Anchor CMS vs Payload CMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted content management systems options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Anchor CMS
Lightweight blogging-focused CMS
VS
Payload CMS
TypeScript-native headless CMS and application framework
| Feature | Anchor CMS | Payload CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Content Management Systems | Content Management Systems |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,298 | ★ 44,043 |
| First released | 2012 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WordPress | Contentful, Sanity |
Why pick each one
Choose Payload CMS if…
- Excellent TypeScript developer experience
- No vendor lock-in
Frequently asked questions
Is Anchor CMS or Payload CMS better?
Neither is universally better. Payload CMS has the larger community, while Anchor CMS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Anchor CMS and Payload CMS free and open-source?
Yes. Anchor CMS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Payload CMS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Anchor CMS and Payload CMS with Docker?
Anchor CMS: yes. Payload CMS: yes.