d9vsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted Headless CMS projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| d9 | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 50/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #10 of 13 in Headless CMS | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 183 | 45 559 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +647 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 | 20 |
| Latest release | v12.0.25 · 28 Oct 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 50/100 for d9, so it is the safer default.
d9 ships more often: 21 stable releases in the past year, against 20 for Payload CMS.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+647 stars in 30 days).
d9 details →Payload CMS details →All Headless CMS projects →