--- title: Payload CMS Reviews meta\_title: 'Payload CMS Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta\_description: Filter 59 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Payload CMS works for a business like yours. aggregate\_rating: rating\_value: 4.9 review\_count: 59 scale: '5' date\_modified: '2026-08-07' parent\_category: name: Content Management url: https://www.g2.com/categories/content-management --- ### Payload CMS Pros and Cons: Top 5 Advantages and Disadvantages #### Quick AI Summary Based on G2 Reviews Generated from real user reviews Users appreciate the **active and supportive community** of Payload CMS, enjoying quick assistance through Discord and GitHub. [(3 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123836&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users love the **ease of use** of Payload CMS, appreciating its quick setup and supportive community assistance. [(3 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1122613&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users highlight the **excellent documentation** of Payload CMS, facilitating fast development and easy onboarding for projects. [(2 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123604&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users praise the **easy integration** of Payload CMS with Next.js, enhancing development speed and overall usability. [(2 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123620&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users praise the **easy setup** of Payload CMS, enabling fast development and smooth deployments. [(2 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123364&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users note the **lack of customization** options with Payload CMS, relying heavily on community plugins for workaround solutions. [(1 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1124239&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users find the **limited community support** poses challenges with maintaining plugins, impacting long-term project planning. [(1 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1122695&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users experience **slow loading** times during website building and backend navigation, affecting their overall experience. [(1 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1124024&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users find the **slow performance** of Payload CMS affects both building and navigating the site effectively. [(1 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123744&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) Users note a **dependency on community plugins** for Payload CMS, which may not always be actively maintained during updates. [(1 mentions)](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2060975&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) ### 5 Pros or Advantages of Payload CMS ##### 1. Community Support Users appreciate the **active and supportive community** of Payload CMS, enjoying quick assistance through Discord and GitHub. [ See 3 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123836&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you like about Payload CMS? Payload CMS has excellent, developer-friendly documentation that makes it easy to get started and build fast. With the release of Payload 3.0, it now ![Louis M.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Louis M.") LM Louis M. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Payload: The Next-Gen CMS You've Been Waiting For" What do you like about Payload CMS? The documentation was clear and effective, there were many examples that could be found on their own GitHub, and they have a very active discord commu ##### 2. Ease of Use Users love the **ease of use** of Payload CMS, appreciating its quick setup and supportive community assistance. [ See 3 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1122613&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you like about Payload CMS? Payload CMS has excellent, developer-friendly documentation that makes it easy to get started and build fast. With the release of Payload 3.0, it now ![Louis M.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Louis M.") LM Louis M. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Payload: The Next-Gen CMS You've Been Waiting For" What do you like about Payload CMS? The documentation was clear and effective, there were many examples that could be found on their own GitHub, and they have a very active discord commu ##### 3. Documentation Users highlight the **excellent documentation** of Payload CMS, facilitating fast development and easy onboarding for projects. [ See 2 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123604&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you like about Payload CMS? Payload CMS has excellent, developer-friendly documentation that makes it easy to get started and build fast. With the release of Payload 3.0, it now ![Louis M.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Louis M.") LM Louis M. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Payload: The Next-Gen CMS You've Been Waiting For" What do you like about Payload CMS? The documentation was clear and effective, there were many examples that could be found on their own GitHub, and they have a very active discord commu ##### 4. Easy Integration Users praise the **easy integration** of Payload CMS with Next.js, enhancing development speed and overall usability. [ See 2 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123620&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you like about Payload CMS? Payload CMS has excellent, developer-friendly documentation that makes it easy to get started and build fast. With the release of Payload 3.0, it now ![Krishna S.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Krishna S.") KS Krishna S. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "One of the best CMS I have ever used as a developer." What do you like about Payload CMS? I loved the default Nextjs additions into payload. It has massive perform improvement and easy to use as a user and too fun to impletent / develop for ##### 5. Easy Setup Users praise the **easy setup** of Payload CMS, enabling fast development and smooth deployments. [ See 2 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123364&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you like about Payload CMS? Payload CMS has excellent, developer-friendly documentation that makes it easy to get started and build fast. With the release of Payload 3.0, it now ![Louis M.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Louis M.") LM Louis M. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Payload: The Next-Gen CMS You've Been Waiting For" What do you like about Payload CMS? The documentation was clear and effective, there were many examples that could be found on their own GitHub, and they have a very active discord commu ### 5 Cons or Disadvantages of Payload CMS ##### 1. Lack of Customization Users note the **lack of customization** options with Payload CMS, relying heavily on community plugins for workaround solutions. [ See 1 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1124239&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you dislike about Payload CMS? My experience with Payload has been great overall. If I had to nitpick, it would be the reliance on community-made plugins. While they're helpful, you ##### 2. Limited Community Support Users find the **limited community support** poses challenges with maintaining plugins, impacting long-term project planning. [ See 1 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1122695&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you dislike about Payload CMS? My experience with Payload has been great overall. If I had to nitpick, it would be the reliance on community-made plugins. While they're helpful, you ##### 3. Slow Loading Users experience **slow loading** times during website building and backend navigation, affecting their overall experience. [ See 1 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1124024&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Dena M.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Dena M.") DM Dena M. Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 4.5/5 "Customizable, Continually Improving and Easy for Non-Developers to Use" What do you dislike about Payload CMS? In the website buiding stages, it was a bit slow and now that the site is live, still is a little slow when navigating the back end. It's also quite n ##### 4. Slow Performance Users find the **slow performance** of Payload CMS affects both building and navigating the site effectively. [ See 1 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=1123744&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Dena M.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Dena M.") DM Dena M. Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 4.5/5 "Customizable, Continually Improving and Easy for Non-Developers to Use" What do you dislike about Payload CMS? In the website buiding stages, it was a bit slow and now that the site is live, still is a little slow when navigating the back end. It's also quite n ##### 5. Update Issues Users note a **dependency on community plugins** for Payload CMS, which may not always be actively maintained during updates. [ See 1 mentions ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/reviews?filters%5Bsentiment_snippet%5D=2060975&qs=pros-and-cons#reviews) See Related User Reviews ![Parker O.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Parker O.") PO Parker O. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5.0/5 "Code-first and flexible, giving devs full control without sacrificing editor experience." What do you dislike about Payload CMS? My experience with Payload has been great overall. If I had to nitpick, it would be the reliance on community-made plugins. While they're helpful, you ## Top-Rated Alternatives [ ![Sanity](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/8ad945ed33d9d2bb3fd0fddbe8ce5524/sanity.svg "Sanity") Sanity 4.7/5(926) ](https://www.g2.com/products/sanity/reviews) [ ![Strapi](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/16e816aaabcf0c54044f5265cd6d1a7e/strapi.svg "Strapi") Strapi 4.5/5(205) ](https://www.g2.com/products/strapi/reviews) [ ![Contentful](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/hd_favicon/b9b1b51e8da0cd8fb03bab3e24b9a565/contentful.svg "Contentful") Contentful 4.3/5(327) ](https://www.g2.com/products/contentful/reviews) [ View All Alternatives ](https://www.g2.com/products/payload-cms/competitors/alternatives) ![Alexander G.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Alexander G.") AG Alexander G. Frontend Web Developer Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/17/2023 "Great admin panel" 5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? Actively developed, with open source. Can be self hosted. Offers ability to translate content into multiple languages. Admin panel has multiple interface languages. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? Some features are not implemented yet, such as hot reload during development. Restarting server after each change using nodemon works, but it is significantly slower. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? Ability to host it alongside frontend on the same server. Translated interface for my clients who are not proficient in english and prefer using it in their native language. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Verified User in Computer Software](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Computer Software") AC Verified User in Computer Software Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) 5/17/2023 "Quick, Fast and Easy" 4.5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? After comparing various CMS platforms, PayloadCMS provides the most flexibility. Everything in Payload is or can be, a function. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? Some portions of the Admin UI are still not as flexible as I'd like them to be, but they continue to be making progress in this direction. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? We needed a CMS that would allow us to define various Content Types with inheritance dynamically. The flexibility of PayloadCMS will enable us to do this. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: Organic AM Andrew M. Director Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/22/2023 "An awesome new player in a saturated market" 5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? Easy to use, beautiful, great onboarding videos (youtube) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? Small community, inexperienced community so hard to find extra support. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? A easy to use admin area for our clients. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Ulvi S.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Ulvi S.") US Ulvi S. Research Assistant Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 6/2/2023 "easy to start and integrate" 4/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? being code first makes it easy to work for me as I dont like low-code platforms to much. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? no support for other databases. also more extension would be helpfull Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? For me it is easy to use and start. I was looking for something I could begin quickly and scale. Payload was my choice as it is code-first Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Verified User in Arts and Crafts](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Arts and Crafts") AA Verified User in Arts and Crafts Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/17/2023 "A perfect and flexible fit for the CMS I always looked for" 5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? Extremly configurable with already familiar syntax and patterns. Easy to get started and helpful examples and templates. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? Needs to be run on an express server and at the moment of writing it is limited to MongoDB which will be extended in the near future Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? Dynamic page creation for editors with an easy-to-understand interface and a lot of possibilities for multi-language support and drafts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerSource: Organic AC Andre C. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/17/2023 "Great CMS" 5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? Excellent focus on Developer experience. Although there are a lot of options in terms of CMS', payload seems to be the only one getting it right. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? It could use some work on the authentication side of it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? Content management systems are hard to maintain and are not very developer friendly. It's the best experience I've had with a CMS. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Alessio G.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Alessio G.") AG Alessio G. Marketing Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/7/2023 "Best Headless CMS" 5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? Payload CMS is the most flexible CMS out there. Best UX + DX out of any CMS Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? Does not support alternative databases yet Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? Payload allows me to manage complex data for my blog, and even other applications not related to website. It's super customizable, which allowed me to add any feature I needed without coming across road-blocks. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic RH Romain H. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/23/2023 "Smooth developer experience" 5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? The ease of the typescript configuration Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? I haven't had a sticking point yet that caused me problems Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? A clean, ready-to-use tool on which to graft any client site Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerSource: Organic ![Seth S.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Seth S.") SS Seth S. Technical Director 1/6/2022 "Hands down the best modern CMS" 4.5/5 What do you like best about Payload CMS? Lightweight, robust, feature rich, extremely extensible. IMO the best modern CMS. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Payload CMS? Doesn't have enough traction in the community at the moment, and still missing some features that I'd love to see. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Payload CMS solving and how is that benefiting you? We need a CMS that checks all the basic CMS feature boxes while at the same time providing a robust framework for extending functionality and building custom business logic alongside basic CMS functionality. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. 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