# mataroa vs Payload CMS

> Two self-hosted [WordPress alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/wordpress), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | mataroa | Payload CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 50/100 | 83/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #11 of 24 in Blogging | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 374 | 45 563 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +651 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 20 ✓ |
| Latest release | v1.5 · 3 Jan 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 50/100 for mataroa, so it is the safer default.

Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for mataroa.

Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+651 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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