ready, audit 1yr+.
Custom
Self-Host EE (BSL)
Custom. BSL-licensed enterprise features for self-hosted deploys.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing oss on Payload CMS vs free on Infisical.
| Metric | Payload CMS | Infisical |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
Infisical · 18 features
- Approval Policies — PR-style approvals.
- Audit Log — Full activity trail.
- Dynamic Secrets — Generate on-demand creds.
- E2E Encryption — Optional zero-knowledge mode.
- Environments — Multi-env (dev/staging/prod).
- Infisical Agent — Sidecar for secret injection.
- Infisical CLI — Command-line access.
- Kubernetes Operator — Native K8s controller.
- PKI (Certificates) — Private CA + cert lifecycle.
- RBAC — Roles + permissions.
- SCIM — User provisioning.
- Secret Rotation — Auto-rotate keys.
- Secrets Management — Core secret storage.
- Secret Sync — Sync to cloud/hosting.
- Self-Host (CE + EE) — Docker / Helm / AMI.
- SSH — Ephemeral SSH access.
- SSO (SAML) — Enterprise auth.
- Webhooks — Change events.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Payload CMS | Infisical |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | create-payload-app | infisical CLI |
| SDK | @payloadcms/next (Node) | infisical-python, @infisical/sdk |
| REST | Payload REST API | Infisical REST API |
| GRAPHQL | Payload GraphQL API | — |
| OTHER | Admin UI, Local API (Node.js direct) | Infisical Agent, Infisical Dashboard, Kubernetes Operator, Self-Host (Docker) |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Payload CMS and Infisical 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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