WordPress.com vs Payload CMS
Compare WordPress.com and Payload CMS for your content needs. Find out what actual users are saying about each product and which one is best suited for you!
At a Glance
Quick overview of key features differences between WordPress.com and Payload CMS. Click on any feature to read more details.
| Feature | WordPress.com | Payload CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Features | ||
| Hosting Option | Cloud & Self-hosted | Cloud & Self-hosted |
| Content Modeling | ||
| Blog on Subdomain | ||
| Blog on Subdirectory | ||
| Marketer Experience | ||
| Mobile-first Experience | ||
| Automatic Content Linking | ||
| Automatic CTA Linking | Limited | Limited |
| Engage with Comments | ||
| Multi-tenancy | ||
| Read all reviews from marketers → | ||
| Developer Experience | ||
| Ease of Integration | Medium | Medium |
| Custom React Components | ||
| Full Text Search | ||
| Starter Kits | (3 kits) | (3 kits) |
| Read all reviews from developers → | ||
What Users Say
See what users who have used WordPress.com and Payload CMS have to say about their overall experience with the product.
WordPress.com's Key Strengths
Read what users love about WordPress.com.
Payload CMS's Key Strengths
Read what users love about Payload CMS.
WordPress.com's Key Issues
Read what issues users have with WordPress.com.
Payload CMS's Key Issues
Read what issues users have with Payload CMS.
What Marketers & Content Creators Say
Hear from the users who uses WordPress.com and Payload CMS daily about their experience with the editors.
WordPress.com's Editorial Experience Highlights
What marketers love about WordPress.com's editor.
Payload CMS's Editorial Experience Highlights
What marketers love about Payload CMS's editor.
WordPress.com's Editorial Experience Issues
What marketers dislike about WordPress.com's editor.
Payload CMS's Editorial Experience Issues
What marketers dislike about Payload CMS's editor.
Mobile Editing
Find out how the platforms handle the mobile-first experience for the new generation of workforce on the move.
The WordPress mobile app does not support effective content creation for mobile users, leading to frustration.
"The WordPress mobile experience (especially in the block editor) leaves a lot to be desired, given that some settings and sections disappear entirely in portrait mode on mobile."Source
"WordPress offers responsive themes and plugins, but lacks a dedicated mobile editing experience that truly supports mobile-first content creation."Source
"WordPress does not have a dedicated mobile editor, limiting the ability to create and edit content effectively on mobile devices."Source
Payload CMS supports mobile-first experiences, allowing content creation on mobile devices seamlessly.
"It works seamlessly on desktop and mobile (still can't believe most headless CMS admin panels aren't responsive in 2022)."Source
"Payload will give you backend superpowers... even non-technical users can independently make use of its Admin Panel to manage whatever they need to without having to know code."Source
"Users in the Admin Panel have the ability to choose between light mode and dark mode for their editing experience."Source
Automatic Content Linking
Find out if the platform supports automatic linking of related content to help user discover more content without additional manual effort from the marketer. This automatically create topical clusters of content and is essential for SEO.
WordPress supports automatic linking of related posts based on content, tags, and categories.
"Related Posts uses your post content, tags, and categories to automatically generate a list of relevant posts on your site."Source
"I have created a tool that automatically create blog titles, outlines and complete blog articles directly to your WordPress site."Source
"It has a nice feature that auto updating internal links when post slugs changes."Source
Payload CMS requires manual linking using the Relationship field; automated linking for SEO is not available.
"One of the most straightforward ways to manage related content in Payload CMS is through the Relationship field. This feature allows you to link different documents together."Source
"By leveraging these relationship types, Payload CMS enables users to build complex content architectures that cater to a wide range of applications, from e-commerce sites to blogs with related posts."Source
"The Rich Text field features a Link element which allows for users to automatically reference related documents within their rich text."Source
Automatic CTA Linking
Find out if the platform supports automatic display of Call-to-Actions using AI to help users take actions that are relevant to the content they are reading.
Limited support for automatic CTA linking exists through specific plugins like MailOptin and Icegram.
"MailOptin CTA implementation comes in two forms. Options to customize the button to match content."Source
"Use the calls-to-action (CTA) tool to create button CTAs, banners, or pop-ups to add to your HubSpot pages."Source
"Icegram Engage allows users to create effective CTAs easily and offers multiple CTA button options."Source
Supports custom components but lacks dedicated automatic CTA linking functionality.
"All Custom Components in Payload are React Server Components by default. This enables the use of the Local API directly on the front-end."Source
"You can design and build your own Slate elements and leaves to extend the editor with your own functionality."Source
"You can use Relationships to link to existing documents within the Rich Text field."Source
WordPress has built-in commenting features with approval, notification, and spam control options.
"Comments allow your website's visitors to have a discussion with you and each other. You can turn comments on or off by following the steps in this guide."Source
"Log in to your WordPress Dashboard. Go to Settings > Discussion. Check or Uncheck Allow People to Post Comments on New Articles."Source
"WordPress comments are an integral part of any blog powered by WordPress. They allow you to engage with your audience."Source
Payload CMS supports commenting via a dedicated plugin with features like comment approval and email alerts.
"A fully-customizable plugin for Payload CMS to create a collection for comments, reviews, or other user-submitted feedback."Source
"Implement a comment functionality where everyone can comment without logging in."Source
"The community discusses challenges and features of Payload, including the need for custom implementations."Source
Multi-tenancy
Find out if the platform supports managing multiple clients or projects within a single account. This is useful for agencies, multi-client or multi-project scenarios.
WordPress supports multi-tenancy via multisite with isolated site resources and databases.
Payload CMS offers multi-tenancy via a plugin that enables hierarchical tenant management, domain mapping, and isolation.
"This plugin sets up multi-tenancy for your application from within your Admin Panel. It adds a `tenant` field to all specified collections."Source
"This plugin allows multiple tenants to access different resources in the same instance of Payload CMS."Source
"Payload's Access Control facilitated a multi-tenant, "subsite"-based system."Source
What Developers Say
Hear from developers who've integrated and built on WordPress.com and Payload CMS about their experiences.
WordPress.com's DX Highlights
What developers love about building with WordPress.com.
Payload CMS's DX Highlights
What developers love about building with Payload CMS.
WordPress.com's DX Issues
What developers dislike about building with WordPress.com.
Payload CMS's DX Issues
What developers dislike about building with Payload CMS.
Content Modelling
Find out how developers model and manage their content with the platform with key highlights and limitations.
WordPress supports content modelling through custom post types and fields via plugins or native features.
"Create Content Model brings powerful content management capabilities directly into WordPress Core."Source
"Custom post types in WordPress allow you to create and manage content that goes beyond standard posts."Source
"WordPress gives you a simple way to extend the standard data types into an array for custom needs."Source
"WordPress custom post types are powerful features that elevate it from a blogging tool to a content management system."Source
Payload CMS supports content modeling with various field types including relationships, arrays, and blocks.
"Payload provides a wide variety of built-in Field Types, each with its own unique properties and behaviors."Source
"Payload allows parent/child content modelling using a nested docs plugin for hierarchical content."Source
"Each Collection can have its own unique Access Control, Hooks, Admin Options, and more."Source
Custom React Components
Find out if the platform supports custom React components to go beyond the basic HTML components for content.
Custom React component integration is not natively supported; requires workarounds with blocks or scripts.
Payload CMS supports custom React components through its admin panel, allowing rich interactive content.
Full Text Search
Find out if the platform supports full text search across multiple fields to help users find content quickly.
WP Fast Total Search allows full text search across posts, meta-fields, and attach file contents.
"WPFTS extends standard search capabilities by creating a word-based index, allowing full text search across multiple fields."Source
Payload CMS supports full text search through the @payloadcms/plugin-search, enabling advanced search across various fields.
Starter Kits
Discover starter kits and templates to help you get started with the platform.
Multiple starter sites and kits available for WordPress themes.
(Expand section to see a list of WordPress.com templates and starter kits.)
Payload CMS offers several starter kits, including an Ecommerce and a SvelteKit template.
(Expand section to see a list of Payload CMS templates and starter kits.)
Pricing & Plans
Compare the prices of WordPress.com and Payload CMS.
Comments
Find out if the platform supports comments from your users to improve user engagement. This is often a great way to collect feedback and user emails.