FlarumvsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Flarum | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 69/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #6 of 69 in Social Networks & Forums | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 6 764 | 45 565 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +12 | +633 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 12 | 20 |
| Latest release | v1.8.21 · 23 Oct 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | PHP | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 69/100 for Flarum, so it is the safer default.
Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 12 for Flarum.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+633 stars in 30 days).
Flarum details →Payload CMS details →