hexonvsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| hexon | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 44/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #17 of 24 in Blogging | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 151 | 45 563 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +651 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 1 | 20 |
| Latest release | v1.0.0 · 21 Mar 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 44/100 for hexon, so it is the safer default.
Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 1 for hexon.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+651 stars in 30 days).
hexon details →Payload CMS details →