Payload CMSvsPulumi
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Payload CMS | Pulumi | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 83/100 | 78/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 13 in Headless CMS | #1 of 3 in Infrastructure |
| GitHub stars | 45 555 | 25 826 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +643 | +27 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 20 | 5 |
| Latest release | v3.92.1 · 27 Oct 2026 | v3.272.0 · 22 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Payload CMS scores 83/100 against 78/100 for Pulumi, so it is the safer default.
Payload CMS ships more often: 20 stable releases in the past year, against 5 for Pulumi.
Payload CMS is growing faster right now (+643 stars in 30 days).
Payload CMS details →Pulumi details →