cms
Payload CMS pricing & features
TypeScript-first open-source headless CMS — code-first, config-driven
TypeScript-first OSS headless CMS. Config-as-code, deep Next.js integration (Local API), self-host free, managed Payload Cloud option. MIT license.
Data sourced from vendor documentation · Last updated May 2026
Pricing
| Tier | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source (self-host) | Free | MIT license. Run free on any Node host. Full admin + APIs. |
| Cloud — Standard | $35/mo | $35/month. 3 GB DB storage, 30 GB file storage, 40 GB bandwidth. |
| Cloud — Pro | $199/mo | $199/month. Higher resources + priority support. |
| Cloud — Enterprise | Custom | Custom cloud hosting with dedicated support. |
Limits
| Tier | Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | config driven | Everything defined in payload.config.ts | Config-as-code |
| — | license | MIT | Core license |
| — | nextjs integration | Payload 3.x embeds in same Next.js app — no separate server | Next.js native |
| — | stack | Next.js + TS + PostgreSQL or MongoDB | Required stack |
| cloud-standard | bandwidth gb | 40 GB/month | Standard — bandwidth |
| cloud-standard | db storage gb | 3 GB | Standard — Postgres storage |
| cloud-standard | file storage gb | 30 GB | Standard — asset storage |
Features
- @payloadcms/plugin-seo — Built-in SEO meta fields.
- 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, array, group, tabs.
- 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.
- 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. · docs
- Multi-Tenancy Plugin — Multi-tenant content isolation via plugin.
- Plugins — Official + community plugins (SEO, Stripe, Form Builder, multi-tenant, etc.).
- REST API (auto) — Auto-generated REST endpoints for every collection.
- i18n — Multi-locale field values + admin UI translations.
Developer interfaces
| Slug | Name | Kind | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| sdk-node | @payloadcms/next (Node) | sdk | 3.x |
| admin-ui | Admin UI | other | — |
| local-api | Local API (Node.js direct) | other | — |
| graphql | Payload GraphQL API | graphql | v1 |
| rest-api | Payload REST API | rest | v1 |
| cli | create-payload-app | cli | 3.x |
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