excalidrawvsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| excalidraw | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 91/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 9 in Whiteboarding | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 134 761 | 45 568 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 928 | +636 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 20 |
| Latest release | v0.18.1 · 21 Apr 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
excalidraw scores 91/100 against 83/100 for Payload CMS, so it is the safer default.
Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for excalidraw.
excalidraw is growing faster right now (+1 928 stars in 30 days).
excalidraw details →Payload CMS details →
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