# Flarum vs Payload 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 | 45 570 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +12 | +638 ✓ |
| 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 (+638 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Flarum](https://selfhost.directory/project/flarum) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/flarum.md)
- [Payload CMS](https://selfhost.directory/project/payload-cms) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/payload-cms.md)

## Related comparisons

- [Ghost vs Payload CMS](https://selfhost.directory/compare/ghost-vs-payload-cms)
- [directus vs Payload CMS](https://selfhost.directory/compare/directus-vs-payload-cms)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/flarum-vs-payload-cms