The short answer
Choose October CMS if you are building a website where non-technical editors need a clean admin interface, the project uses PHP/Laravel, and you want a stable, server-rendered site.
Choose Payload CMS if you need a headless API-first backend, your team works in TypeScript/Node.js, and the project has complex content models or serves multiple front-ends.
Now the longer version.
October CMS — the case for it
October CMS is a PHP/Laravel CMS with a 12-year track record. The admin is built for non-technical editors: configurable content blueprints, a clean WYSIWYG editor, file manager, and page structure that editors can understand without a developer walkthrough.
Pages are server-rendered (PHP/Twig templates), which means excellent performance characteristics out of the box — no JavaScript hydration overhead, clean HTML that search engines index easily, sub-second Time to First Byte on a decent VPS. Multilingual support is built in.
We use October CMS for: personal brand sites, business websites, multi-language portals, and landing systems where a non-technical team does most of the content work.
Payload CMS — the case for it
Payload is TypeScript-native and ships with a React-based admin. It is designed for developers: you define collections in TypeScript, the admin is generated from those definitions, and you get REST and GraphQL APIs automatically.
Payload is headless by default — your front-end is separate and consumes the API. This makes it the right choice when the same content needs to serve a web app and a mobile app simultaneously, or when the content model is too complex for a traditional CMS (nested blocks, polymorphic relationships, per-locale publishing states).
We use Payload for: content platforms, product backends, multi-front-end systems, and developer-maintained projects where the team wants a TypeScript API they can extend.
Side-by-side comparison
- Language/stack: October CMS = PHP/Laravel. Payload = TypeScript/Node.js
- Admin experience: October CMS = editor-friendly, intuitive. Payload = developer-configured, powerful but requires setup
- Architecture: October CMS = monolithic (front-end and backend together). Payload = headless (API only, front-end separate)
- Content model flexibility: October CMS = good for standard pages and sections. Payload = excellent for complex, nested, relational models
- Multiple front-ends: October CMS = not designed for this. Payload = built for this
- Performance (web): October CMS = excellent server-side rendering. Payload + Next.js = excellent SSR/SSG via React
- Cost: October CMS and Payload are both open-source and free. Hosting costs are similar (€5–20/month VPS)
The question to ask yourself
Who maintains the CMS after launch? If the answer is "a non-technical editor who needs to add blog posts and update the about page", choose October CMS. If the answer is "a developer who will extend the content model, connect new front-ends, and build features on top of the API", choose Payload.
Not sure? Our IT Consulting service exists for exactly this question. A half-day session from €200. Book a session.