FusionAuthvsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| FusionAuth | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 49/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #23 of 40 in Authentication | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 240 | 45 559 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +647 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 20 |
| Latest release | — | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Proprietary | MIT |
| Main language | Dockerfile | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 49/100 for FusionAuth, so it is the safer default.
Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for FusionAuth.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+647 stars in 30 days).
FusionAuth details →Payload CMS details →
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