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KeystoneJS vs Payload: catalog facts
KeystoneJS	Payload
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.	Free Free and open source under the MIT license; enterprise features are sold separately.
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
GraphQL API and admin UI generated from a schema Fine-grained access control	Installs inside an existing Next.js app folder Full TypeScript backend with an extensible admin panel
Requires writing code; not a point-and-click site builder Headless, so you build the front end yourself	Configured in code, so it needs a developer Tied to the Next.js and React ecosystem
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.