NakamavsPayload CMS
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Nakama | Payload CMS | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 76/100 | 83/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 62 in Game Servers | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS |
| GitHub stars | 13 603 | 45 550 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +61 | +638 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 9 | 20 |
| Latest release | v3.41.0 · 18 Sept 2026 | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Go | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 76/100 for Nakama, so it is the safer default.
Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 9 for Nakama.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+638 stars in 30 days).
Nakama details →Payload CMS details →