ESPHomevsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| ESPHome | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 104 in Home Automation | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 11 979 | 45 571 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +257 | +639 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 46 | 20 |
| Latest release | 2026.10.1 · 27 Oct 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Main language | C | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 78/100 for ESPHome, so it is the safer default.
ESPHome ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 20 for Payload CMS.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+639 stars in 30 days).
ESPHome details →Payload CMS details →
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