Payload CMS vs Kinde
TypeScript-first open-source headless CMS — code-first, config-driven
vs. Flexible authentication, user management, and feature flags
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
Kinde
Free
10,500 MAU included. MFA, B2B orgs, custom domain, 2 custom roles, 1 webhook, 2 environments.
Free
Pro
Unlimited webhooks, roles, feature flags, API keys. Remove Kinde branding. SOC 2 attestation.
$25/mo
Plus
Unlimited enterprise SSO, API scopes, org-owned M2M apps, 6 environments.
$75/mo
Scale
11 environments, custom domain per org, SCIM, MFA triggers, 30-day audit logs.
$250/mo
Enterprise
Custom. Dedicated infra option, volume discounts, custom SLAs.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing oss on Payload CMS vs free on Kinde.
| Metric | Payload CMS | Kinde |
|---|---|---|
| custom roles | — | 2 roles |
| environments | — | 2 envs |
| feature flags | — | 10 flags |
| mau included | — | 10500 users/month |
| webhooks | — | 1 webhooks |
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.
Kinde · 14 features
- API Scopes — OAuth scopes for your APIs, enforced server-side (Plus+).
- B2B Organizations — Multi-tenant orgs with user roles, invitations, feature flags per org.
- Custom Domain — Host auth at auth.yourbrand.com. Free tier includes this.
- Enterprise SSO — SAML 2.0 + OIDC enterprise connections (Plus unlimited).
- Feature Flags — Built-in feature flags with per-user/org overrides. No separate service needed.
- Kinde AI — AI-assisted query and insights over your Kinde data.
- Kinde Billing (preview) — Built-in subscription billing linked to users/orgs. Stripe under the hood.
- Machine-to-Machine — Client credentials grant for service-to-service auth.
- Multi-Factor Auth — TOTP authenticator apps, SMS, email, passkey.
- Passwordless — Email code + passkey (WebAuthn).
- Roles & Permissions — RBAC with roles → permissions. Assigned per user or per organization.
- SCIM Provisioning — Directory provisioning from IdPs (Scale tier).
- Sign-in Widget — Hosted pages + themeable widget for login/signup. Customizable with CSS.
- Webhooks — Event webhooks: user.created/updated, organization events, MFA, etc.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | Payload CMS | Kinde |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | create-payload-app | — |
| SDK | @payloadcms/next (Node) | Kinde Android / Kotlin, Kinde Flutter SDK, Kinde Go SDK, Kinde iOS / Swift, @kinde-oss/kinde-auth-nextjs, @kinde-oss/kinde-auth-react, @kinde-oss/kinde-nodejs-sdk, Kinde Python SDK |
| REST | Payload REST API | Kinde Management API |
| GRAPHQL | Payload GraphQL API | — |
| MCP | — | Kinde MCP |
| OTHER | Admin UI, Local API (Node.js direct) | — |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Payload CMS and Kinde 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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