MainsailvsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Mainsail | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 65/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 22 in 3D Printing | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 2 236 | 45 571 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +19 | +639 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 8 | 20 |
| Latest release | v2.19.0 · 27 Aug 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Vue | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 65/100 for Mainsail, so it is the safer default.
Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 8 for Mainsail.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+639 stars in 30 days).
Mainsail details →Payload CMS details →